life's roond  -
a faither's day cart
frae a faither




life's cycle  -
a father's day card
from a father

rin-ower pheasie
...tasht
wattergaw




run-over pheasant
...crushed
rainbow

Zen maister

sic pace an caum

...years owerseein the swans

Zen master

such peace and tranquillity

...years tending the swans

mavis's egg  -
craw
dookin intae the reid-baw




thrush's egg  -
crow
dipping into the yolk

simmer hings
in a hinmaist berry
...sweirt tae plook it




summer hangs
in a last berry
...loath to pluck it

efter the bombin
the wae soond
o a moothie




after the bombing
the sad sound
of a harmonica

nursery's
watterside kettle
...gaislins stoorin, duntin




nursery's
riverside picnic
...goslings running, bumping

granfaither admires'r
nursery pentin
...she birls it richt wey up




grandfather admires
her nursery painting
...she turns it right way up

aw the wye tae the kirk
a butterie
jiggin




all the way to church
a butterfly
dancing

gym cless  -
athort the perk
cairtwheels rowin




gym class  -
across the park
cartwheels rolling

abuin the burn
crans'n midgies
in a deidly daunce




above the stream
swifts and mosquitos
in a deadly dance

ootby the zendo
on fluffert watter
the caum souch o swans




outside the zendo
on ruffled water
the peace of swans

incaains fir a caum souch  -
sheddae o a maw
muives athort us




prayers for peace  -
shadow of a gull
moves across us

efter'r bath
stick-chiels
gove throuch the winnock




after her bath
stick-men
gaze through the window

maggie haein dafferie
surfin
gowsts o wund




magpie having fun
surfing
gusts of wind

ootby the zendo
a bummer
thrang i the rose's heid




outside the zendo
a bee
busy in the rose's head

sneddin fruit busses  -
news wins in
o a cancer growein




pruning fruit bushes  -
news arrives
of a cancer growing

bleckies stushie -
yalla nebs
blent i the sin




blackbirds squabble  -
yellow beaks
flash In the sun

lowsin the bummer  -
feelin  the draucht
o's scowth




freeing the bee  -
feeling the draught
of his freedom

hauf-wye up the tree
bawdrons jalouses
he's ower auld




half-way up the tree
cat realises
he's too old

deid doo:
i the hert's howe
derk bluid reflectin a warl




dead pigeon:
in the heart's cavity
dark blood reflecting a world

a bairn's teeth merks
i the fause fruit
...firbidden fruit




a child's teeth marks
in the ornamental fruit
...forbidden fruit

bangster maggie  -
jealous
o bleckie's sang




bully magpie  -
jealous
of blackbird's song

the baw liggs atween thaim
dug'n maister  -
auld'n jaupit




the ball lies between them
dog and master  -
old and weary

steekin
the gairden yett a
hinmaist bummer wins awa




closing
the garden gate
a last bee leaves

Pace  -
bairns rowe thair eggs
threy craws hing on pikit weer




Easter  -
children roll their eggs
three crows hang on barbed wire

deef he taks tent
o the bleckie's neb
...furm o the sang i the braith




deaf he watches
the blackbird's beak
...shape of the song in the breath

voar's taen
buds swall  -  derk neuks
lit up in daffin licht



spring's taken
buds swell  -  dark corners
lit up in daffodil light

cloody day  -
bawdrons
staps on sinlicht




cloudy day  -
cat
steps on sunlight

attercap an me
stookie-still
...snaggit in a wab o wunnerment




spider and I
stock-still
...caught in a web of wonderment

souch  -
tulip petals faw
...peerie boaties shooglin




breeze  -
tulip petals fall
...little boats rocking

wunter fooneral  -
we stoor intae
the crematorium




winter funeral  -
we rush into
the crematorium

mither's day  -
hauflins reid-nebbed
ahint bobs o flooers




mother's day  -
young men blushing
behind bunches of flowers

hame frae weir  -
yin fuitprent
i the snaw




home from war  -
one footprint
in the snow

in granfaither's gairden
a snawman fir'm
...slawly mizzlin




in grandfather's garden
a snowman for him
...slowly disappearing

maitin granfaither  -
the wye
he yince maitit me




feeding grandfather  -
the way
he once fed me

fiteoot  -
intae the tuim flooer pats
snaw/draps




whiteout  -
into the empty flower pots
snow/drops

leukin oot
on the snawy gairden  -
hou it mocks ma scriever's jam




looking out
on the snowy garden  -
how it mocks my writer's block

caum
efter the onding  -
the gairden: muin's keekin-gless




calm
after the blizzard  -
the garden: moon's mirror

liggin i the fedder-linit
kist o'ts sel:
dung doon swan




lying in the feather-lined
coffin of itself:
shot swan

on the shunkie ruif
bawdrons an doo
easy-oasy i the sin




on the outhouse roof
cat and pigeon
lazy in the sun

throuch the tempel winnock
bairnheid lauchter  -
nae mantra mair muckle




through the temple window
childhood laughter  -
no greater mantra

snell wund  -
furst crocuses
comin ower blae




cold wind  -
first crocuses
turning blue

agane
the mornin bleckie  -
the muin taks a hinmaist peep




again
the morning blackbird  -
the moon takes a last peek

the bodach
maits the maws  -
craws glower...set apairt




the old man
feeds the gulls  -
crows watch...segregated

ahint the boatie
sheddae o a swallae
...cleekit




behind the boat
shadow of a swallow
...anchored

bard
on the heichest brainch:
bleckie  -  his ode tae voar




minstrel
on the highest branch:
blackbird  -  his ode to spring

sae cauld  -
e'en inby
daffins skew tae the ingle




so cold  -
even inside
daffodils turn to the fire

caller snaw  -
a rottan rins ower't
...sica grue




fresh snow  -
a rat runs over it
...such a shiver

a clud's
pit its derk fuit
i the burn




a cloud's
put its dark foot
in the stream

heizin
frae a snawy park:
a yowdendrift o maws




rising
from a snowy field:
a blizzard of gulls

voar  -
the luve bomb
redd




spring  -
the love bomb
primed

gloamin  -
i the lift the kinetic
airt o stuckies




sunset  -
in the sky the kinetic
art of starlings

dowie  -
the craw faimily
ettlin tae croon




sad  -
the crow family
trying to sing

day efter the yirdin  -
burds roon
the tuim brod




day after the funeral  -
birds round
the empty feeder

day o'r yirdin
snaw on the brainches
...syne gane




day of her funeral
snow on the branches
...then gone

myndin bygane Yules
she shoogles
the snaw globe...agane




remembering
Christmasses past she
shakes the snow globe...again

heelster-gowdie  -
efter the blowster
a tree staunin  on'ts brainches




topsy-turvy  -
after the storm
a tree standing on its branches

Yule  -
sae monie bubbly-jocks
fellt




Christmas  -
so many turkeys
slaughtered

lichtin caunles  -
she cannae mynd
whae fir




lighting candles  -
she can't remember
who for

swan paunders by...
no tae faise
hern's meditation




swan drifts by...
not to disturb
heron's meditation

Yule  -
on the fir tree blinterin
blue-bunnets




Christmas  -
on the fir tree
flickering blue-tits

Reid Rab
poses on a sprot
...i the winnock, a selfie




the robin
poses on a twig
...in the window, a selfie

tentie o the swans  -
hern
pouin hissel thegither




watching the swans  -
heron
pulling himself together

the caunle
an the fluit
...dervish lowe




the candle
and the flute
...dervish flame

hameless  -
the muin an sterns
his Yule whigmaleeries




homeless  -
the moon and stars
his Christmas baubles

amang stooriein feet
willie-wagtail
...peerie harlequin




amongst rushing feet
wagtail
...little harlequin

yondermaist
the peeriest swans
...flauchts o snaw




in the distance
the tiniest swans
...flakes of snow

burnie-becker  -
in'n oot in'n oot
steekin's wye upstream





dipper  -
in and out in and out
stitching his way upstream

abuin the lums
muin heizes forfochen lik
...anither nicht-yokin




above the chimneys
moon rises wearily
...another night-shift

dayset  -
pink maws
scud an dook




sunset  -
pink gulls
glide and swoop

a bing o leaves  -
licht sheens
frae the monie cheeks




a pile of leaves  -
light shines
from the many facets

in the perk
mynd fou o thochts
a peerie bleck dug rins throuch




in the park
mind full of thoughts
a little black dog runs through

died doo  -
fedders drift
amang the faw'n leaves




dead pigeon  -
feathers drift
among the fallen leaves

hunkert
bi'r carebed
hairst dowes intae wunter




sitting
by her sick bed
autumn slides into winter

fite freest  -
anither year
aulder




white frost  -
another year
older

an on-ding  -
on the plainstanes
an umberellae stramash




heavy rain  -
on the pavement
umbrella collisions

hunkerin
in a sinblink
...space trevellers




sitting
in a sunbeam
...space travellers

maws soom
wi the swans
...an drame




gulls swim
with the swans
...and dream

leaves
croodilt in a neuk  -
soond o thayr chitterin




leaves
huddled in a corner  -
sound of their shivering

craw's tentie
o swan preenin
...sterts preenin




crow watches
swan preening
...starts preening

on the new palin
a furst fetter-lock  -
an F an L snibbit in luve




on the new fence
a first padlock  -
an F and L locked in love

inby the tree's skellet
a stoundin heart  -
speuggie




inside the tree's skeleton
a beating heart  -
sparrow

swans  -
pace an brawness
wrocht frae fedders




swans  -
peace and elegance
made from feathers

swans  -
he fuspers in'r lug
she hysts'r fan




swans  -
he whispers in her ear
she raises her fan

her furst
schuil photy  -
the amissin tuith




her first
school photo  -
the missing tooth

dawin  -
fusher an wabster
seein tae thayr nets




dawn  -
fisherman and spider
checking their nets

swans
sic mense  -  she on pynts,
he arabesque




swans
such elegance  -  she on points,
he arabesque

waasht ashore
a pumpkin heid
...its daithless smirk




washed ashore
a pumpkin head
...its deathless smile

fou muin
stottin
amang the hystin glesses




full moon
bouncing
amongst the raised glasses

hairst wunds  -
the maple stauns
in reid duds




autumn winds  -
the maple stands
in red rags

faw'n leaves  -
hou they lou
tae jouk his besom




fallen leaves  -
how they love
to dodge his broom

wi's guidwilly
umberellae
snail taks tae the rod




with his generous
umbrella
snail walks out

it the kist o whistles  -
he hauns hing
tae re- assemmle the quait




the organist  -
her hands poised
to re-arrange the silence

craws
sin on thayr backs:
a threitenin skimmer




crows
sun on their backs:
a menancing glitter

furst licht
tuscan haar heizes
...the meestery souchs oot




first light
tuscan mist rises
...the mystery exhales

hairst souch
strippin
the sauch




autumn breeze
stripping
the willow

(strip the willow: a lively Scottish dance)

throuch the jyle palin  -
brummles
foostin awa



through the prison fence  -
brambles
rotting away

hairst muin  -
fouin
bawdrons' saucer




harvest moon  -
filling
cat's saucer

the Angelus bell  -
the fairmer
healds on's howe




the Angelus bell  -
the farmer
leans on his hoe