Jackie Kay’s Scottish poetry collection covers a lifetime of protest from her parent’s socialist campaigns, anti-war protests, feminist and queer rights, black lives matter and the pandemic. Woven in are figures such as Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and Fanny Eaton.

One short and sweet one from the book;

Had we ne’er met like this, my luve, my lass,
never kissed, never become amorous,
never hid, never split, never got pissed,
never kept shtum, played dumb, nursed secrets,
never stared at the moon and wished,
never taken risks, imagined this.
Had we ne’er believed oor luve wad prevail,
we’d hae aye gone awol, or aff the rails.
Had we ne’re been oot o’ this wilderness
we wad hae ne’er felt this quiet tenderness.
We micht have thought this day wad never come:
Houghmagandy equality! A marriage; gay.
The guid day when me and my bonnie lassie
might walk doon the aisle and be free.