EDWIN MORGAN MONTH

Poems on the theme ‘Push the boat out’ and

responses to ‘At Eighty’
by Open Book groups

1
Push the Boat Out Poems
Title & Group Page No.
Unknown is Best, from ‘At Eighty’- Aberdeen ESOL Group 4
Push the Boat Out- BAME Creative Writing Group 5
Push the Boat Out- Bethany Creative Writing Group 7
For a Moment Leave a Mark- Brora Creative Writing Group 8
Morgan Group Poem- Dundee Creative Writing Group 9
Pushing- Edinburgh Syrian Women’s Group 10
Group Poem- after ‘At Eighty’- Eyemouth Creative Writing Group 11
Push the Boat Out- Glasgow Women’s Library 12
Unknown is Best, in response to ‘At Eighty’ from still photograph- 13
Diane Schofield, Glasgow Women’s Library
Advice to our younger selves 14
Push the Boat Out- Grassmarket Community Project
Sea Voices…or companeros…or…or (as received) 15
(with a couple of exploratory line breaks)- Lerwick Creative Writing
Group
Push the Boat Out- LGBTQ+ Creative Writing Group 17
The Boat- Maryhill Integration Network 18
Push the boat out- Minaxi Champaneri, Maryhill Integration Network 19
The Unknown is Best- National Galleries of Scotland Creative Writing 20
Group
Push the Boat Out- Marie-Louise Mills, National Galleries of Scotland 21
Creative Writing Group
Inspired by Edwin Morgan- Kay Ritchie, National Galleries of Scotland 23
Creative Writing Group
Group Poem- Off the Beaten Track Creative Writing Group 24
Unknown is Best- Orkney Creative Writing Group 25
Pushing the Boat Out- Paisley Creative Writing Group 27
At Eighty- Perth Creative Writing Group 28
The Wave Comes 29
The Other Side- Shakti Women’s Aid 30
Group Poem in response to ‘At Eighty’- Stranraer Creative Writing 31
Group
No matter the tide (a reworking of the group poem) 32
Push the boat out- Geeta Roopnarine, Stranraer Creative Writing 32
Group

2
PUSH THE BOAT OUT- Uist Creative Writing Group 33

Push the Boat Out 34

Time, Tide and Takeaway- Ullapool Creative Writing Group 35

3
Unknown is best
(from ‘At Eighty’ by Edwin Morgan)
Aberdeen ESOL Group
Shandra, Maria, Jaunsz, Kate, Patricia

Unknown is best.
Or might it be worse?
Fog, waves, moon or sun,
nature balances between
adventure and fear.
On the surface I feel
a melancholic tranquillity.
Below, dark colours
Drown, drown, deep abyss.
Forces of nature fight
each other
unsettled, disturbing.
At the horizon
I see sunlight
there is hope - illumination -
and hope not passing.

4
Push The Boat Out
after Edwin Morgan
BAME Creative Writing Group

Finding a puddle or a gutter

The rippled water might drop off the edge

of the earth into a never-ending fall
of water, an arc of soil, of magma.

A mushroom and grass carpet,

soiled soles of socked feet
sliding on search of silent souls.

Doesn’t the stillness of the shore

make your bones ache?

Push the boat out, compañerxs

to la libertad.

Seek and ye shall find,

push the boat out come what may,
with grace and light.

Pushout

Row out into the galaxy,

purple swirls with glitter.

Lines of fate, worn smooth,

From fingers, counting
The surety of circular time,
In the Morse code of Norse gods.

Surrender sideways
to the tumbling allure
of the froth-encrusted waves.

Push the boat out

Don’t hold back
Be experimental
Give it all you got from the heart
The lady with the heart for a head
The woman whose head is her heart

5
The person who is a heart
Pushing the boat out
Against stormy waters
Not holding back
Always giving with generous spirit
Pushing
Like Salt & Pepper
Pushing real good…

Push the boat in, compañerxs,

we have arrived!

6
Push The Boat Out
Bethany Christian Trust

Push the boat out.

Take your chance.

Be adventurous but
beware the unseen tides.

Steer strong.
Follow the current into the open.

Unknown is best
but better the devil you know.

Unknown is best,
is the privilege of the young

stepping out of their comfort zone,

pursuing odyssey.

7
For a Moment Leave a Mark
Brora Creative Writing Group
Lynne, Katie, Shirley, Anne, Liz

Push the boat out whatever the sea

Move forward through the waves
Weft and warp, ebb and flow, eternal motion
Drifting like a piece of driftwood over a stormy rough wave
Floating clouds reflecting on still water
Looking at the gentle ripples catching sunbeams

Life like a seal surfacing on flat calm water

Watching from a distance
Leaving the safe harbour
Sliding through cool satiny water
Eyes fixed on the horizon
The dark undercurrents try to drag you down

Guide the tiller through crushing, crashing waves curling to shore

Let the cool water take your weight and sustain you
No matter how calm, how rough, how dark
For a moment leave a mark
That in time will disappear
Back into that flashing mirror
And submerge you in blue

8
Morgan Group Poem
Dundee Creative Writing Group

Like distant ships in mist, or bells

clanging out their siren calls
cowering fearful of what may be hidden there
but strengthened by the presence of others
the mermaid urges caution
don’t go off the beaten track

in case of danger
look up and see the stars and sky
endless play action

ties to home run through our hands as we cast off

knit the waves
tartan legs vanish in a spray of gulls
screeching, squawking
swooping, soaring

we watch, we wait to go

9
Pushing
Edinburgh Syrian Women’s Group

One way to answer ‘How are you?’ is

‘am endaffesh - ‫ﻋﻢ إﻧﺪﻓﺶ‬
we are pushing, doing our best, like your

aye, no bad, getting there;

although where there is
we’re not sure, maybe

blue water, or black rocks,

who knows what the sea of life
will bring us in all its ups

and downs. The tides that brought us

safely here meant loss, and grief,
but still we push

the boats of our bodies

towards tomorrow. Sometimes
our energies are at an ebb

lower than the lowest tide

and our moods too. Sometimes
staying afloat is hard. But

another way to answer ‘How are you?’ is

‘ayisheen - a c b ‫ﻋﺎ_ﺸ‬
we are alive, surviving

and that is where to start

each day: we are alive.
Faith strengthens us, and hope

and this deep truth:

min al imān btiji al amal - ‫ اﻷﻣﻞ‬p
r q ‫ﻤﺎن ﺑﺘ‬k‫ﻣﻦ ال إ‬
hope comes from faith.

We must always hold on to hope

and find new ways to celebrate
these boats, this sea,

each day with its horizons

and us all together pushing,
never giving up.

10
Group Poem
(after ‘At Eighty’ by Edwin Morgan)
Eyemouth Creative Writing Group

Who says we cannot guide ourselves.

No pockets in a shroud.
The bells inform of us of their death
We have to trust our spirit of freedom.
Its my life.
The stars see the light
And hands find the treasures.
Come in number 5 your time is up
Find the treasures in the deep.
We reach a higher dimension
As we sink into a deeper ocean
But we need our wits
As we go in in for tea.

11
Push the Boat Out
Glasgow Women’s Library

Hey, ho, feel the spray and the salt.

Don’t listen, zip up that wetsuit
And splash that half mile.
Surf on silver ribbons of water,
White horses being born every minute.
Some of them are Kelpies,
Shaking their green, flowing manes
Amongst the tangles and mermaid purses.
Look now!
Hey, ho, pound the waves, push,
Surf, dip, dive.

12
Unknown is Best
(in response to ‘At Eighty’)
from still photograph
Diane Schofield, Glasgow Women’s Library

As I wait,
better I don’t know
what I’ll feel
as the depth surges,
swallows and drags,
sucks and pulls me from the earth.
No moon to see.

13
Advice to our younger selves
Grassmarket Community Group

People don’t remember what you say they remember how you made them feel
It’s better to be loved than right
Wear sunscreen
Keep quiet til you know what you’re saying
You don’t need to be nice
Love your imagination but get real
Leap before you look
Look after your teeth
If the right person walks out the door run after them and tell them
Try harder at school
Don’t open a shop in South Queensferry
Look after your teeth
Don’t go thinking you’ll retire in your 60s, I’m still at it
Start drinking alcohol in a way that reflects the rest of your life or you won’t be able to get
up the stairs
That thing about looking stupid then surprising people, I don’t know how it’s worded
Don’t worry too much what people think of you
Practice being grateful for what you have
Believe in your inner goodness
Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself
Be kind
Always keep in touch with family and friends
A phone call can make all the difference

14
Sea Voices…or companeros…or…or
(as received):
Lerwick Creative Writing Group

unknown is best, it beckons best

when lisps of light prick out the path
and nameless eyes look back

Long perished, serviceable still,

Creaking but holding their shape
treasured too much to let go off.

Long perished serviceable still

I am jaded, cynical, demoralised, frustrated, angry, confused, weary, sceptical, bemused,
frightened, misunderstood, but not over the hill
Am I strong enough to weather these waves?
My planks and frames may hold

like distant ships in mist, or bells

or the plane's wheels out and shuddering in air
they took like energetic wind chimes, free to cascade without hinderance or care

Who says we cannot guide ourselves

Who dares to voice such fear,
fear devours and Who might be no more.

mariners keep good watch always

and sailors' wives watch them,
puzzled bairns watching on
lead forward while glancing back.

(with a couple exploratory line-breaks):

unknown is best, it beckons best

when lisps of light prick out the path
and nameless eyes look back

Long perished, serviceable still,

Creaking but holding their shape
treasured too much to let go off.

Long perished serviceable still

I am jaded, cynical, demoralised, frustrated, angry, confused, weary, sceptical, bemused,
frightened, misunderstood, but not over the hill

15
Am I strong enough to weather these waves?
My planks and frames may hold

like distant ships in mist, or bells

or the plane's wheels out and shuddering in air
they took like energetic wind chimes, free to cascade without hinderance or care

Who says we cannot guide ourselves

Who dares to voice such fear,
fear devours and Who might be no more.

mariners keep good watch always

and sailors' wives watch them,
puzzled bairns watching on

lead forward while glancing back.

16
Push the Boat Out
LGBTQ+ Creative Writing Group

I can’t give you an easy answer.

Unknown is best.

The fireworks explode in multiple-coloured rays

Leaping, changing in unexpected ways.

Looking out at the vast emptiness

over lochs and munros
eating homemade jam, chutneys, goat’s cheese
listening to the calming thwacking of the keys.
They seem happy enough.

There is time enough to rest

Let it rush in like the tide,
An unravelling of self and dreams and soul.

17
The Boat
Maryhill Integration Network

Keep good watch always. Sea-creatures sail on glassy horizons,

people smugglers, reefs. Be vigilant for those in danger,
who need your help. Be watchful for pirates and risk to life.
Does a welcoming island lie at the end
of long journeys over dangerous seas?

You don’t know when the storm will come. To survive

grab a life jacket, pray
for the sparkle of sunshine on sand, shining stones, familiar land.
Relief at the sign that makes you know you belong.

Fishermen bringing their boats in, different air,

The colour of the sand changes in each place.
The sounds of the sea breathing, calming
under the infinite sky.

I dream about the sea nearly every night,

sailing into that harbour
in my newspaper boat.

18
Push the boat out
Minaxi Champaneri, Maryhill Integration Network

Push the boat out

Just paper boats
Me and my friends gathering,
Tearing paper for origami
Out of square, triangle shapes
Folding once, folding twice and again
Hey presto, floating paper boat created!
Playful and fun day with floating boats.
Paper boats float on running stream or puddle
We load our little boats with flower petals
They all float as far as can
Splash! Splash! Goes the water.
Soggy wet, they can’t float anymore
There they sink and just get stuck at the bottom
Just like a childhood memories stuck in our minds.

19
The Unknown is Best
National Galleries of Scotland Creative Writing Group
Angi, Sandy, Natalie, JL Williams

Despite the weather warnings the fishing boats set out

but once the tempest struck the men were plagued with doubt.

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

The skipper's wife is silent, words caught in her throat

as she searches the horizon for his missing fishing boat.

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

It's not uncommon in these days to doubt,

All we have built like bricks without the grout.

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

The Unknown is best, it gets my vote,

Each day I rise, put on my boots and coat.

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

When you speak, declare and proclaim with clout

Life’s too short to whisper in self-doubt

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

I throw wide and let billow my long stalwart coat

To catch flurries and bustles, to rise above and float

I push out my little boat

And feel a catch in my throat

It’s not every day you set sail

But today, my friends, today…

20
Push the Boat Out
Homage to Edwin Morgan
Marie-Louise Mills, National Galleries of Scotland Creative Writing Group

It’s so great to go out

On a boat I want to shout
I want to feel the salty air
But I want to see land somewhere

I sail the seas with freedom dream

Gliding smoothly I so want to scream
The boats are best when seasoned well
Like us old folks where we do dwell

Push that boat out Morgan said

He’s no fool and had no dread
Curiosity kept him sharp indeed
Ready for the next adventure did speed

At eighty still perky and sharp

Ready for all adventures to start
Yes he pushed his boat out each day
Alert alive ready to be gay

And that he was in a double sense

Came to grips for both events
He like a Bloodhound found
Life is precious and so profound

Others don’t interfere with life

Unless you let them cause you strife
He finally understood that lesson
Came to grips with that confession

Morgan had a lot to state and say

In each poem we learned a new way
I think his life’s lessons are so great
We needen’t have any kind of debate

Thanks for this introduction wide

I have learned much with his words abide
Freedom of thought is so important now
Restrictions don’t clip wings somehow

21
We realize as life goes on how lucky we are
To be alive and learn much that doesn’t confound
Thanks to Morgan and other poets great
We have learned to often sit and wait

When you’re young and frisky feel

Sitting still is a really big deal
But autumn leaves change colour scenes
And each day a new object that gleams

Every day renews our dreams with cosmic glue

It makes each moment exciting to pursue
Again thank you Morgan for your thoughts
To readers distracted and overwrought

Your words give a big peace of mind

A soothing balm to heal and bind

22
Inspired by Edwin Morgan
Kay Ritchie, National Galleries of Scotland group

I often misquote, by rote, that anecdote about your petticoat

caught up in the engine of the boat. Happily we stayed afloat.

23
Group Poem
Off the Beaten Track Creative Writing Group

Push the boat out, hoist the sail leave the harbour,
head on into gusting winds, roaring gales, and life’s storms!

Push the boat out, hey ho she blows,

off to sea we go, away, away we go!

Push the boat out, heave ho the beast that muscles the dock
hold rivet hold, and wood beams wheeze, steam off the boiling sea!

Push the boat out, get your knees wet

clamber in, grip hard and go boldly!

Push the boat out, whoosh, unleash

ditch the bilge reach and fly!

Push the boat with weighted arms

that dance with sea’s permissions!

Push the boat out, no more holding back!

See your life rising before you, cresting the wave!

24
Unknown is best
Orkney Creative Writing Group
KB, LB, IG, HGJ, HL, KM

See the wraiths asleep

in their eyeless dark.
Hear the whispered voices!

Why should unknown be best?

Unknown is never best

Until you understand it.
Then unknown is known
and you begin to like it.

Why should unknown be best?

It unlocks the hidden powers

unhooks the transfixed
compels us to act.

It drives us to reject
the paralysis, embrace
the day that comes.

Nothing is permanent.
Knowing -
or the undoing of it.

Turn East
instead of West.
New worlds are waiting!

The unknown
is darkly curious, the call
of all you know
the safest.

Unknown is best.
Heart quickens
neck pulse throbs
palms grow damp.

Why should unknown be best?

25
The door
creaks
open.

26
Pushing the Boat Out
(in response to ‘At Eighty’ by Edwin Morgan)
Paisley Library Creative Writing Group
Natalie, Martina, Julia, Margaret

Unknown is best;
Unknown is new.
Push out into the wide, open, sea, Pushing the day
Until it breaks

Fight against the waves,

Jump into the wood and rickety frame. The sail unfurls. Our Fibonacci spiral, swells like a
pregnant womb.
Push forward to new places
Where we can be reborn.

A soft, sweet spot to be reborn, To start over,

Like the tang of fresh paint. Forward, mariners,

And grab the untouched horizon. Second chance?

Second to none.

27
At Eighty
Perth Creative Writing Group

Push the boat out, whatever you do.

But be sensible.
Think first of the consequences of your actions.
Wisdom comes from being confident.

Education is key.
Take it. Use it. Go out into the world and share it.

Love daily but make sure that love is earned and respected.
Lust after love and happiness. Cherish it always. Love lots and love hard.

Try new things with new people but don’t be afraid to leave the wrong people behind.

Always be yourself, do what you want and not what others expect of you.
Live life the way you want. Be happy. Laugh, have fun and make memories.

Take time to reflect on your choices and accept things you cannot change.

Put your bare feet into the morning dew grass. Soak it up and revitalise.
Ground yourself.

Sniff the sweetness of the earth. Watch the birds fly.

Drift through days without purpose. Just be.

28
The Wave Comes
Shakti Women’s Aid

The images remind me

of Cancun
and the events of the week.
I still have hope and faith,
I don't know where it comes from but I have it.
The waves are gloomy,
Scary, being so close,
immersed in it.
You have to fight to clarify your own thoughts,
to be ready,
for the waves life sends you.
Contemplating in stillness,
relaxing is possible,
but an unexpected wave is never far away.
We never know what is going to happen.
That is life.
That is the sea.
Many people are afraid,
because both are so messy.
A rip can drag you out into the centre
or send you back.
Strong, or soft, the wave comes.
Accept it, embrace it, enjoy it,
until the end comes.

29
The Other Side
Shakti Women’s Aid

I had in my pockets
Tape, bubble-gum and a packet of cigarettes.
I made my own banana boat.
No more tequilas,
It’s time to be sober,
Because I’m crossing to the other side
And no one can stop me.
I’m going to a different place,
With a different sea,
Sparkling light in front of me.

30
Stranraer Group Poem
(in response to ‘At Eighty’)
Stranraer Creative Writing Group

In the noon-day heat

grains of shifting sand
scattered shells and samphire
in a landscape of their own
seagulls meandering in the wind
reach for the tide.

The sea rolls and swells

pebbles reshaped by breaking waves
in a landscape of their own
hunt prey and fish for luck
reach for the tide.

A glimpse of distant ships.

31
No matter the tide
a reworking of the group poem
Geeta Roopnarine, Stranraer Creative Writing Group

In the noonday heat,

small crabs shelter in scattered shells
yellow butterflies as tiny as teaspoons
skim golden samphire blooms
in a landscape mapped by thieving time.

In the humid heat,

never mind if the sea rolls and grumbles,
sleek dolphins are just beyond the bay,
spiny crustaceans swim up and down,
even though the predator jaws, the lurking storm.

In rough times
look to the distant ships,
see how they hug the sea, hang low,
how they listen to the swell and move,
no matter the weather, no matter the tide.

Push the Boat Out

Whatever the sea,
we guide ourselves
in salt and blistering sunlight
to the unknown
patched and leaky but
ruthless.

32
PUSH THE BOAT OUT
Uist Creative Writing Group


Push the boat out, whatever the sea:
Unknown is out there, where it wants to be.
Risks are taken, though not for risk’s own sake,
with the siren call “unknown is best” pulling us
over the next pages of life’s own adventure.

We’re being bettered to reach out of the mire;

our conscience guiding us into the last unknown.
Indecision and timidity are the frightening things,
so if you're going to, get on with it:
Push the boat out, whatever the sea.

33
Push the Boat Out
Ullapool Creative Writing Group
Alastair, Barbara, Sandy, Madeline and Lorraine

Push the boat out,

time to unrest those old laurels,
make waves now not ripples.

Push the boat out,

from waters known to new,
booking tickets for one last European tour

Push the boat out,

encounter deeper straits,
Push the boat out,
your horizon awaits.

Push the boat out,

do more than scan the aisles of a backwater Tesco,
Let the stream of life carry, committing to a big one worth remembering.

Push the boat out,

Will you give me a hand, a little shove?
The tide is out farther than we knew.

Push the boat out,

heave and strain, feet jammed in the shingle,
Push the boat out,
Where will we come to rest?

34
 from Into
the boat, the boat -
I see the hill the gill net.
And the shore. Caught in it,
A thick black line so much variety.
runs levelly across the And then the sauce -
whole coastline. It bisects what ingredients? Fuck
my picture of that world of ups and Successes. Bor-
the solid, the land separated from
the sea by that coastal scar of black ing and stimulating. Happi-
rocks. The tide is out. At midnight nesses and sadnesses, Bright
the tide will have turned. the hill will be sunshine and glowering skies.
darker than the dark sky. The water will be
black. All will be changed. The ripple on water Rough seas and tranquil waters.
at the prow will be only heard. The oars in the locks will Force ten and flat calm. Leading
grind and knock. There will be no other sound but these,
and nothing to be seen. The boat will go on into the night. us where?

I sit in the hole, in the soup with my hands in my lap, staring

The sauce was Now I’m grown
across the deck and out to sea. As always, floating between
always the main it’s chips that need
terror and boredom, tempestuous seas or flaccid event. When I was a child dunking and everyone
unflapped sails. Never an in between, feast or famine, it was the sweet gloop we has a favourite that
dry sea biscuits or lobster. Clinging to the sides of squirted on our ice cream
that we really wanted who speaks of their
the out-pushed boat, swallowing pride-water cares if the ice is vanilla birthplace. Give me
and swimming back into the shallows again. when you can spray mayonnaise over
Till the tedium catches me and carries me on strawberry curry sauce.
on it.
a wild wave again. And back in the hole.

There’s a trace of every meal I ever had and everything I ever did clogging the
filaments of my heart. Some make good reading but there are far too many regretted

Time, Tide & Takeaways

Words by Alastair, Barbara, Madeline & Sandy | Layout by Lorraine | Ullapool Open Book