frae the quate
buds
dunch athort the thrashel




from the silence
buds
ease across the threshold

nicht fushin -
quarter muin's
siller preen




night fishing -
crescent moon's
silver hook

voar -
throuch gray vennels
a reid bike




spring -
through grey streets
a red bicycle

Mardi Gras -
burd-brods
thrang




Mardi Gras -
bird-tables
crowded

maw skirl
i the ceetie -
swaws o greenin




gull cry
in the city -
waves of longing

snawdraps
as on yer waddin day -
time's ayebydand bob




snowdrops
as on your wedding day -
time's eternal posy

awbodie's bodie
draps a note -
wuns back his blateness




ten times champion
fluffs a note -
wins back his modesty

on the pianny
a vause o daffins
...skimmerin Chopin




on the piano
a vase of daffodils
...shimmering Chopin

(mainich daily news)

nicht puil -
fush hove
tae crottles o sterns




night pool -
fish rise
to crumbs of stars


(Mainichi Daily News)

granfaither
babby-settin -
bairn goos'm ower




grandfather
baby-sitting -
baby croodles him asleep

sparks hing on brainches -
throuch-licht's spectrum
flourishes




raindrops hang on branches -
through-light's spectrum
blossoms

brennin his auld lair -
reek's thrawins
o luve an daith




burning his old bed -
smoke's writhings
of love and death

fusslin wund
fashless -
cowpt lums




whistling wind
unconcerned -
toppled chimneys

refugee camp  -
bairn's snawmen
haud forrit




refugee camp -
children's snowmen
undefeated

burthday balloon
little-boukit -
granfaither's braith gane




birthday balloon
deflated -
grandfather's breath gone

a fitbaw...
an sodgers an bairns
are yin




a football...
and soldiers and children
are one

snell -
maggies'
chitterin claiver




bitter cold -
magpies'
chittering chatter

in a cage
o scabbit brainches
a tweedlin burd




in a cage
of leafless branches
a singing bird


(holocaust day)

voar bulbs
boo tae the licht
...bleckies tae




spring bulbs
bend to the light
...blackbirds too

on the strand
daw-pentit
chuckies




on the shore
dawn-painted
pebbles

a murther
craws
gaitherin




a murder
crows
gathering

radgie
saw nebs
...hern leuks conflummixt




randy
goosanders
...heron looks shocked

circus saison -
reid rab
peerie lowe-chower




circus season -
the robin
little fire-eater

hungert bairn
liggs in'r lap
...derk concerteeny




starving child
lies in her lap
...dark concertina

hern an me -
oor harns
collin ilk ither




heron and I -
our brains
shaping each other

midden stramash -
maws, fite spatrils
craws, bleck




rubbish-tip cacophony -
gulls, white notes
crows, black

nuns gairdnin -
flooers
drookit in lauchter




nuns gardening -
flowers
drenched in laughter

anither towmond -
weir skaiths
aye dreepin




a new year -
war wounds
still dripping

in a bombed kirk
a bairn
...skailt chalice




in a bombed church
a child
...spilt chalice

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