Buddha's gairden  -
fasht thochts caulmed
...koi




Buddha's garden  -
troubled thoughts calmed
...koi

frae stug
tae stug
the sin wins in tae the wuid




from stump
to stump
the sun enters the forest

throuch sweyin treen
spires o the college
...unyeldin




throu swaying trees
spires of the college
...unyielding

muinlicht
on the birkenshaw
...ghaistly gavotte




moonlight
on the birchwood
...ghostly gavotte

furst day o voar  -
lowsin the dug
he flinders ilka dub




first day of spring  -
freeing the dog
he splinters every puddle

voar bulbs
lichtin up
the gairden




spring bulbs
lighting up
the garden

eemigrant
phone haurd tae's lug
...tozie soonds o hame




immigrant
phone hard to his ear
...warm sounds of home

Valentine tryst   -
her smirk
...voar winin in




Valentine date   -
her smile
...spring approaching


(for Ann)

on the braetap
a deid stag
...brainches i the muinlicht




on the hilltop
a dead stag
...branches in the moonlight

saisons
waldit thegither
...geelt leaves




seasons
welded together
...frozen leaves

raxin frae
the biggin sicht's glaur:
daffins




struggling from
the building site's mud:
daffodils

amang the incaain flags
rab's
reid yin




among the prayer flags
the robin's
red one

snawdraps  -
blate
as ivver




snowdrops  -
shy
as ever

the burn wins tae me
an wins awa frae me:
it's tuim stance




the stream arrives at me
and leaves from me:
its empty terminus

nichtfaw  -
mang gothic brainches
craws drame




nightfall  -
among gothic branches
crows dream

twa deid craws  -
the hystit bicker
o thayr tuim nest




two dead crows  -
the raised chalice
of their empty nest

Auschwitz  -
they skift'n daunced
aw the wye here:
twa peerie reid shuin




Auschwitz  -
they skipped and danced
all the way here:
two tiny red shoes

(holocaust day)

prood in's new
shuitin trews  -
cleidit tae kill




proud in his new
shooting trousers  -
dressed to kill

faimily tae bide  -
the hoose
fou o peerie claes




family to stay  -
the house
full of tiny clothes

wunter sin  -
craw's skyrie
fedders




winter sun  -
crow's glittering
feathers

fuffs o freesty braith  -
the auld engine driver's
sonnets o stame




puffs of frosty breath  -
the old train driver's
tales of steam

ne'er day  -
a souch geegles
amang the 'deid men'




new year's day  -
a breeze giggles
amongst the empties

throuch the schuil palin
peerie sheenin nebs:
forsythia




through the school fence
tiny shining faces:
forsythia

daffins
upwreilin  -
voar on the mairch




daffodils
uprising  -
spring on the march

brakfast
knock knappin
...egg'n spuin race




breakfast
clock ticking
...egg and spoon race

fou muin
amang
the threwen snawbaws




full moon
amongst
the thrown snowballs

peerie fuffbaw
hert on'ts sleeve
...Reid Rab



liittle puffball
heart on its sleeve
...robin

alane
on a stane
hern ootgawks a broon coo




alone
on a stone
heron outstares a brown cow

myndin slides
 we wrocht wi tackety-buits
...schuil's juist no the samen




remembering slides
we made with tacketed boots
...school's just not the same

hogmanay  -
twa hameless daunce:
sowls in haun-me-doon boadies




new year's eve  -
two homeless dance:
souls in hand-me-down bodies

mornin speuggie
fouin
ma quate




morning sparrow
filling
my silence

ne'er's day  -
craw oor furst-fuit
...derk ootrel




new year's day  -
crow our first-foot
...dark stranger

muckle migration  -
it the sneckit mairches
thay're tentie o the geese




great migration  -
at the closed borders
they watch the geese

ceilidh  -
on siller streengs
attercap polkas




barn dance  -
on silver strings
spider polkas

hairst leaves:
wunter midden bree  -
ruits bidin thair retour




autumn leaves:
winter mulch  -
roots await their return

fou muin  -
yirth
claucht in'ts heidlichts




full moon  -
earth
caught in its headlights

(Mainichi daily news)

waukrife
...ettlin tae pit ower
her drame leid




sleepless
...trying to translate
her dream language

efter the blowster
the sea souchin
it ma feet




after the storm
the sea sighing
at my feet

crescent muin  -
bygane cluds
garrin it smirk




crescent moon  -
passing clouds
making it smile

Yule e'en  -
a hameless an's dug
wairmer ilk ither




Christmas eve  -
a homeless and his dog
warming each other

she dovers
unner a crescent muin  -
Yule roon the cunyie




she sleeps
under a crescent moon  -
Christmas round the corner

kinetic airt...
fleggin
the burds




kinetic art...
frightening
the birds

Aleppo
whaur'r yer flooers
...bobs fir the deid




Aleppo
where are your flowers
...bunches for the dead

maws skirl
ower brock  -
reid rab hunkers in's brawness




gulls shriek
over scraps  -
a robin sits in his elegance

Yule lichts
turnt on  -
here, rodden berries hing




Christmas lights
switched on  -
here, rowan berries hang

craws
an a reuk  -
sican ill-colourt day




crows
and a rook  -
such a colourless day

arthritis  -
she sneds the tae-nails
he cannae rax tae




arthritis  -
she cuts the toe-nails
he can't reach

geese win awa  -
deuks soom
makkin thair ain v's




geese leave  -
ducks swim
creating their own v's

dawin
reid rab
...peerie sperk




dawn
a robin
...little spark

Yule caird
frae the Haly Lan  -
thay hae colourt the snaw reid




Christmas card
from the Holy Land  -
they've coloured the snow red

danderin awa
frae yit anither
crematorium




walking away
from yet another
crematorium

quattin the kirk  -
a sea
o fite heids




leaving church  -
a sea
of white heads

snaggit
on the pikit weir
woo'n wund




snagged
on the barbed-wire
wool and wind

wran keeks oot
frae the rowan berries
...her dreidlock beads




wren peeps out
from the rowan berries
...her dreadlock beads

i the burn's derk
keekin-gless
derker sheddaes




in the stream's
dark mirror
darker shadows

sin
ahint the birk
...bonnie brooch




sun
behind the birch
...beautiful brooch

guitar
fleetin on the burn
watter maisic




guitar
floating on the stream
water music

anither burthday  -
granbairn
blaws oot the caunles fir me




another birthday  -
grandchild
blows out the candles for me

fush mercat argie-bargie  -
maw juist gants
it it aw




fish market haggling  -
gull just yawns
at it all

granfaither's hoose  -
teirin wa'paper
findin an antrin leid




grandfather's house  -
stripping wallpaper
finding a strange language

freesty mornin  -
skwurrel
blaws on's fingers




frosty morning  -
squirrel
blows on his fingers

souch throuch
the abbey ruinage
...chauntin




breeze through
the abbey ruins
...chanting

auld bull meditatin  -
sin
on's pisle




old bull meditating  -
sun
on his lingam

armistice day  -
leaves fawin
i thair millions




armistice day  -
leaves falling
in their millions

fift o november  -
ghastie nebs fleet
abuin the sperklers




fIfth of november  -
spooky faces float
above the sparklers

a deid bawdrons

amang the leaves

...curlt up

a dead cat

among the leaves

...curled up

muinlicht
flegs me
wi ma sheddae




moonlight
frightens me
with my shadow

hameless
rawin fir farin
...a craw Jynes thaim




homeless
queuing for food
...a crow joins them

hallae e'en  -
rackets smuir oot
the sterns




halloween  -
fireworks blot out
the stars

i the burn
the monie-colourt clints
o hairst




in the stream
the multicoloured rocks
of autumn

on the boolin green
craws'r stoorin efter
a maw




on the bowling green
crows are chasing
a gull

hairst  -
leaves
coalie-back on the wund




autumn  -
leaves
piggy-back on the wind

on a cloody day
yin straik o blae
...kingfisher




on a cloudy day
one streak of blue
...kingfisher

weet thrabs
on the chackert plainstanes
...faw'n leaves




rain beats
on the chequered pavement
...fallen leaves

on the weet causey  -
a wirm
streekin randy lik




on the wet street  -
a worm
stretching sexily

bomb site
...aye
the croonin flees




bomb site
...always
the singing flies

Aleppo clappit  -
ma neebour
girns ower a bummer steeng




Aleppo flattened  -
my neighbour whines
over a bee sting

hallae e'en  -
pumpkin bree the day
pumpkin bree the morn




halloween  -
pumpkin soup today
pumpkin soup tomorrow

weet  -
bummer howffin i
the fuchsia's bouet




rain  -
bee sheltering in
the fuchsia's lantern

babbie's furst staps  -
skwurrel's tentie
bobbin on a bled-bridth




baby's first steps  -
squirrel watches
rocking on a knife-edge

muin
i the winnock
...baith o's dwynin




moon
in the window
...both of us waning

weemen-fowk skirlin  -
bawdrons amangst thair legs
...silky fur




ladies squealing  -
cat amongst their legs
...silky fur

bawdrons
an the abbot
...juist fund ilk ither yin day




cat
and the abbot
...just found each other one day

hairst dander  -
the creck
o faw'n conkers




autumn stroll  -
the crack
of fallen chestnuts

ceetie o stane  -
its dorbies gane langsyne
...gane frae stoor tae stoor




city of stone  -
its masons gone long since
...gone from dust to dust

altar laddie  -
neist tae the caunle
his fissog blinters




altar boy  -
next to the candle
his face flickers

hairst  -
the maukie
juist gies up




autumn  -
the bluebottle
just gives up

a furst reid rab
touselt  -
as efter a lang sloum




a first robin
dishevelled  -
as after a long sleep

she raxes
fir an aipple
...the yin narest the muin




she reaches
for an apple
...the one nearest the moon

muin leukin
... sookin
a pandrap




moon gazing
...sucking
a pandrop

Indian simmer  -
bummers hae sookit
ma pen dry




Indian summer  -
bees have sucked
my pen dry

hunkerin
aneath the buddleia
...pairt o the dirrin queir




sitting
beneath the buddleia
...part of the humming choir

,...wi een
as tho aboot tae greit:
dormoose




...with eyes
as though about to cry:
dormouse

cluds jeegsawin
roon the muin
...kelterin wi a koan




clouds jigsawing
round the moon
...struggling with a koan

a lane tree
i the backlands
...burds chirmin juist as doucely




a lone tree
in the ghetto
...birds singing just as sweetly

sweet peas
sclimin
the jyle palin




sweet peas
climbing
the prison fence

i the doctor's surgery
a paulm tree
...deein




in the doctor's surgery
a palm tree
...dying

creepin eevy
whalms the gairden
...its begowkin flooer




morning glory
engulfs the garden
...its beguiling flower

rottan saunts
throuch a bore i the palin
...it's tail taks langer




rat disappears
through a hole in the fence
...it's tail takes longer

fou o life  -
thrissildoon
on the souch




full of life  -
thistledown
on the breeze