Originally

• "We came from our own country in a red room which fell through the fields" - word choice

  ‘our own country’ implies she feels part of Scotland; it is the place she feels at home.

  The word choice of ‘fell’ emphasises the lack of control she feels she has over what is happening to her. She has played no part in the making of this important decision. The colour red has connotations of anger, reflecting her own feelings about being forced to leave the city of her birth and early childhood.
• "My brothers cried, one of them bawling Home, Home, as the miles

  rushed back to the city" - Word choice, repetition, capitalisation

  ‘bawling’ implies an inconsolable hurt and suggests her brother cannot be comforted.

  The capitalisation of Home emphasises its importance to the children

  whilst the repetition reinforces the misery and overwhelming sense of

  loss they feel at leaving it behind.
• "I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw." - word choice

  Unlike her brothers she is silent and still, suggesting disbelief or shock.

  The word choice of ‘blind’ again exposes her uncertainty and anxiety as they head towards something unknown and unfamiliar. She cannot

  see what lies ahead. Holding ‘the paw’ of this toy suggests she is looking for comfort and a link to something familiar.
• "All childhood is an emigration." - metaphor

  In this metaphor Duffy considers the wider, more generic experience of

  childhood itself which is equated with changes and transitions that are often beyond our control. It is a time in which we can move quickly into new territory and much can seem unknown and unfamiliar.
• "Corners, which seem familiar, leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand." - word choice

  The word choice of ‘seem’ and ‘unimagined’ exposes her inability to negotiate her way successfully through this new, strange and unfamiliar landscape. It implies that unimaginable horrors lie around every corner. Her sense of confusion is strengthened as she is confronted by behaviour and language that is alien to her.
• "My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth in my head." - simile

  This simile suggests her parents stress niggles at the back of her mind

  like you would absent-mindedly wobble a loose tooth with your tongue. It is a worry that stays with her, that she is always aware of.
• The conjunction ‘But’ indicates change and the passing of time. She meditates on the inevitability of change and adaptation.
• Recalling seeing her brother ‘swallow a slug’ refers back to the boys eating worms in the second stanza and implies that he has fully assimilated into his new home, with the simple alliteration indicating that this was a straightforward process for him.
• The use of Scottish dialect in the phrase ‘a skelf of shame’ reveals that she still feels attached to her Scottish roots and is unwilling to fully relinquish the last traces of her Scottish identity.
• "I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake" - simile

  This image reveals she is adapting to her new environment. She is

  shedding her old life and dialect like a snake rejecting its old skin. She has metaphorically grown a new skin that better suits her new environment. She has lost her Scottish accent.
• "Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate." - questions

  The use of a question highlights a sense of uncertainty about her

  identity. Additionally, her ‘hesitation’ at the end of the poem suggests she still struggles to define where she comes from. Whilst she feels accepted in England she cannot shake her Scottish roots.