Published in Herald Scotland Print edition
By Deborah Anderson
A dream come true: Teenager who wrote poem to bring a smile to care home residents has her work published
BECOMING a published poet at the age of 16 is no mean achievement and, for Siobhan McCallion, it is a dream come true.
The fifth-year pupil at St Margaret Mary’s Secondary in Glasgow was moved to write a poem for people living in her local care home during the coronavirus outbreak.
When she got in touch with our poetry editor, Lesley Duncan, we felt this was a poem that should be shared. Growing up in Castlemilk, Siobhan lives with her grandfather, Neil, and sister, Sarah, 14.
She was inspired to start writing poetry after her grandmother, Patricia, died.
The piece was written at the start of lockdown when care homes across the country were first hit by the pandemic. Siobhan wanted to do something that would make the residents of Ardencraig Care Home in Castlemilk know that people were thinking of them.
She said: “Writing poetry is a way for me to express my thoughts and feelings and I decided to write something about people living in my local care home.
I thought how would I feel about the situation we are in.
I thought you would want to know people out there are thinking of you and I wanted to make them smile.”
Ms Duncan said: “This message from a 14-year-old girl to the residents at her local care home is impressive in its maturity and kindness.”
