TROKE DAY -
an airlie bang up
fir the hameless chiel




SALES DAY -
an early rise
for the homeless man

burn in spate -
deuks jookin
aneath the brig




flooded stream -
ducks ducking
beneath the bridge

yule carols
droont oot:
ferris wheelers' skirls




Christmas carols
drowned out:
ferris wheelers' screams

Yule EEN -
the hostel
fou o yin-time santas




Christmas Eve -
the hostel
full of one-time santas

fou muin -
skeetchers sloom
in tranquility




full moon -
skaters glide
in tranquility

nippie hailstanes -
the guitarist's
blae fingers




stinging hailstones -
the guitarist's
blue fingers

the bodach pensefu -
leaves rowe
throuch the years




the old man musing -
leaves roll
through the years

maws fecht ower the bucket
...hameless
he squerrs's shouthers




gulls fight over the dustbin
...homeless
he squares his shoulders

derk roarie day -
no a mensefu burd
tae be gliskit




dark roaring day -
not a sensible bird
to be seen

roon the wa's
faimlie photies
takkin tent o's deein




round the walls
family photographs
watching him die

faither's tree -
speirin oot ma life
alang'ts brainches




father's tree -
tracing my life
along its branches

scuil bairns
settin aff bulbs
...voartime nebs




school children
planting bulbs
...springtime faces

keek o day -
reid rab dookin
watter slawly reiddenin




sunrise -
a robin bathing
water slowly reddening

oot frae the baurber
wund roon ma lugs
...throuch scabbit brainches




out from the barber
wind round my ears
...through bare branches

geese
winnin awa
...a dowie owercum




geese
leaving
...a sad refrain

hielant kye -
weet dreeps frae the taps
o thair horns




highland cattle -
rain drips from the tips
of their horns

cauld mornin -
the eesock
maks me caulder




cold morning -
the dipper
makes me colder

forleetit ferm -
ploo,hey-sned,fa'n aipples
roostin




abandoned farm -
plough,scythe,fallen apples
rusting

the fiddlie's
shot fingers -
jeegs slawed tae waltzes




the fiddler's
arthritic fingers -
jigs slowed to waltzes

hielant veesit -
traikit a'ready
o wattergaws




highland visit -
weary already
of rainbows

rememberance preachin -
oot frae the lown
a bairn's greet




rememberance service -
out from the silence
a baby's cry

druckenly hingin
freest gnappit
begonias




drunkenly draped
frost bitten
begonias

wund
throuch muinlit treen
...wutches it the door




wind
through moonlit trees
...witches at the door

reeze fous the cloister -
droosy-heidit doos
gove doon




praise fills the cloister -
sleepy-headed doves
gaze down

bairn doverin
in a sinblink:
hapt in licht years




baby asleep
in a sunbeam:
wrapped in light years

bidein chaumer -
fush tank's
watter-colours




waiting room -
aquarium's
water-colours

breist clinic -
day muin's
jaggit lip




breast clinic -
day moon's
jagged edge

fou muin -
athort the winnock
peerie haunprents




full moon -
across the window
tiny handprints

chessie leaves
liggin
...renouncit




chestnut leaves
lying
...surrendered

sterns
cuilin aff
i the het bowie




stars
cooling off
in the hot tub

bygaun butterie...
juist hearkent
tae some jazz




passing butterfly...
just heard
some jazz

she wins awa...
brakkin the threids
o a wab




she leaves...
breaking the threads
of a web

butterie, leaf,
the bodach wunners
this hairst day




butterfly, leaf,
the old man wonders
this autumn day

sweit dreeps:
the priest weeds's gairden
...hearkens tae confession




sweat drips:
the priest weeds his garden
...hears confession

in cloister sheddaes
bawdrons
pensefu




in cloister shadows
cat
contemplates

hairst -
the halie yin's
orange plad




autumn -
the holy one's
orange robe

throuch ma gairden
heiven's watter
...throuch me




through my garden
heaven's river
...through me

hairst leaves -
dowless reek
upwreilin




autumn leaves -
lazy smoke
rising

wab
fingerprentin
the haar




web
fingerprinting
the mist

hern
fest wi the jazz
o the burn




heron
engrossed in the jazz
of the stream

she steeks a gornal
ontae ma sark
...hyne awa muin




she sews a button
onto my shirt
...distant moon

aipples
aye on the tree -
a bairn's teethmerks




apples
still on the tree -
a child's toothmarks

fou muin -
on the cunyie
a hooer's paewae neb




full moon -
on the corner
a prostitute's pale face

hairst -
ower faw'n fegs
bawdrons an wesp scoorin




autumn -
over fallen figs
cat and wasp sparring

gran-bairn's veesit -
the morn
a 'super-glue' day




grandchild's visit -
tomorrow
a 'super-glue' day

thair shanks
a dour ABC -
deid jenny-nettles




their legs
a grim alphabet -
dead crane flies

hairst -
throuch the wuids
a gowden burn




autumn -
through the woods
a golden stream


(Mainichi Daily News)

the makar's but-an-ben:
nae Telly
juist a clog ingle




the poet's cottage:
no T.V.
just a log fire

donegal mornin
yin lum
reekless




donegal morning -
one chimney
smokeless


(for Seamus Heaney)

the stag
gralloched -
its croun o jaggies




the stag
hung to bleed -
its crown of thorns

shakit
i the wund's teeth:
butteries




shaken
in the wind's teeth:
butterflies

plooms faw
ligg
...peerie purpie hurdies




plums fall
lie
...little purple buttocks

furst burthday -
balloons,gulshichs,
an time's smirkin mou




first birthday -
balloons,cakes,
and time's grinning maw

buddleia
simmer howf
o drucken bees




buddleia
summer tavern
of drunken bees

maws
an kitties
the fushin fleet




gulls
and kittiwakes
the fishing fleet

swaws rattlin -
spairge
o tasht watergaws




waves crashing -
spray
of broken rainbows

pea pouin -
faither's skep fou
o apened huils




pea picking -
dad's basket full
of opened pods

quat
i the yalla gowans
an eenin's lowe




left
in the buttercups
an evening's glow

coortin kipple...
the muin's
a keeker




young lovers...
the moon's
a peeping tom

simmer -
trystin wi
a fusslin chiel




summer -
meeting
a whistling man

sinflooer
raxin heicher
...ayont the bairn...ayont me




sunflower
inching higher
...past the child...past me

abuin'r kist
a swan
risein




above her coffin
a swan
ascending

frae'r carebed
bairn's vices
...furder ilka day




from her sickbed
children's voices
...further each day

.

wull rose  -
bummer
pikes it i the ee




wild rose  -
bee
pokes it in the eye

.

daikerin
yer auld chaumer  -
fitein-oot the ghaists




decorating
your old room  -
whiteing-out the ghosts

treds week-end -
brickies
croonin




tradesmen's holidays -
bricklayers
singing

cuddie ferr -
huifbates raingin
spitten haunshaks




horse fair -
hoofbeats ringing
spitten handshakes

fush lowpin...
a haiku
slawly hovein




fish jumping...
a haiku
slowly surfacing

at the fuit
o a croonin buss -
bawdrons




at the foot
of a singing bush -
cat

tenor sax
booin's braith
aroon the blues




tenor sax
bending his breath
around the blues

dementia
tentie o the butterie
...skeerie lik




dementia
he watches the butterfly
...fearfully

snell wund -
gean flourish
eemitatin snaw




bitter wind -
cherry blossom
imitating snow

the puppie's
hert
o derkness




the poppy's
heart
of darkness

bleckie
fins a clint:
drum o snail's daith




blackbird
finds a rock:
drum of snail's death

licht throuch
the tuim gin bottle
his green neb




light through
the empty gin bottle
his green face

smusht egg -
yin sang less
i the daydaw owercome




smashed egg -
one song less
in the dawn chorus

voar ferr -
pipes seelent
weet paradeedles




spring fair -
bagpipes silent
rain paradiddles

skailt flourish
tore up
luve scrieves




scattered blossom
torn up
love letters

treens'
teeger strips
on the lammer burn




trees'
tiger stripes
on the amber stream

daffin
wi snail -
spleuterin fir'm




playing
with snail -
raining for him

furst communicants
swurlin
gean flourish




first communicants
swirling
cherry blossom

licht throuch
the kirk winnock -
her skire tae-nails




light through
the church window -
her coloured toe-nails

tirl...
the raing
o daffins




breeze...
the ring
of daffodils

i the sheddae
o swans:
Medusa heidit




in the shadow
of swans:
Medusa headed

ma bluid
fouin the hypo -
reid-rab at the winnock




my blood
filling the hypo -
a robin at the window

voar -
bleckie's baird
o strae




spring -
blackbird's beard
of straw

his ain
peerie stour -
tod amang the chookies




his own
little snowstorm -
fox among the chickens

quate-lik muin
corsin the burn
...doverin fush




stealthy moon
crossing the stream
...sleeping fish

seeven skire airches
striddlin:
wattergaw




seven coloured arches
striding:
rainbow

(after Andy Goldsworthy)

i the nicht lift
the semaphore
o sterns




in the night sky
the semaphore
of stars

in a stertle
o yalla -
daffins




in a startle
of yellow -
daffodils

bleckoot -
the caunle lowe's
radgie daunce




power failure -
the candle flame's
sexy dance

nakit treen -
a beamer
o green




naked trees -
a blush
of green

derk watters -
a furst fush lowps
frae the dramein drave




dark waters -
a first fish leaps
from the dreaming shoal

craw's tellin:
'maggies' -
neebourheid rype-pooches




crow's warning:
'magpies' -
neighbourhood pick-pockets

maws tulyie
fawin fedders
o snaw




gulls squabble
falling feathers
of snow

the eild o shauchlin -
sneckin frae the slae
a stieve nibbie




the age of shuffling -
cutting from the blackthorn
a sturdy stick

auld buits -
sonnet o a vaig
in ilk runkle




old boots -
tale of a journey
in each wrinkle

throuch the gless
a furst wesp
...gyte it ma finger




through the glass
a first wasp
...rages at my finger

hame
tae a reeng o bricht nebs:
pinkies




home
to a ring of bright faces:
primroses

weshin
at fou sail -
merch wund's bumfelt chowks




washing
at full sail -
march wind's puffed cheeks

granny's tuim hoose -
heicht-merks
scartit on the standart




grandmother's empty cottage -
height-marks
scratched on the door-post

voar watters -
the priest hidlinswise
daubs's rheums




spring waters -
the priest secretly
dabs his rheumatism

follaein
the coorse o the sin -
the auld dug pechs




following
the sun's course -
the old dog pants

frae lowe
an dashin atoms
...doverin i the boo o ma airm




from fire
and clashing atoms
...asleep in the crook of my arm

clabbydhus
on the leet:
thair seelant skirlin




mussels
on the menu:
their silent screaming

tentie o the sea
runklin the strand -
disjaskit




watching the sea
wrinkling the shore -
feeling my age

valentine's day -
the priest's
mis-airtit mail




valentine's day -
the priest's
mis-directed mail

agein faither -
cleidit
in crottles o fuid




ageing father -
dressed
in fragments of food

dreepin brainch -
a bead it a tyme
bleckie dichts hissel




dripping branch -
a bead at a time
blackbird washes himself

abuin the swaws
lown o a lane

maw




above the waves
calm of a solitary

gull

on gruein watters
swans' gentiness
...waarmin




on icy waters
swans' elegance
...warming

fouin the feeder -
stour
o speuggies' weengs




filling the feeder -
storm
of sparrows' wings


(Mainichi Daily News)

throu Mass -
the weet's turnt
tae snaw




during Mass -
the rain's turned
to snow

bowsie an brucken
oot wi the troke -
fernyear's dall




bent and broken
out with the trash -
last year's doll

droont i the brandy:
flee
oor furst-fit




drowned in the brandy:
fly
our first-foot