twitter ditties | annesikking

• twitter ditties •

Toward the end of 2019 Anne was in California, homesick for Glasgow. As a diversion from daily life she decided to create a series of #scotlandditties and #anneditties and launch them on Twitter.

She set herself some rules:

• no swearing;

• no ditty longer than one tweet;

• be more inclusive than divisive.

Playful, irreverent, political, serious, at times anthemic, the first of more than a hundred #scotlandditties

appeared on December 31, 2019, all addressing the themes of Glasgow and an independent Scotland.

She says, "It has been a great discipline to fit within the constraints of Twitter, and allowed me to experiment with form, rhythm, and rhyme. When I was producing one, sometimes two, or even three a day, it really stretched me and was a real help in my other more mainstream work."

the statue of Wellington in Glasgow city centre almost always has a traffic cone on its head. It has become something of a landmark.

GREMLIN

In Glasgow's a gremlin

Who deals in hats.

If you're looking for an emblem

Or something like that,

Just give a shout

In any square,

They'll pop out

With at least a pair.

But their greatest feat

It must be said,

Is dropping a cone

On Wellington's head.

MARCHING

I hear boots marching,

Despite 6K miles away.

Time comes arching

To touch my yesterday.

There in the footfall,

Moccasins scuff along.

Ghosts of elders call

“Glasgow we belong!”

I say, “Hello successes.

Goodbye faint fears.

Rejoice in all that blesses

The long Trail of Tears.

TORQUE

To wait too long

Is a dangerous thing,

Comes caustic to the yearning.

Slights & scorns sharpen thorns,

Screws of hate keep turning.

Deny & denigrate can work

But are a short solution.

For history shows the more the torque,

The more blood the revolution.