i the muinlicht

a speengie rose

... pooder puff

in the moonlight

a peony rose

...powder puff

on a cairpet o claver

bummers

tummlin fou

on a carpet of clover

bees

tumbling drunk

cran 

hurlin

on's ain helter skelter

swift

riding

on his own shelter skelter

amang the scrogs

twa bonnie blae een  -

blawort

in the undergrowth

two beautiful blue eyes  -

cornflowers

the peerie snail

sclims the harlt was  -

maun be lik keelhaulin

the little snail

climbs the roughcast wall  

must be like keelhauling

thoumie  -

jinkin an joukin

unveesible blaws

wren  -

ducking and dodging

invisible blows

i the sin  -

chirries an holidaymakers 

reiddenin 

in the sun  -

cherries and holidaymakers

reddening

he dovers surroondit

bi hinniesickle

...douce dwams

he dozes surrounded

by honeysuckle

...sweet dreams

the hameless chiel bates craw

tae a treadit sweetie  -

he scarts an scarts

the homeless man beats crow

to a trodden chocolate  -

he scrapes and scrapes

ma Iranian freen

hunkerin i the sin

feels it hame

my Iranian friend

sitting in the sun

feels at home

bummer sweirt

puppies petals flutherin

...matador's capote

bee hovering

poppy's petals fluttering

...matador's capote

hern sinbathin  

weengs abreid

...watterside flasher

heron sunbathing  

wings widespread

...riverside flasher

suddent shour  -

oot frae the puppies heid

a hauf-droont bummer

sudden shower  -

out from the poppy's head

a half-drowned bee

 the burn gaein drouthie  -

deuks

hauf soomin hauf stravaigin

the stream drying up  -

ducks

half swimming half walking

i the doactor's gairden  -

an epidemic

o growthe

in the doctor's garden  -

an epidemic

of weeds

midnicht scavengers  -

streengs o spaghetti

i the muinlicht

midnight scavengers  -

strings of spaghetti

in the moonlight

i the x-ray dept.

a pentin:

The Wreck

in the x-ray department

a painting:

The Wreck

bawdrons dovers on ma lap  -

his dwams'r cleuks

apenin an cleekin

cat dozes on my lap  -

his dreams are claws

opening and closing

e'enin feedin tyme  -

crans

mak a ballet o't

evening feeding time  -

swifts

make a ballet of it

the maisic o Peru

skails intae the kirk   -

the priest's guitar practeese

the music of Peru

spills into the church  -

the priest's guitar practice

on the waashin-rope  -

speuggies an pegs 

in a raw

on the washing-line  -

sparrows and pegs 

in a row

throuch the toon's vennels

crans huntin

...glentin arraheids

through the town's alleyways

swifts hunting

...flashing arrowheads

a day o seekness  -

a bummer veesits

hunkers on ma knee

a day of sickness  -

a bee visits

sits on my knee

 blowster  -

fleein's a bogie

...doos wade throuch dubs

storm  -

flights cancelled

...pigeons wade through puddles

the priest hysts the host

glisks the licht

sheen throuch it

the priest elevates the host

sees the light

shine through it

wi the bodach's arthritis

the crans'r

a pyne i the craig

with the old man's arthritis

the swifts are

a pain in the neck

bath-time fir the

peerie sodger  -

fiss o a bath - bomb

bath-time for the

lttle soldier  -

fizz of a bath-bomb

yalla gowans glowe  -

as yince unner bairnlie chafts

aw buttery

buttercups glow  -

as once under childish chins

all buttery

hameless  -

a doo howks's

tuim bunnet

homeless  -

a pigeon investigates

 his empty bonnet

he's here agane

the nebbie robin  

...bit guid company

he's here again

the nosy robin  

...but good company

the day a robin

hunkers on the Buddha's heid  -

baith hunker in mines

today a robin

sits on the Buddha's head  -

both sit in mine

unner the roseir

an egg  -

Pace relict   (hard-bylt)

under the rosebush

an egg  -

Easter relic (hard-boiled)

Mey Day's

maist sonsie paraud  -

echt deuklins in a raw

May Day's

most impressive parade  -

eight ducklings in a row

guid wirds fir the warl  -

licht glents frae'r rosary

...peerie galaxy

prayers for the world  -

light glints from her rosary

...tiny galaxy

a bleckie chirms

the auld gairdner ower

...clud hapt sin

a blackbird sings

the old gardener asleep

...cloud covered sun

anither haijin

gane, gane

tae an airt o nae saisons

another haijin

gone, gone

to a place of no seasons

yince a seed he plantit  -

nou a sned brainch

steidyin the auld gairdner

once a seed he planted  -

now a cut branch

steadying the old gardener

 the autistic laddie

loos his kite  -

feels its yerk tae be awa

the autistic boy

loves his kite  -

feels its tug to be away

maggie keeks oot

frae the gean flourish's

bibble bath

magpie peeps out

from the cherry blossom's

bubble bath

thrum a pickle blues  -

whiles the robot

maws the green

strum a little blues  -

whilst the robot

mows the lawn  

hearkenin tae operae  -

ootby

derk cluds rowein in

listening to opera  -

outside

dark clouds rolling in

naethin

i the moch trap

bit muinlicht

nothing

in the moth trap

but moonlight

he pents's palin  -

sin throuch the slats cleids'm

...jyleburd

he paints his fence  -

sun through the slats dresses him

...jailbird

a new mornin  -

speuggies' chirmins

droon - oot the warl-web's mirk

a new morning  -

sparrows' chirpings

drown-out the world-web's gloom

bombed schuil  -

refleckit i the bluid

a warl sypein awa

bombed school  -

reflected in the blood

a world seeping away

feenished quarryin the wurds

the cairn biggit

...rist in'ts shade

finished quarrying the words

the megalith built

...rest in its shade

( for Gabriel Rosenstock)

in a derk neuk

o plaguit yirth

a singul daffin glowes

in a dark corner

of plagued earth

a single daffodil glows

i the camellia buss

Reid Rab's nestin

...buds reiddenin

in the camellia bush

the robin is nesting

...buds reddening

 i the gairden

a burd chirms its hert oot

an conduks wi's tail

in the garden

a bird sings its heart out

and conducts with its tail

nicht's weet aye hings

on nakit brainches  -

sin sheens throuch a glessy tree

night's rain still hangs

on naked branches  -

sun shines through a glassy tree

hern hunkers lik a bodach  -

a plowp!

an he's youthie agane

heron sits like an old man  -

a plop!

and he's young again

daffins

the furst year set aff lang syne

...thair sheenin nebs

daffodils

the first year planted long ago

,,,their shining faces

hern an me  -

craigs beeried, humphy-backit

i the snell wund

heron and I  -

necks buried, humpbacked

in the cold wind

rowein thunner

an streengs o weet

...a caumin sitar

rolling thunder

and strings of rain

...a calming  sitar

throuch Mass

a  trappit bummer drones

...dree

through Mass

a trapped bee drones

...panic

causey thiggers  -

abuin thair heids

burds trauchle nest biggin

street beggars  -

above their heads

birds labour nest building

freenly neebour  -

her daffins

heald intae ma gairden

friendly neighbour  -

her daffodils

lean into my garden

on the  peth a riven weeng  -

bluid on the pen  

fir an ugsome sonnet

on the path a torn-out wing  -

blood on the quill  

for a gory story

voar  -  the burn's tuin

hus the bodach jiggin

...in's heid!

spring  -  the stream's tune

has the old man dancing

...in his head!

waashin day  -

i the winnock

cumuli an freith

washing day  -

in the window

cumuli and suds

bowsterous wund  

treen threshin  -

skeery i the craw's nest

fierce wind

trees thrashing  -

scary in the crow's nest

scutchin the hedge

he reflecks

on the lenth o's baird

trimming the hedge

he reflects

on the length of his beard

the gairden's furst bummer  -

its slaw daunce

the gawpin flooer

the garden's first bee   -

its slow dance

the gaping flower

maggie tummles

doon throuch nakit brainches  -

ma penny arcade

magpie tumbles

down through naked branches  -

my penny arcade

the thowin burn  -

the lipper o voar

a' whaur

the thawing stream  -

the ripple of spring

everywhere

fir aw oor weirs

thae buds haud forrit

frae an airt whaur life's unsteert

for all our wars

these buds spring forth

from a place where life is untouched

 voar's caller souch  -

lowsenin the eeshogels

lowsenin the banes

springs fresh breeze  -

loosening the icicles

loosening the boness

daffins  -

thair seelent skirl

o joy

daffodils  -

their silent scream

of joy

kneelin it the altar rail

...gorblins

streenin tae be meetit

kneeling at the altar rail

...nestlings

straining to be fed

 the windae cleaner's

left wattergaws hingin

awwhaur

the window cleaner

has left rainbows hanging

everywhere

sumhin sheens 

unner the ice  -

craw's pickaix neb navvyin

something shines

under the ice  -

crow's pickaxe beak navvying

 It the schuil yetts

the bodach draps a tear

fir the days o mak-on

at the school gates

the old man sheds a tear

for the days of make-believe

coorse wedder  -

days o lowpin lowes

an lood snocherin

rough weather  -

days of leaping flames

and loud snoring

i the gairden's derk neuk

licht gaithers

...snawdraps

in the garden's dark corner

light gathers

...snowdrops

aw edges

an splairges o pent  -

efter the clippin

all edges

and splashes of paint  -

after the shearing

the auld pub

dung doun  -

they staun thair, mous fou o stoor

the old pub

demolished  -

they stand there, mouths full of dust

wund throuch the gairden  -

 coo-bells a wund-chimes...

a  kin o jazz

wind through the garden  -

cow-bells and wind-chimes...

a kind of jazz

snaw muin

spreidin

on the braes

snow moon

spreading

on the hills

 record shop shewn-up

...anely a bleckie

chirmin on a nearhaun tree

record shop shut-down

...only a blackbird

singing on a nearby tree

dug an me

tak wi  ilk ither

...his slavery tung

dog and I

greet each other

...his slobbery tongue

wund throuch the shaw

booin, thrawin

...bonsai maister

wind through the grove

bending, twisting

...bonsai master

efter the drouth  -

the gairden

sterts tae queever

after the drought  -

the garden

starts to quiver

plooin  -

hou the yirth hoves an spreids

rank fir the seed

plowing  -

how the earth rises and spreads

ready for the seed

she hings ower the watter

learnin the bairn

hou tae bliss himsel

she hovers over the water

teaching the child

how to bless himself

haggin treen  -

Reid Rab hunkers takkin tent

...woundit

felling trees  -

a robin sits watching

,,,wounded

blue  bonnet  -

in an oot in an oot

...hamemaker

blue tit  -

in and out in and out

...homemaker

pop concert  -

on the wey

the rodden tree's  bricht beads

pop concert  -

on the way

the rowan tree's bright beads

atween snawy braes

the inky burn scrieves itsel

intae a haiku

between snowy banks

the inky stream writes itself

into a haiku

drones owerheid  -

a snawman stauns

forrittsome!

drones overhead  -

a snowman stands

defiant!

Yule gee-gaws

stowed awa  -

'Jingle bells' frae the aumrie

Christmas decorations

packed away  -

'Jingle bells' from the cupboard

a dander

throuch the derk wuids  -

mappie's bunt lichts the wey

a walk 

through the dark woods  -

rabbit's tail lights the way

the postie's crecklin fuitsteps  -

a caird

postit in simmer hait

the postman's crackling footsteps  -

a card

posted in summer heat