sica fricht:
the cot-staun
a tattie-bogle in muinlicht




such a fright:
the coat-stand
a scarecrow in moonlight

in the nicht
a dug yowlin
a bleck dug




in the night
a dog barking
a black dog

burds wappin
the lift
blaer an blaer




birds sweeping
the sky
bluer and bluer

swans
puntin upstream -
easy-osie i thirsels




swans
punting upstream -
laid-back in themselves

on's shall
weet
snail streeks oot yin ee




on his shell
rain
snail stretches out one eye

sin throuch the weet -
a bittie wattergaw
steeks oot frae the bog




sun through the rain -
a piece of rainbow
sticks out from the bog

nicht weirs in -
craws retourin
tae the craw widdie




night approaches -
crows returning
to the crow wood

frae the lily's tooter:
gowden pollen
driftin




from the lily's trumpet:
golden pollen
drifting

the buss aqueever
wi gorblins:
a green wame-fou




the bush aquiver
with nestlings:
a green womb-full

doverin i the perk
a hameless chiel:
lyart wi thrisseldoon




asleep in the park
a homeless man:
grizzled with thistledown

slawer nor confetti:
gean flourish
faws aboot the cailleach




slower than confetti:
cherry blossom
falls about the old lady

roon
the seelent grun
the treen aye hoochin




round
the silent stadium
the trees still cheering

beerial mornin -
a snell wund's
tirlt the gean flourish




funeral morning -
a bitter wind's stripped
the cherry blossom

burds gaither -
the beadle
slawly mizzlin




birds gather -
the gravedigger
slowly disappearing

maw's sheddae
athort the burn
the fisher kets's heuk




gull's shadow
across the stream
the angler casts his hook

ootby ma winnock
in bawdrons' green een
sheddae o a nieve




outside my window
in cat's green eyes
shadow of a fist

immigration:
the bairn's derk fingers
kinchin's mither's herr




immigration:
the child's dark fingers
knotting his mother's hair

sweirt watter -
sauch's sheddae
thair an yit no thair




lazy river -
willow's shadow
there and yet not there

on the wey
tae the rugby:
rosettes o aipple flourish




on the way
to the rugby match:
rosettes of apple blossom

a tide o fitecaps -
on the girse
magnolia petals




an ocean of whitecaps -
on the grass
magnolia petals

Yirth Day -
amang the sterns
a gairden




Earth Day -
amongst the stars
a garden


(this appeared in a sequence on Gillena cox's
web page celebrating Earth Day)

fankilt bummer:
wund frae's weengs
shills ma fingers




trapped bumble-bee:
wind from its wings
chills my fingers

on waste grun
they argie -
thrissels' glaizie stugs




on waste ground
they argue -
thistles' glittering spikes

weet throuch
gean flourish:
neb-pentin the bodach




rain through
cherry blossom:
face-painting the old man

her laddie scauls'r:
her dementia
pouin oot the flooers




her son scolds her:
her dementia
pulling out the flowers

hait
hingin
i the gean flourish




heat
hanging
in the cherry blossom

i the sin, the jakie
muives's yill
intae's bouk's sheddae




in the sun, the wino
moves his beer
into his body's shadow

stane
drapt i the dub -
muin wammles awa




stone
dropped in the pool -
moon wriggles away

on a snell wund
gean flourish
lavein




on a cold wind
cherry blossom
leaving

pink freith
o gean flourish -
speuggies dookin




pink froth
of cherry blossom -
sparrows bathing

pish-the-beds -
a'ready jalousin
the ghaists ye'll turn tae




dandelions -
already imagining
the ghosts you'll become

fou muin -
her goonie
a silken haip on the flair




full moon -
her nightgown
a silken heap on the floor

her shock:
the faw'n neb
the feart gran-bairns




her stroke:
the fallen face
the frightened grandchildren

saw neb
heid in'ts weeng - fleein
in anither dramescape




gooseander
head in its wing - flying
in another dreamscape

muinlicht -
gean flourish
sens it back




moonlight -
cherry blossom
sends it back

furst deuklins -
bawdrons'
yalla een




first ducklings -
cat's
yellow eyes

gean flourish
flutherin doon:
haps the swan




cherry blossom
fluttering down:
covers the swan

tint whalp -
yowfin
frae the daffins




lost puppy -
barking
from the daffodils

wino -
sindoon
in's een




wino -
sundown
in his eyes

owerhingin forsythia:
the burn
hotterin yalla




overhanging forsythia:
the stream
bubbling yellow

agin the blae lift
gean flourish
cluds




against the blue sky
cherry blossom
clouds

airlie mornin maw -
a craikin door
apens intae voar




early morning gull -
a creaking door
opens into spring

the bodach sets doon -
doodles
wi the cluds




the old man sits down -
doodles
with the clouds

waukrife -
his pillae
fou o vices




sleepless -
his pillow
full of voices

a tirl -
daffins heeld
lips tae lugs




a gentle breeze -
daffodils lean
lips to ears

sea braise -
its dowie een
i the sinlicht




sea bream -
its sad eyes
in the sunlight

furst gean flourish:
a'ready
rowin awa




first cherry blossom:
already
rolling away

the cailleach
thraws up'r leerie -
magnolia flourish




the old lady
turns-up her lamp -
magnolia blossom

abuin the blues howff:
skimmerin skeengies
o lichtnin




above the blues club:
shimmering strings
of lightning

new tramwey -
in heich brainches
punlers yatterin




new tramway -
in high branches
lumberjacks chattering

i the perk:
a youthie collie
ettles tae haud the craws




in the park:
a young sheepdog
tries to round up the crows

merch wunds -
a bygaun clud
a muckle swan




march winds -
a passing cloud
a huge swan

immigrants
daffin at the baw -
lauchter amang the burdsang




immigrants
playing football -
laughter amongst the birdsong

frae ahint cluds
the sin -
a bob o daffins




from behind clouds
the sun -
a posy of daffodils

he shops -
she coories, tentie
o the derk craws gaitherin




he shops -
she sits, watching
the dark crows gathering

swan i this peerie dub:
preein the tide
i the weet




swan in this tiny pond:
tasting the ocean
in the rain

airlie mornin dauner -
the err guffin
o brent tost




early morning stroll -
the air smelling
of burnt toast

daffins:
voar
drames




daffodils:
spring
dreams

in a thrang causey:
the seelence
o leaves unfurlin




in a busy street:
the silence
of leaves unfurling

voar yirdin -
cannily intae the yirth
cannily hapt




spring funeral -
carefully into the earth
carefully covered

anither auld fere's
cremation -
feelin the hait




another old friend's
cremation -
feeling the heat

furst gean flourishins:
threy anely
tae kinnle the brainch




first cherry blossoms:
three only
to kindle the branch

licht throuch a hinmaist
vause o daffins
lichtens's oorie een




light through a last
vase of daffodils
brightens his fearful eyes

abuin the sheuch
navvies' heids -
bricht meysies




above the trench
labourers' heads -
bright primroses

frae the brig
swans soom intae ma sheddae
...beek ma hert




from the bridge
swans swim into my shadow
...warm my heart

atween
twa muins:
the watter




between
two moons:
the river

speuggies hunker
scuffin heids -
Voar inches in




sparrows sit
touching heads -
Spring inches in

derk wuid
throuch thrawn brainches, craw -
set o a wutch's bunnet




dark wood
through crooked branches, crow -
shape of a witch's hat

a maw
weirin intil -
a hauf-mindit sang




a gull
slowly approaching -
a half-remembered song

on the burn
a riven scrieve -
the hern unconcernt




on the stream
a torn-up letter -
the heron unconcerned

craw on the lum:
voar tirl
daffin wi'ts fedders




crow on the chimney:
spring breeze
playing with its feathers

Sabbath -
the priest in's green vestments
the daffins in thairs




Sunday -
the priest in his green vestments
the daffodils in theirs

frae heichest brainches
craws' muckle stramash:
Voar weirin intil?




from highest branches
crows' great commotion:
Spring approaching?

larach o
the auld jazz club:
binweed tooters




site of
the old jazz club:
convolvulus trumpets

bi the tod's bourie:
muinlit
banes




by the fox's den:
moonlit
bones

snaw on the aipple tree -
tosie i thair buds
the aipples




snow on the apple tree -
warm in their buds
the apples

owernicht:
the perk fou
o forleetit snawmen




overnight:
the park full
of abandoned snowmen

throuch the fite carse
the burn's bleck straik:
haiga




through the white landscape
the stream's black stroke:
haiga

fou muin -
the midnicht express
thunnerin throuch




full moon -
the midnight express
thundering through

i the hedgeraw:
the glentin
o speuggies



in the hedgerow:
the twinkling
of sparrows

crippilt
he fussles i the snaw
maks on his steeks'r ski poles




crippled
he whistles in the snow
pretends his sticks are ski poles

the auld fir:
yin green sheddae
on the burn




the old pine:
one green shadow
on the stream

auld feres lavein -
snaw faws
fous thair fitprents




old friends leaving -
snow falls
fills their footprints

monks' mort-heids heapit heich
i the charnel-hoose:
set o a bride's cake




monks' skulls heaped high
in the charnel-house:
shape of a wedding cake

readin ma new 'Basho' -
a laddie DUNTS by
weirin muckle green flippers




reading my new 'Basho' -
a boy THUMPS by
wearing huge green flippers

Corsin the Sinai Desert oor guide stappit the bus
tae gie's a glisk o yin o the fyow oases aye aboot;
suddentlie sax Bedouin bairns kythed frae naewhaur,
cairryin ashets on whilk wur spreid the maist dumfoonerin agates.
Efter, oor guide exponed til us hoo the Bedouin fowk wur the furst
tae inbring Islam tae Egypt.


a Bedouin laddie
rents the clint fir us
shaws the jowelt hert




crossing the Sinai Desert our guide stopped the bus
to show us one of the few remaining oases;
suddenly six Bedouin children appeared from nowhere,
carrying platters on which were spread the most amazing agates.
Later, our guide explained to us how the Bedouin people were the first
to introduce Islam to Egypt.


a Bedouin boy
splits the rock for us
shows its jewelled heart


(a first haibun)

on the strand
luvers taigilt
...a wrack




on the beach
lovers entangled
...a shipwreck

auld monk
tentie o the veesitors -
wund yerks's baird




old monk
watching the visitors -
wind tugs his beard

furst snawfaw -
ilka brainch laidit
wi a ghaistly yin




first snowfall -
each branch laden
with a ghostly one

gangrel -
stame frae's bree
beekin's neb




tramp -
steam from his soup
warming his face

wund stourin
throuch the causey - bairns
haudin thair cots lik weengs




wind racing
through the street - children
holding their coats like wings

the hern taks aff -
his trams
...harlin anchors




the heron takes off -
his legs
...dragging anchors

wunter mornin -
twa auld freens
snaw in oor herr




winter morning -
two old friends
snow in our hair

day-daw - licht rins
throuch the brainches
lichtin-up the gean tree




dawn - light runs
through the branches
lighting-up the cherry tree

corsin the causey
reengin fir sake -
'comin throuch the rye'




crossing the street
searching for sake -
'coming through the rye'


(in fukuoka a pedestrian crossing's signal to cross
was a loud rendition of the scots tune
'Coming through the rye')

auld fitbaw hero
hunkert bi the ingle -
a rairin frae the lum




old football hero
sits by the fireside -
a roaring from the chimney

fou miun -
a perk
o new faw'n snaw




full moon -
a field
of newly fallen snow

the burn's gurlin:
watter an stane
...ragtime clarinet




the stream's purling:
water and stone
...ragtime clarinet

sin lowst:
geelt dubs
rin intae the burn




sun released:
frozen puddles
run into the stream

wunter sundoon -
gean tree's brainches
reiddenin




winter sunset -
cherry tree's branches
reddening