freest on the skeps
monks i thair chaumers
meditatin




frost on the hives
monks in their cells
meditating

sodgers ship oot -
new leaves
faw ontae deid yins




troops embark -
new leaves
fall onto dead ones

on the pendle:
sheddae
o the hinmaist flourish




on the pendulum:
shadow
of the last blossom

the sey wins in
baits heave up
rug at thair palls




the tide comes in
boats rise
tug at their moorings

soon o a bop tooter
wammles throuch the err
bleckies hearken




sound of a bop trumpet
wriggles through the air
blackbirds listen

Yule eerans
abuin a sey o nebs
a Rabbi haudin's bunnet




Christmas shopping
above a sea of faces
a Rabbi holding his hat

owernicht
the proteckin pailin's
fa'n intae the sheuch




overnight
the protection barrier's
fallen into the trench

physalis bowets
lowe sonsie lik -
the gairden's doon-toon en




physalis lanterns
glow warmly -
the garden's down-town end

throuch's toosilt baird
the gangrel smirks -
micht be santoka!




through his tousled beard
the tramp smiles -
might be santoka!

reid rabs, blue bonnets,
chackert maggies,
on yin nakit tree




red robins, blue-tits,
chequered magpies,
on one naked tree

dreich day
hern stauns i the weet
nae hause




wet day
heron stands in the rain
no neck

the bonnie leaves
hing blate i the licht
winnae faw gin a leuk awa




the beautiful leaves
hang shy in the light
won't fall until I look away

flutherin speuggie
refleckit on ma wa
muckle as a craw




fluttering sparrow
refleckted on my wall
big as a crow

the ferris wheel birls
skirlin sheddaes
forenent the muin




the ferris wheel turns
screaming shadows
against the moon

efter the blatter
fidgin i the gitter:
skeletal umberellae




after the storm
twitching in the gutter:
skeletal umbrella

on the altar
o the hinmaist sipper
a vawse o puppies




on the altar
of the last supper
a vase of poppies


(remembrance Sunday)

leaf-ens rax up
frae the weet peth
syne clap doon agen




leaf-ends struggle up
from the wet path
then fall back again

on the gantry
bottles blinkin
...santoka...his haiku




on the bar shelf
bottles shining
...santoka...his haiku

wund
leaves flee aw airts
the burdwatcher feels deezie




wind
leaves fly everywhere
the birdwatcher feels dizzy

heich wund
leaves tummle -
bricht mosaic burn




high wind
leaves tumble -
bright mosaic stream

oot reengin efter haiku
a runkilt broon yin
fell on me




out hunting haiku
a wrinkled brown one
fell on me

throuch the goalposts
a tuim pitch
stour-arred




through the goalposts
an empty pitch
battle-scarred

guisin nicht
ower langsyne
aye sowpin pumpkin bree




halloween over
long ago
still supping pumpkin soup

deuks quaik
hern keeks ower
the heichmaist sprots




ducks squawk
heron peeps over
the tallest reeds

ma slaistert peth
fou o bricht reid sterns
...acer castin




my messy path
full of bright red stars
...acer shedding

airtist apens's jotter
funds the wunter lift
a'ready on the page




artist opens his pad
finds the winter sky
already on the page

a rand o licht
ablow a sneckit door
...dayset




a strip of light
below a closed door
...sunset

wunter burdsang
skwurrel's rumple
conduckin




winter birdsong
squirrel's tail
conducting

hern, buddha-quate -
ma haingles hoast
sens'm oot ower the toon




heron, buddha-still -
my flu cough
sends him out over the town

daunce-ha dung doon
anely
the soond o the burn




dance-hall demolished
only
the sound of the stream

gairden grown-up
in's winnock:
VOTE GREEN




garden overgrown
in his window:
VOTE GREEN

freestit perks
kye nip at
peerie fuffs o stame




frosted fields
cattle nibble at
little puffs of steam

furst freest
anoraked bairns
wi nae hauns




first frost
anoraked children
with no hands

snell wund blawin
throuch taigilt breer:
sumthin's banes pikeit claen




cold wind blowing
through tangled briar:
something's bones picked clean

furst day
o freest
niver sae monie craws




first day
of frost
never so many crows

lavein herbour
lichts dwinin
the muin cums wi's




leaving harbour
lights receding
the moon comes with us

craws in a raw
collogue thegither
ower halloween




crows in a row
chatter together
planning halloween

blinterin on the brae
the sheenin jaikets
o scuil bairns




flickering on the hill
the luminous vests
of school children

the roddens
fawin agane this year
faw ontae's mool




the rowan berries
falling again this year
fall onto his grave

the pram
skitein roon the cunyie
faither an bairn skreekin




the pram
cornering on two wheels
father and child yahooing!

heich wunds
bairns an leaves
in a bourach...scuil-bell




high winds
children and leaves
in confusion...school-bell

warden's hoose -
athort's winnocks
pikit weir sheddae




warden's house -
across his windows
barbed wire shadow

craws an maggies
jinkin mang the brainches
shooers o leaves




crows and magpies
dodging amongst the branches
showers of leaves

monks chaunt
wund gurls -
the lown no fasht




monks chant
wind howls -
silence undisturbed

a far awa skelloch
the laddie's dug
hus rin afore traffeck




a distant scream
the young boy's dog
has run in front of traffic

burn in spate
unnerwatter leaves
stour alang




flooded stream
underwater leaves
race along

someplace
i the rouky perks
muck spreidin




somewhere
in the misty fields
manure spreading

atween shooers
craw an me
tentie o the lift




between showers
crow and I
watching the sky

hairst shill
faw'n leaves
stert tae cleek




autumn chill
fallen leaves
start to clench

oor throu-gaun train -
bairns waff fushin-nets
...jalousin they hae caucht nocht




our passing train -
children wave fishing-nets
...thinking they caught nothing

vaiges hindert
dour nebs:
coos dauner tae mulkin




journeys halted
grim faces:
cows stroll to milking

athort the glen
anely
craws vice




across the valley
only
crows voice

kaimin
her bairn's herr
...watters o'r hamelan




combing
her child's hair
...rivers of her homeland

we rist apairt -
rackets
lichtin the chaumer




we rest apart -
rockets
lighting the room

alane, she scarts
her nem i the saun
...taks tent o't dwinin




alone, she scratches
her name in the sand
...watches it disappear

scuil-yetts sneckt
a cowpt heid
in yin lit winnock




school-gates locked
a bent head
in one lit window

gloamin -
a gairden graip stucken
in a hauf-howkit gairden




dusk -
a garden fork stuck
in a half-dug garden

dubs diddle wi weet -
pit by the truan
tak doon the guitar




puddles dance with rain -
put the trowel away
take down the guitar

bluid slawin
hoo braw
haitin ma feet agin hers




ciculation slowing
how wonderful
heating my feet against hers

tak tent o the weet
thrum a pickle blues
yin mair leaf faws




watch the rain
play a little blues
one more leaf falls

weet poors
thunners
on snail's shall




rain pours
thunders
on snail's shell

at the apen door
muin an me
tentie fir'r




at the open door
moon and I
watching for her

ilka day
mair an mair licht
throuch the wuids




every day
more and more light
through the forest

speuggie sowpin
frae the rone, cannie
no tae dunt his heid




sparrow drinking from
the guttering, careful
not to bump his head

thair eldritch nebs
i the derkness -
Goth no Noh




their ghostly faces
in the darkness -
Goth not Noh

a burdless tree
brainches fou
o perkin cones




a birdless tree
branches full
of parking cones

hairst -
ploos derkenin
the simmer perks




autumn -
ploughs darkening
the summer fields

leaves daise
vietnam vets
hiddle i the perk




leaves rot
vietnam vets
huddle in the park


(one Autumn in San Francisco)

leafdrifts
...cailleachs
haudin thair bunnets




leafdrifts
...old ladies
holding their hats

sweengin heich
a young wumman alane
i the scuilyaird




swinging high
a young woman alone
in the playground

spleet-new hearin-aid
hairst peths
...deefenin




new hearing-aid
autumn paths
...deafening

the drouthie
shakkin a fit
tae seelent meesick




the drunk
dancing
to silent music

muinlicht
... the deein mappie's
bluid




moonlight
... the dying rabbit's
blood

gean's hinmaist leaves -
in thair orange licht
reid Rab elys




cherry tree's last leaves -
in their orange light
the robin disappears

yaisin his hemmer
furst time in years - gin a sweer
wull the deid hearken?




using his hammer
first time in years - if I swear
will the dead hear?

indian simmer
wesps aye in the easin
windae-cleaner hauds by




indian summer
wasps still in the eaves
window-cleaner passes by

tentie o the stot
o thochts -
geese flee sooth




watching the movement
of thoughts -
geese fly south

campers gane -
yowes nip
on a bricht spat




campers gone -
sheep graze
on a bright patch

laid aff -
t.v. blinters
athort his neb




redundant -
t.v. flickers
across his face

slawly
fleitin doon the burn
aipples




slowly
floating down the stream
apples

toon plainstanes
aneath ilka tree
leaves tae dump throuch




city pavements
beneath every tree
leaves to kick through

rumpin the girse
at the en o's tedder -
hull pownie




cropping the grass
at the end of his tether -
hill pony

in the winnock
the fushmunger -
his fite-shark's fin cowe




in the window
the fishmonger -
his white-shark's fin haircut

i the howe o the brainches
a leaf glents
the tirl turnin it...on...aff...




in the deepest branches
a leaf glitters
the breeze turning it ...on...off...

dug bydes patientfou
his maister gaithers keech
taks dug hame,stowes'm




dog waits patiently
his master gathers turds
takes dog home,feeds him

(Samsara)

a fowersome
o maggies -
no a sang amang thaim




a quartet
of magpies -
not a song amongst them

lattin doon the bottles
intae the bucket quietlik
...the neebors




lowering the bottles
into the bin quietly
...the neighbours

hailin preachin:
the Haly Iles,aye -
bit syne the sassenger rowes!




healing service:
the Holy Oils,yes -
but later the sausage rolls!

autistic laddie
bears the gree:nevels the air -
no sae unalike




the autistic boy
wins the prize:punches the air -
not so different

aw day
brainches wallopin
swaws i the burd-bath




all day
branches thrashing
waves in the bird-bath

claggin the en
o the vennel -
a hairst muin




blocking the end
of the narrow street -
a harvest moon

bricht muin
yin fuff
an it wull be fou




bright moon
one puff
and it will be full

the cry tae worship -
twa hirds
gove athort the perks




the call to prayer -
two shepherds
gaze across the fields

haijin tryst -
haiku tasht
wi Drambuie




haijin meet -
haiku stained
with Drambuie

the hoose no fired -
follaein a sinblink
tae the tosiest sate




no heating yet -
following a sunbeam
to the warmest seat

a cry 'guid mornin'
the deef chiel's dug
wingles its tail




I call 'good morning'
the deaf man's dog
wags its tail

ma manic freen waffs -
a guid day
no a sheddae on the burn




my manic friend waves -
a good day
not a shadow on the stream

reid rodden in's
gowden neb - bleckie
sits mythological-lik




red rowan in his
golden beak - blackbird
sits mythological-like

ayont the weet
cluds an licht daff
at bein oniethin




beyond the rain
clouds and light play
at being anything

october mornin -
on a rod rinnin atween
the sin an the muin




october morning -
on a road running between
the sun and the moon