rose
bleemin
...quate pluff




rose
blooming
...silent explosion

deid i the girse
a bummer - its weengs
gildin ma fingers




dead in the grass
a bee - its wings
gilding my fingers

bleckie chirmin
throuch the treen
a burn




blackbird trilling
through the trees
a stream

oot frae the haar
a swan
furmin




out from the mist
a swan
forming


(Mainichi Daily News)

a singul cran
makkin a circus
o the mornin




a single swift
making a circus
of the morning

the yett's sheddae:
JYLE
scrievit i the sin's licht




the gate's shadow:
PRISON
written in the sun's light

whaur the watter
trysts wi the lift:
swans an cluds




where the river
meets the sky:
swans and clouds

swan keeks
abuin'r weeng
...fantoosh dauncer




swan peeps
above her wing
...exotic dancer

the bodach rists -
tentie o the funtain
heavin an fawin




the old man rests -
watches the fountain
rising and falling

i the smusht
yill bottle:
the drouthie's brucken neb




in the smashed
beer bottle:
the drunk's broken face

furst nasturtiums
keekin:
thair reid nebs




first nasturtiums
peeping:
their red faces

murners win awa -
beadles crack on fitbaw
duntin sheelfous o cley




mourners leave -
gravediggers talk football
thumping shovelfulls of clay

her furst
bakit breid -
swallin wi pride




her first
baked bread -
swelling with pride

pink balloons
yerkin tae be lowsit
...speengies




pink balloons
tugging to be free
...peonies

ablow me
swans pickin
it ma sheddae's pooches




below me
swans pecking
at my shadow's pockets

dementia -
he hunkers i the mids
o a skailt jeegsaw




dementia -
he sits in the midst
of a scattered jigsaw

anither haijin gane -
sauch leaves
dreepin




another haijin gone -
willow leaves
dripping

(for Paul O. Williams and James Kirkup)

cleedit fir tennis -
weet
stottin atween thaim




dressed for tennis -
rain
bouncing between them

throuch the gairden
on'r mobile phone -
a wab claps tae'r




through the garden
on her mobile phone -
a web clings to her

airlie Mass -
the kist o whustles
pechin




early Mass -
the organ
wheezing

atween the pages
a deid flee -
a sneckit buik




between the pages
a dead fly -
a closed book

crans
mair swith
this towmond




swifts
swifter
this year

on the clartie burn
swans
daizzlin




on the muddy stream
swans
dazzling

her pianny -
stour
on the keys




her piano -
dust
on the keys

cluds
creepin nar -
gey lik a weir




clouds
creeping closer -
just like a war

snail's
mindin i the nicht -
glaizie necklace




snail's
gift in the night -
glittering necklace

furst day o simmer -
yella gowan tassies
fou o sinlicht




first day of summer -
buttercup cups
full of sunlight

ikebana
on the altar
treenity o carnations




ikebana
on the altar
trinity of carnations

the wund
cleedin'm in clouts -
humphed hern




the wind
dressing him in rags -
hunched heron

in the green tae
her mongolian een -
the tassie's lip her smirk




in the green tea
her mongolian eyes -
the cup's rim her smile

throuch the weet:
maws skirlin
the ceetie fissin




through the rain:
gulls screaming
the city hissing

sin slumpin -
anither heid
amang the puppies




sun sinking -
another head
among the poppies

fundin a sinblink
the dug birls itsel
intae a drame




finding a sunbeam
the dog spins itself
into a dream

fireflaucht
jinkin doon the brae
fite gaits




lightning
zigzagging down the mountain
white goats

ablow the kirk winnock
the priest
stauns in a wattergaw




below the church window
the priest
stands in a rainbow

oot frae's mools
ugsome thrissels:
mools o the torterer




out from his grave
horrendous thistles:
grave of the torturer

sica fricht:
the cot-staun
a tattie-bogle in muinlicht




such a fright:
the coat-stand
a scarecrow in moonlight

in the nicht
a dug yowlin
a bleck dug




in the night
a dog barking
a black dog

burds wappin
the lift
blaer an blaer




birds sweeping
the sky
bluer and bluer

swans
puntin upstream -
easy-osie i thirsels




swans
punting upstream -
laid-back in themselves

on's shall
weet
snail streeks oot yin ee




on his shell
rain
snail stretches out one eye

sin throuch the weet -
a bittie wattergaw
steeks oot frae the bog




sun through the rain -
a piece of rainbow
sticks out from the bog

nicht weirs in -
craws retourin
tae the craw widdie




night approaches -
crows returning
to the crow wood

frae the lily's tooter:
gowden pollen
driftin




from the lily's trumpet:
golden pollen
drifting

the buss aqueever
wi gorblins:
a green wame-fou




the bush aquiver
with nestlings:
a green womb-full

doverin i the perk
a hameless chiel:
lyart wi thrisseldoon




asleep in the park
a homeless man:
grizzled with thistledown

slawer nor confetti:
gean flourish
faws aboot the cailleach




slower than confetti:
cherry blossom
falls about the old lady

roon
the seelent grun
the treen aye hoochin




round
the silent stadium
the trees still cheering

beerial mornin -
a snell wund's
tirlt the gean flourish




funeral morning -
a bitter wind's stripped
the cherry blossom

burds gaither -
the beadle
slawly mizzlin




birds gather -
the gravedigger
slowly disappearing

maw's sheddae
athort the burn
the fisher kets's heuk




gull's shadow
across the stream
the angler casts his hook

ootby ma winnock
in bawdrons' green een
sheddae o a nieve




outside my window
in cat's green eyes
shadow of a fist

immigration:
the bairn's derk fingers
kinchin's mither's herr




immigration:
the child's dark fingers
knotting his mother's hair

sweirt watter -
sauch's sheddae
thair an yit no thair




lazy river -
willow's shadow
there and yet not there

on the wey
tae the rugby:
rosettes o aipple flourish




on the way
to the rugby match:
rosettes of apple blossom

a tide o fitecaps -
on the girse
magnolia petals




an ocean of whitecaps -
on the grass
magnolia petals

Yirth Day -
amang the sterns
a gairden




Earth Day -
amongst the stars
a garden


(this appeared in a sequence on Gillena cox's
web page celebrating Earth Day)

fankilt bummer:
wund frae's weengs
shills ma fingers




trapped bumble-bee:
wind from its wings
chills my fingers

on waste grun
they argie -
thrissels' glaizie stugs




on waste ground
they argue -
thistles' glittering spikes

weet throuch
gean flourish:
neb-pentin the bodach




rain through
cherry blossom:
face-painting the old man

her laddie scauls'r:
her dementia
pouin oot the flooers




her son scolds her:
her dementia
pulling out the flowers

hait
hingin
i the gean flourish




heat
hanging
in the cherry blossom

i the sin, the jakie
muives's yill
intae's bouk's sheddae




in the sun, the wino
moves his beer
into his body's shadow

stane
drapt i the dub -
muin wammles awa




stone
dropped in the pool -
moon wriggles away

on a snell wund
gean flourish
lavein




on a cold wind
cherry blossom
leaving

pink freith
o gean flourish -
speuggies dookin




pink froth
of cherry blossom -
sparrows bathing

pish-the-beds -
a'ready jalousin
the ghaists ye'll turn tae




dandelions -
already imagining
the ghosts you'll become

fou muin -
her goonie
a silken haip on the flair




full moon -
her nightgown
a silken heap on the floor

her shock:
the faw'n neb
the feart gran-bairns




her stroke:
the fallen face
the frightened grandchildren

saw neb
heid in'ts weeng - fleein
in anither dramescape




gooseander
head in its wing - flying
in another dreamscape

muinlicht -
gean flourish
sens it back




moonlight -
cherry blossom
sends it back

furst deuklins -
bawdrons'
yalla een




first ducklings -
cat's
yellow eyes

gean flourish
flutherin doon:
haps the swan




cherry blossom
fluttering down:
covers the swan

tint whalp -
yowfin
frae the daffins




lost puppy -
barking
from the daffodils

wino -
sindoon
in's een




wino -
sundown
in his eyes

owerhingin forsythia:
the burn
hotterin yalla




overhanging forsythia:
the stream
bubbling yellow

agin the blae lift
gean flourish
cluds




against the blue sky
cherry blossom
clouds

airlie mornin maw -
a craikin door
apens intae voar




early morning gull -
a creaking door
opens into spring

the bodach sets doon -
doodles
wi the cluds




the old man sits down -
doodles
with the clouds

waukrife -
his pillae
fou o vices




sleepless -
his pillow
full of voices

a tirl -
daffins heeld
lips tae lugs




a gentle breeze -
daffodils lean
lips to ears

sea braise -
its dowie een
i the sinlicht




sea bream -
its sad eyes
in the sunlight

furst gean flourish:
a'ready
rowin awa




first cherry blossom:
already
rolling away

the cailleach
thraws up'r leerie -
magnolia flourish




the old lady
turns-up her lamp -
magnolia blossom

abuin the blues howff:
skimmerin skeengies
o lichtnin




above the blues club:
shimmering strings
of lightning

new tramwey -
in heich brainches
punlers yatterin




new tramway -
in high branches
lumberjacks chattering

i the perk:
a youthie collie
ettles tae haud the craws




in the park:
a young sheepdog
tries to round up the crows

merch wunds -
a bygaun clud
a muckle swan




march winds -
a passing cloud
a huge swan

immigrants
daffin at the baw -
lauchter amang the burdsang




immigrants
playing football -
laughter amongst the birdsong

frae ahint cluds
the sin -
a bob o daffins




from behind clouds
the sun -
a posy of daffodils

he shops -
she coories, tentie
o the derk craws gaitherin




he shops -
she sits, watching
the dark crows gathering

swan i this peerie dub:
preein the tide
i the weet




swan in this tiny pond:
tasting the ocean
in the rain

airlie mornin dauner -
the err guffin
o brent tost




early morning stroll -
the air smelling
of burnt toast

daffins:
voar
drames




daffodils:
spring
dreams

in a thrang causey:
the seelence
o leaves unfurlin




in a busy street:
the silence
of leaves unfurling

voar yirdin -
cannily intae the yirth
cannily hapt




spring funeral -
carefully into the earth
carefully covered

anither auld fere's
cremation -
feelin the hait




another old friend's
cremation -
feeling the heat

furst gean flourishins:
threy anely
tae kinnle the brainch




first cherry blossoms:
three only
to kindle the branch

licht throuch a hinmaist
vause o daffins
lichtens's oorie een




light through a last
vase of daffodils
brightens his fearful eyes

abuin the sheuch
navvies' heids -
bricht meysies




above the trench
labourers' heads -
bright primroses