Borderlands and Belonging

Weaving between Geordie and Scots pronunciation

From the city of my birth - Newcastle

To the city of my grandmother - Glasgow

Raised in the Borderlands inbetween

Lived on an island in the far North

Remembering those days now

Here on the Northumberland moors

I see the ancient country divide from my window

The main road that marks the site of the old border

Cars scream past where once people walked

An imposing wall split the land in two

Between one country and another

I'm on the wrong side of the border now

In love with the culture, the language

The history, the accents, the places

Of the land that lies on the other side

I thought Newcastle would always be my home

But I realised I was more at ease in Northumberland

And then the Hebrides opened my eyes

To another world, a different life

I could never feel at home on the Island

But my city felt so alien once I returned

I longed for the freedom I found on the moors

Northumberland was no longer wild enough for me

Turning my head towards the Hebrides

Like a keel turning on the tide

Incessant as the current of the Minch

Lapping against the banks of Stornoway harbour

After all I'd seen on the Islands

I moved out of the city to feel safer

But I long for somewhere I can feel at home

To find the place where I belong

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

An interesting tour of the border area of England and Scotland. The speaker is obviously in love with the place, but seems ambivalent as to where he truly belongs. I think finding oneself and finding home will occur simultaneously.