a sotter -
craw stammers
on the riggin-heid




bad workmanship -
crow trips
on the roof-ridge

swan liggs
pirlt in a dover -
lown mids o the burn




swan lies
coiled in sleep -
still centre of the stream

bawdrons skooks -
deuklins soom in sweels
...thair clockwark trams




cat skulks -
ducklings swim in circles
...their clockwork legs

doon an arbour
o gean treen
craw dauners...growein sma'er




down an arbour
of cherry trees
crow strolls...growing smaller

gean flourishins
fleetin doon the watter
...whaurivver it taks thaim




cherry blossoms
floating downstream
...wherever it takes them

aw day the hover-flee -
gliskin itsel
in ma windaes




all day the hover-fly -
seeing itself
in my glasses

snaggit amang
the brummle's jags
a riven-up scrieve




snagged amongst
the bramble's thorns
a torn-up letter

hern, snokin sheddaes -
jeels
in gled's




heron, hunting shadows -
freezes
in hawk's

somewey the gairdner:
his cuttie-reek
douce i the air




somewhere the gardener:
his pipe-smoke
sweetening the air

bawdrons on'ts rigg
wummlin
sin in'ts cleuks




cat on its back
squirming
sun in its claws

hover-flee's sheddae
muves ower'r breist:
its lang trams lag




hover-fly's shadow
moves over her breast:
its long legs linger

doverin sheddaes
streetch
the gairden sterts tae bummle




sleeping shadows
stretch
the garden starts to hum

sprots heeld
thair sheddaes:
koi ahint baurs




reeds lean
their shadows:
koi behind bars

yin bricht stern
sheenin
intae the vennel




one bright star
shining
into the alley


(Dylan concert)

brucken shalls -
somewey a bleckie,
a snail's glaize in'ts weeng




broken shells -
somewhere a blackbird,
a snail's gloss in its wing

cantie
ma lap fou
o bawdrons' murrins




contented
my lap full
of cats' purrings

gean flourishins -
grumphie shop lassie
scoors thaim wi'r besom




cherry blossoms -
grumpy shop girl
chases them with her broom

(Mainichi Daily News)

dowie
as veesitors win awa -
daffins



sad
watching visitors leave -
daffodils

daffins
ootby the concert ha
lang-craigit sopranos




daffodils
outside the concert hall
long-necked sopranos

Easter wauk -
dunt o the altar- laddie's
reel-fit




Easter vigil -
thump of the altar-boy's
club-foot

Easter mornin -
lowsit
the fankilt flee toves




Easter morning -
released
the trapped fly soars

Guid Friday -
he spreeds's freet
a bittie thinner




Good Friday -
he spreads his butter
a little thinner

in a cantie puil
a hinmaist pucklie daffins
gove at thirsels




in a placid pool
a last few daffodils
gaze at themselves

ower tottie
tae win tae thair chapper
he daffs alane




too tiny
to reach their doorbell
he plays alone

japanese lassie -
pintin oot airts
wi ma haiku pen




japanese girl -
pointing out directions
with my haiku pen

hoaspice flooers
oot wi the chookie banes
...a vause tapsalteerie




hospice flowers
out with the chicken bones
...a vase upturned

frae'r poke
a bra skailin -
flittin




from her bag
a bra spilling -
moving house

aw day
the yin butterie
fouin the gairden




all day
the one butterfly
filling the garden

voar sinsheen -
bummer waukens me
dunnerin at the winnock




spring sunshine -
bee wakens me
banging at the window

on a brainch
speuggie hysts's weeng
lats the sin unner




on a branch
sparrow lifts his wing
lets the sun under

licht on watter
skimmers throuch
the larie's leaves




light on water
shimmers through
the laurel's leaves

Easter -
a monk on's knees
scoors oot the confessional




Easter -
a monk on his knees
scrubs out the confessional

passion sabbath -
on the brod
the lily's skailt pollen




passion sunday -
on the table
the lily's spilt pollen

a furst reid-admiral
chowlin's chafts
on a bowder




a first red-admiral
making a face
on a rock

atween the goalposts
an orange sin
slawly drappin




between the goalposts
an orange sun
slowly dropping

unweelness gane -
at the winnock her bricht een
forsythia- lit




illness gone -
at the window her bright eyes
forsythia- lit

cluds furmin
moutenin -
Lady's dowie vice




clouds forming
dissolving -
Lady's sad voice


(for Billie Holiday)

his furst veesit
tae the clinic -
a wab streens i the wund




his first visit
to the clinic -
a web strains in the wind

mornin deow -
ilka bledd o girse
enlichtens




morning dew -
every blade of grass
enlightens

mavis
back on'ts heels -
wirm losses




thrush
back on its heels -
worm loses

kirkyaird gien ower
lairstanes cowpt ...aye
the daffins mynd on




derelict churchyard
headstones toppled...still
the daffodils remember

craws gae haufers
on a chinky
...thair chopstick nebs




crows share
a spilt chinese meal
...their chopstick beaks

day aff -
the baunker
coonts's daffins




day off -
the banker
counts his daffodils

bi the Madonna's shrine
a camellia buss -
buds reiddenin blately




by the Madonna's shrine
a camellia bush -
buds reddening shyly

scuil-bell - the sotter
cuils tae wammly raws
aside the stane crocodile




school-bell - the chaos
cools to wriggly lines
beside the stone crocodile

on the tree
a kervit hert
whaur the trunk sinders




on the tree
a carved heart
where the trunk seperates

craw widdie
twa craws muve in -
she sens'm oot fir browls




rookery
two crows move in -
she sends him out for twigs

deid mappie -
...aw thae fur-lined
nests




dead rabbit -
...all those fur-lined
nests

mappie's neb etten
...a hinmaist muin
in tod's ee




rabbit's face eaten
...a last moon
in fox's eye

furst day o voar
smirks brustin oot
a'whaur




first day of spring
smiles bursting out
everywhere

anither yirdin -
craw in's bleck's
forrit




another funeral -
crow in his black
attends

snell day
the tinker's baries
her guidman's gowden cheens




cold day
the gypsy's bare feet
her husband's golden chains

mither's day
athort her photy
sheddae o a burd




mother's day
across her photograph
shadow of a bird

furst snaw
on the tosie brainches
mizzlin




first snow
on the warm branches
melting

wunter wisteria
huils hing
...bawkies i ma drames




winter wisteria
pods hang
...bats in my dreams

craw stots narrer
cocks's heid at oor leid:
suddron in a gylick lan




crow hops nearer
cocks his head at our language:
english in a gaelic land

lum reek liggs flet
howf winnocks shak
...tin fussle spring




chimney smoke lies flat
pub windows shake
...tin whistle reel

skirlin saws aw day -
the nicht oor neibour's lichts
rax oot till us




screaming saws all day -
tonight our neighbour's lights
reach out to us

douce reek
o brennin scrogs heaves
...speirins o a fere's daith




sweet incense
of burning brushwood rises
...news of a friend's death

haudin by the hospice -
suddentlie wintin
tae find masel fir kernels




passing the hospice -
suddenly wanting
to feel myself for lumps

craw nest biggin -
his baird
o swansdoon




crow nest building -
his beard
of swansdown

bi the weir cairn
the gean's flourish
cum an gane




by the war memorial
the cherry tree's blossom
come and gone

on her nest
deuk skews her ee
a clud faws in




on her nest
duck turns her eye
a cloud falls in

bawdrons streeks i the sin
abuin'm
gean sproots dae the samen




cat streches in the sun
above him
cherry buds do the same

brummle buss sprootin
deep doon
the fruit's bree gaitherin




bramble bush budding
deep down
the fruit's juices gathering

efter the onding -
she cycles shooglie lik
atween the cluds




after the shower -
she cycles shakily
between the clouds

hailin mass: hailie uilie
fous ma luif's lifeline -
a first meysie smirks




healing mass: holy oil
fills my palm's lifeline -
a first primrose smiles

o the hail wuid
myndin the peerie
raing o daffins




of the whole forest
remembering the tiny
ring of daffodils

nestin time
craw goves
intae the derk lum




nesting time
crow gazes
into the dark chimney

derk cluds rowe awa -
a craw sowps
frae glaizie tractor-steids




dark clouds roll away -
a crow drinks
from glittering tractor-tracks

hairst muin:
on a throu-gaun bus
ilka neb reflecks




harvest moon:
on a passing bus
every face reflects

coble hindert -
we hunker tentie
o the maws lavein




ferry-boat cancelled -
we sit watching
the gulls leave

jazz souchs
throuch the gairden
awthing shaks a fit




jazz wafts
through the garden
everything dances

voar mornin -
a chiel
fusslin




spring morning -
a man
whistling

gurly lift
a siller birk stauns
wildfire on the brae




stormy sky
a silver birch stands
lightning on the hill

novice
her spleet-new robes
...her lick




novice
her new robes
...her speed

parkit, tentie:
jazz upmak - asweil's
reid-neb




parked, listening:
jazz improvisation - plus
oyster-catcher

tide's oot
maws an boaties
lie at peace




tide's out
gulls and boats
sitting motionless

mairch wunds -
daffins
lichtenin, derkenin




march winds -
daffodils
lightening, darkening

chynge i the wedder
a chitter
throuch the binwuid




change in the weather
a shiver
through the ivy

abuin the scuilyaird
pokes sweel
an dook




above the playground
paper bags swirl
and dive

blae lift
cluds chase a furst bummer
athort the lozen




blue sky
clouds race a first bee
across the pane

throu incaains
an onding
dichtin




during prayers
a downpour
cleansing

bleck bawdrons
throuch the yella gowans
yalla een



black cat
through the buttercups
yellow eyes

git-weel cairts in the winnock:
lairstane sheddaes
on her wa




get-well cards in the window:
tombstone shadows
on her wall

a maw
hauds by slawly
sklentin east, syne wast




a gull
passes slowly
glancing right, then left

tree hingit wi sparks
bourachin blue bonnet
caws doon a shour




tree hung with raindrops
rummaging blue tit
brings down a shower

the day, licht hunkers
on brainches, gairden sates,
deuks' nebs




today light sits
on branches, garden seats,
ducks' bills

frae'r derkness
the blinn cailleach ootstreeks
...licht rins alang'r wand





from her darkness
the blind lady stretches out
...light runs along her cane

throuch the winnock
the crescent muin
...a petal fawin




through the window
the crescent moon
...a petal falling

aw's lithe
the wund-bell
weet dreeps frae'ts tung




all is stillness
the wind-bell
rain drips from its clapper

maisic fest
jazz in the auld graveyaird
bairns jig on mools




music festival
jazz in the old churchyard
children dance on graves

on the scrievein dask
faw'n petals
hae yirdit the pen




on the writing desk
fallen petals
have buried the pen

saft tirl
a telegraph-powl
wammles athort the burn




soft breeze
a telegraph-pole
wriggles across the stream

lavein kirk
craw stauns in ma rod
leukin forritsome




leaving church
crow stands in my way
looking defiant

voar cluds
on the claes-rope
her bed-sheets spue




spring clouds
on the washing-line
her bed-sheets billow

zen gairden
hapt in snaw:
zen gairden




zen garden
covered with snow:
zen garden


(Mainichi Daily News)

a deuk an twa drakes
it's luve...til
there's scran tae skair




a duck and two drakes
it's love...until
there's food to share

crescent muin
liggin on'ts rigg
yin muckle smirk




crescent moon
lying on its back
one huge smile

flooers laid
whaur the cailleach dee'd
...day efter Valentine's day



flowers laid
where the old lady died
...day after Valentine's day