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The six set text poems for National 5 cover different periods of Kay’s work. A variety of voices are used to portray different relationships and tackle issues including adoption, illness and death.

‘Gap Year’ portrays the close bond of a mother and son. It describes Kay’s son’s adventures when he leaves her to travel and find independence. At home, she follows his journey and awaits his return.

‘Keeping Orchids’ describes the first meeting between Kay and her birth mother. The relationship is not an easy one, and Kay uses the orchids to symbolise the challenges this encounter brings.

The poem ‘Lucozade’ charts the shift between a sixteen year old girl’s mood of sadness and sorrow to a more optimistic attitude when she visits her mother in hospital.

In ‘My Grandmother’s Houses,’ Jackie Kay uses different settings to describe her grandmother’s personality and give an insight into her childhood experiences.

In this poem, Kay considers the effect of relocation on language and accent and how she misses the evocative words and expressions of her youth.

This dramatic monologue is about a mother and daughter fleeing their home, only to be apprehended by the authorities. Kay does not give specific details, but we might infer that the woman is an immigrant facing deportation.