Orkney Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Over the sea of Orc
wet windy foggy
Orkney endures
50 miles south of Greenland,
Level with St Petersburg
Near treeless

At the temple of Brodgar,
The bones of 600 cattle, slain for a feast
800 hundred years before Stonehenge was built

Now, Aberdeen Angus beef
Crosses the globe from the Orkneys
To Raffles in Singapore

Harald Harfagre
Sigurd the Mighty
Thorfinn Skull Splitter
Eric Bloodaxe
Names in the island's history branded into its psyche


Orkney's national flag clings to defiant flagpoles
Owned by Magnus, Sigurd, Erland, Helga, Thorfinn

In the years of fifty two and fifty three
A hurricane blew 250,000 chickens over the wild Atlantic
Here, gales decimate plastic phone booths
Chew up anything unsubstantial
Only Red phone kiosks withstand their force

Wind turbines whirl over the bare fields
Soon, the strongest tides in Europe
Will harness sea power for the grid

At Kirkwall, a road sign warns
Beware of Otters crossing.