fou muin -
hystin
a freithy yill




full moon -
raising
a frothy beer

throuch her gairden
o sinflooers
the cailleach flichters




through her garden
of sunflowers
the old lady flickers

dug stourin
throuch the sned girse:
his green neb




dog racing
through the cut grass:
his green nose

burn in spate -
the snaik's
runkilt bouk




flooded stream -
the slug's
wrinkled body

throuch the sparred pailin
her whurly claes-drier -
breeks gae racin by




through the slatted fence
her rotary-drier -
trousers go racing past

moch agin
ma lichtit winnock -
a derk warl at's rig




moth against
my lighted window -
a dark world at its back

days o weet -
cuddy purls
washt tae bricht caff




days of rain -
horse manure
washed to bright chaff

ceilidh
i the perk -
leaves dreepin




concert
in the park -
leaves dripping

the laddie's jaur
o leddy launners, smusht:
a reid spatch spreedin




the boy's jar
of ladybirds, smashed:
a red patch spreading

in's auld buit:
the aye-bricht petal
o a muntain flooer




in his old boot:
the still-bright petal
of a mountain flower

the gairdner
heelds ower's flooers -
they gove up at'm



the gardener
leans over his flowers -
they gaze up at him

hinmaist train gane -
muinlit rails
mizzlin




last train gone -
moonlit rails
disappearing

maisic o the weet -
the tom-tom
o a laiky dreep




music of the rain -
the tom-tom
of a leaky drip

pleuch sock
sheenin i the sin
...a maw's weeng




ploughshare
shining in the sun
...a gull's wing

the cailleach's yett
moose wabt:
lyart wi thrisseldoon




the old lady's gate
spider webbed:
hoary with thistledown

sindoon -
she rugs a reid threid
throuch her flooerin




sunset -
she draws a red thread
through her embroidery

i the shed
o a sparred pailin: bawdrons
drames o bein a teeger




in the shade
of a slatted fence: cat
dreams of being a tiger

sicht o the killin -
a maw sclices bin-bags
insides skail oot




site of the murder -
a gull slices trash-bags
insides spill out

the mawkie rists -
sin glisters on's
batterin-ram heid




the bluebottle rests -
sun glitters on his
battering-ram head

apenin the door
tae the
gairden's bizzin




opening the door
to the
garden's buzzing

snowkin the buddleia:
ma neb
amang bummers' weengs




sniffing the buddleia:
my nose
amongst bees' wings

the tuim chaumer -
aroon the vause
petals heapin




the empty room -
around the vase
petals piling

on pailin weers
sparks: bricht spatrils
on a stave




on fence wires
raindrops: bright notes
on a stave

...weshin's caur -
snail coories up
tae the laiky hose




...washing his car -
snail cuddles up
to the leaky hose

throuch ramstam traffeck:
a bummer
...stourin




through rush-hour traffic:
a bee
...rushing

hen-pairty:
pentit cougirls whoop!
a paircel o cluds oxter by




hen-party:
painted cowgirls whoop!
a herd of clouds jostle past

throuch an apen winnock
a pairtie -
flooers haud up thair tassies




through an open window
a party -
flowers hold up their cups

furst daunce:
bride's divorcit pawrents -
laser-licht's fause wattergaw




first dance:
bride's divorced parents -
laser-light's phony rainbow

neebors'
stoundin maisic:
snail snuils intae's shall




neighbours'
pounding music:
snail cringes into his shell

peth o the scunger:
fa'n
rose petals




path of the prowler:
fallen
rose petals

in the green tae
mongolian een
...aboot tae teem




in the green tea
mongolian eyes
...about to pour

ristit on bin-bags
he maits's crippilt laddie:
chopsticks pickin




rested on trash-bags
he feeds his handicapped son:
chopsticks pecking

roses' heids
abuin the wa
...geeglin




roses' heads
above the wall
...giggling

midnicht tod
throuch the dubbit causey:
his bunt thrawin the muin




midnight fox
through the puddled street:
his brush distorting the moon

in a scuggit neuk:
a pish-the-bed-knock
...stapt




in a shaded corner:
a dandelion-clock
...stopped

a rose petal faws -
the leprone
hunkers trummlin




a rose petal falls -
the baby rabbit
sits trembling

Bach's Cello Suites
lave the chaumer -
corn-shanks trummlin




Bach's Cello Suites
leave the room -
corn-stalks trembling

craw's heid stucken
in a crisp-poke -
...muted tooter




crow's head stuck
in a crisp-packet -
...muted trumpet

unchancie hauflins -
the gangrel slumps
intae the howe o's baird




dangerous youths -
the tramp sinks
deeper into his beard

mappie's
brakfast o gowans:
sinny-sides up




rabbit's
breakfast of daisies:
sunny-sides up

fushionless -
tentie as gray cluds
dae a jeegsaw puzzle




listless -
watching grey clouds
do a jigsaw puzzle

the hern gaes stieve -
chork o
the bodach's laiky buits




the heron stiffens -
squelch of
the old man's leaky boots

nursery day oot
bairns' flags, balloons,
...tirl throuch the puppies




nursery day out
childrens' flags, balloons,
...breeze through the poppies

wull flooer
hingin blae an yalla
...airtist's dreepin brush




wild flower
hanging blue and yellow
...artist's dripping brush

douce fite rose
skiffin'r lips:
teenge o pink




sweet white rose
brushing her lips:
tinge of pink

muinlit perk -
wide-eed i the girse:
puddock stuils




moonlit field -
wide-eyed in the grass:
toadstools

freight train
rummles by -
spores win awa on the waff




freight train
rumbles past -
spores leave on the draught

craw hunkerin
on a siller birk -
thunner an lichtnin




crow sitting
on a silver birch -
thunder and lightning

flee raxes i the wab -
a bonnie lassie
plets'r gowden herr




fly struggles in the web -
a pretty girl
plaits her golden hair

washerwives stoiter
ablow bings o sheets -
a cludless lift




laundry ladies stagger
under piles of sheets -
a cloudless sky

lossin candidate
in's gairden
a clappit balloon




losing candidate
in his garden
a shrunken balloon

poorin weet -
in hoaspital winnocks
trummlin patients




pouring rain -
in hospital windows
trembling patients

his furst flicht -
the callant's
tuinless fusslin




his first flight -
the young man's
tuneless whistling

i the rose's heid
whurls
o derk sheddae




in the rose's head
whorls
of dark shadow

treen heeld
intae the timmer-yaird
...chitter




trees lean
into the timber-yard
...shiver

laddie an's dug doverin -
a wab-threid
leashin thaim




boy and his dog asleep -
a web-thread
binding them

the autistic laddie
traipses upstream -
derkness o craws abuin'm




the autistic boy
wanders upstream -
darkness of crows above him

the sloosh o a troot -
the lift
queevers




the splash of a trout -
the sky
quivers

swans preenin -
kinches
o a luvers' hank




swans preening -
loops
of a lovers' knot

ma neebor
flittin -
weet derns's watshod een




my neighbour
moving away -
rain hiding his tears

new puppies
govein aw airts:
dumfoonert




new poppies
gazing in all directions :
astounded

in the troke
a fryin pan -
sinlicht spreidin




in the trash
a frying pan -
sunlight spreading

amang the grummel
pish-the-beds:
thair heids blawn aff




among the rubble
dandelions:
their heads blown off

the sauch's refleckshun
raxes up:
...cannae...haily...win at...




the willow's reflection
stretches up:
...can't...quite...reach...

furst sake -
Santoka's haiku
soom by




first sake -
Santoka's haiku
swim past

mappie
dernin i the girse -
his lang lugs




rabbit
hiding in the grass -
his long ears

bawdrons streekit
on the hap -
yin splatch o sinlicht




cat stretched
on the quilt -
one patch of sunlight

licht throuch
the gean orchard -
luvers beamin




light through
the cherry orchard -
lovers blushing

in the nest's derk bowlie:
a sheddae
cleckin a sang-burd




in the nest's dark bowl:
a shadow
hatching a song-bird

bairn's graveyaird -
teddies an skailt wheerums
quat




children's graveyard -
teddies and scattered toys
left

a heidless doo -
gean flourish
slawly yirdin it




a headless pigeon -
cherry blossom
slowly burying it

throuch the blawort
bawdrons' bell
plinkin




through the bluebells
cat's bell
tinkling

on the claddach
yestreen's squeak:
lassie in a dookin ootrig




on the riverbed
yesterday's newspaper:
girl in a bathing costume

aneath the sotter
o deuks matin -
the quate burn




beneath the chaos
of ducks mating -
the silent stream

backlans wrackt -
a fou muin
leukin sae bricht




ghettos demolished -
a full moon
looking so bright

fou muin -
on the derk watter
a swan




full moon -
on the dark river
a swan

a fedder blaws
throuch the gairden -
she greits fir'r tint bairn




a feather blows
through the garden -
she cries for her lost child

flee draps on the page:
its unco sheddae
wycelik wi the japanese




fly drops on the page:
its strange shadow
fitting with the japanese

sookin'r bairn -
in the lift
a lang fite contrail




breast-feeding her child -
in the sky
a long white contrail

flourishins in's pooch:
the bodach
ettles tae mind...




blossoms in his pocket:
the old man
tries to remember...

zen gairden:
sumyin's fuitprents
athort the watter




zen garden:
someone's footprints
across the water

throuch faw'n flourishins:
peerie brides
mak thair wey tae scuil




through falling blossoms:
tiny brides
make their way to school

the sin's raik
het on the airn bink:
a bodach rists




the sun's journey
hot on the iron bench:
an old man rests

at the en
o a siller steid:
snail dramein




at the end
of a silver trail:
snail dreaming

throuch the perk:
buits jowelt
wi gean flourish




through the park:
boots jewelled
with cherry blossom

heronious traffeck -
dubs lowp sidelins,
clap tae throu-gaun fowk




outrageous traffic -
puddles leap aside,
cling to passers-by

simmer burn -
bairns' nebs
boabbin amang the deuks




summer stream -
childrens' faces
bobbing amongst the ducks

a'where
petals waffin -
butterie leuks deezie




everywhere
petals waving -
butterfly looks dizzy

reid-tapt aipple flourish -
bummer veesits the
hoose o a thoosan preeins




red-tipped apple blossom -
bee visits the
house of a thousand kisses

keek o day
the easin
...a spreidin smirk




sunrise
the horizon
...a spreading smile

sic blitheness
gean flourish sweelin:
yin gits a hurl on a dug's neb




such joy
cherry blossom swirling:
one rides on a dog's nose

thunner an lichtnin -
a blin chiel
fite steek chappin the yirth




thunder and lightning -
a blind man
white stick tapping the earth

skirls o delicht -
mither's umberellae's
cum a fleein draigon




screams of delight -
mother's umbrella's
become a kite

a faw'n
magnolia petal -
a haunfae o weet




a fallen
magnolia petal -
a handful of rain

shofukuji tempel
speuggies daff i the stour:
the day's preachin




shofukuji temple
sparrows play in the dust:
today's sermon


(Japan's first Zen temple)

japanese tae-hoose -
a rose
foondert on'ts breers




japanese tea-house -
a rose
collapsed on its thorns

a lanely tempel -
koi gaither at the brig
apen- mou'd




a lonely temple -
koi gather at the bridge
open-mouthed

origami cless -
sin throuch the winnock
unfaulds a tulip




origami class -
sun through the window
unfolds a tulip

mither's hauns
yirdit i the yirth -
her gean flourishin




mother's hands
buried in the earth -
her cherry tree blossoming