bygaun thayr tuim hoose  -
her peerie pree
aye on the lozen




passing their empty house  -
her tiny kiss
still on the pane

voar buds
raxin throuch
...a granbairn aboot tae be




spring buds
pushing through
...a grandchild about to be

aw day fellin treen -
a nicht
o monie muins




all day felling trees  -
a night
of many moons

bumbazed  -
the Manhattan skyline
tackit tae the muin




amazed  -
the Manhattan skyline
tacked to the moon

bings o sawins
alang the watterside
...quait




piles of sawdust
along the riverside
...silence

foggies' kettle  -
the priest
wullnae gie ower croonin



pensioners' picnic  -
the priest
won't stop singing

fou lenten muin  -
efter the nicht
...festin




full lenten moon  -
after tonight
...fasting

neb tae the bowlie
she speers:
whit'r the gowdfush threepin?




nose to the bowl
she asks:
what are the goldfish saying?

i the ceetie's ruinage
a stoundin heart  -
speuggie




in the city's ruins
a beating heart  -
sparrow

feshin-in sinsheen
tae the chaumer  -
bowlie o dafffins




fetching-in sunshine
to the room  -
bowl of daffodils

furst snawfaw
i the gairden
blate snawdraps




first snowfall
in the garden
shy snowdrops

granny's shoogler
heich on the cairt
...fluidwatter




grandmother's rocking-chair
high on the cart
...floodwater

the weet's devault  -
nakit brainches skimmer
wi new flourish




the rain's stopped  -
naked branches shimmer
with new blossom

his auld dug's deid  -
flaes
aye invade the hoose




his old dog's dead  -
fleas
still invade the house

beikin'r hauns
it the ingle
...poinsettia




warming her hands
at the fireside
...poinsettia

the blin laddie  -
fowerty-year on aye
findin the truist in's haun



the blind boy  -
forty-years on still
feeling the trust in his hand

onding  -
ilk day the burn
fuspers a pickle looder





downpour  -
each day the stream
whispers a little louder

UNCOS: weir! weir!  -
ootby
a bleckie brustin wi sang




NEWS: war! war!  -
outside
a blackbird bursting with song

a michtie megiphone  -
snochers
frae the tub




a mighty megaphone  -
snores
from the bath

hogmanay bangers  -
in thair new hame refugee
bairns wauken skirlin




new year fireworks  -
in their new  home refugee
children waken screaming

wunter blowster  -
on nakit brainches
speuggies' rodeo




winter storm  -
on naked branches
sparrows' rodeo

fegs!
the wrang kirkyaird
...craws gairdin the yetts




oops!
the wrong cemetery
...crows guarding the gates

Yule fluidin  -
an unnerwatter
shooglin-cuddie




Christmas  flooding  -
an underwater
rocking-horse

Yule e'en  -
neist tae the crib
blawort brustin intae life




Christmas eve  -
next to the crib hyacinths
bursting into life

trystin wi an auld fere  -
the monie gaps
in's gams




meeting an old friend  -
the many gaps
in his teeth

cluds bairge
crecks kythe
...lichtnin




clouds collide
cracks appear
...lightning

crematorium  -
hungert craws
roond the lum




crematorium  -
hungry crows
round the chimney

i the nursery gairden
they stoor'n tummle
...skwurrels




in the nursery garden
they race and tumble
...squirrels

coffee  -
oam sweels'n shoogles
...sambas o Brazil




coffee  -
steam swirls and shakes
...sambas of Brazil

transmugrifee'd  -
her umberellae
tae a siller attercap




metamorphosed  -
her umbrella
to a silver spider

the chinee lassie's smirk  -
aw day:
cluds, flooers, bawdrons... smirkin




the chinese girl's smile  -
all day:
clouds, flowers, cat...smiling

chinee hameless -
ootby's cairdboard hoose
...his shuin




chinese homeless -
outside his cardboard house
...his shoes

wunter's nakit brainches -
Alzheimer patients
gove throuch the taigilment




winter's bare branches -
Alzheimer patients
gaze through the entanglement

snarlt mappie -
govin oop
it craw's bleck corss




snared rabbit -
gazing up
at crow's black cross

dreich mornin -
umberellaes
mushroomin




wet morning -
umbrellas
mushrooming

shairly gliskit
frae space:
Yirth's caunles fir the deid



surely seen
from space:
Earth's candles for the dead

amang the sterns
a skimmerin daunce
...fireflees




among the stars
a glittering dance
...fireflies

mallard deuks
bobbin in a reeng
...emerant carket




mallard ducks
bobbing in a circle
...emerald necklace

november tirl
throuch the wab -
a deid flee dirls




november breeze
through the web -
a dead fly quivers

(All Souls' Day)

ablow the rodden tree
the cailleach reddin snaw
...her reid neb




below the rowan tree
the old lady clearing snow
...her red nose

aneath the tree
the bodach dovers
hapt in a wab




beneath the tree
the old man dozes
wrapped in a web

aneath
the persimmon tree
bawdrons' yalla een




beneath
the persimmon tree
cat's yellow eyes

breist clinic  -
blitheness i the een
o a fyow




breast clinic  -
joy in the eyes
of a few

hairst -
unnerwatter leaves
ooplichtin the burn





autumn -
submerged leaves
uplighting the stream

skairin
the bluid i ma veins  -
mosquito




sharing
the blood in my veins  -
mosquito

a clair blae lift  -
contrails
steekin the warl thegither




a clear blue sky  -
contrails
stitching the world together

hallae e'en  -
the dirlin skellets
o deid leaves




halloween  -
the rattling skeletons
of dead leaves

peerie laddie pishin  -
ettles tae shoot doon
a bygaun flee




little boy pissing  -
tries to shoot down
a passing fly

a lang life
o bricht sins:
the persimmon tree




a lifetime
of bright suns:
the persimmon tree

persimmons
faw an daise
...croonin o the bummers




persimmons
fall and rot
...singing of the bees

nicht fushin  -
wi the muin an orion...
pisces




night fishing  -
with the moon and orion...
pisces

tirran's stookie  -
liggs a derkness
on the yirth




tyrant's statue  -
lays a darkness
on the earth

unner
the persimmon tree
sketchin wi wurds




under
the persimmon tree
sketching with words

sauch leaves faw
ligg as threepin picturs:
tree wi muin




willow leaves fall
lie as ideograms:
tree with moon

the leaves hae gane
lea'in
a derk scart




the leaves have gone
leaving
a dark scribble

chestane rodden an birk  -
hairst lichts
throuch the glen




chestnut rowan and birch  -
autumn lights
through the valley

indian simmer  -
bummers'
lang sheddaes



indian summer  -
bees'
long shadows

kingfisher
brung blae tae the mornin,
dookin he eikit siller




kingfisher
brought blue to the morning,
diving he added silver

throuch the onding
the bodach wyves  -  fou?
...leaky shuin!




through the downpour
the old man weaves  -  drunk?
...leaky shoes!

granfaither's hose  -
she skooshes a wattergaw
ontae the pansies



grandfather's hose  -
she sprays a rainbow
onto the pansies

riven jazz poster  -
bitties o blae
i the wund




torn jazz poster  -
bits of blue
in the wind

hairst blaws in  -
e'en the dub
chitterin




autumn blows in  -
even the pond
shivering

pewlin wund  -
the wab
boos lik the blues




wailing wind  -
the web
bends like the blues

ootby the maisic chaumer
twa youthie maws
...ettlin tae git in tuin




outside the music room
two young gulls
...trying to get in tune

whaur the wattergaw
skifft the burn
a kingfisher




where the rainbow
touched the stream
a kingfisher

hameless
doverin on the baunk
...whaur the watter skites the clints




homeless
sleeping on the riverbank
...where the water hits the rocks

bairns
smirks's bricht as berries
nou this mingin cargae...weir




children
smiles as bright as berries
now this rotting cargo...war

nicht watchie
daein's roonds  -
fou muin




night watchman
doing his rounds  -
full moon

she maks a purpie sin
wi playdough
...an fettles a brucken sodger




she makes a purple sun
with playdough
...and mends a broken soldier

a day bairnsittin  -
granny geegles
an wammles in'r sloum




a day babysitting  -
grandmother giggles
and wriggles in her sleep

jennie-lang-legs
lowst frae the wab
dis a wee daunce




cranefly
freed from the web
does a little dance

his hinmaist eemage:

a butterie it rist...

syne een steekit...weengs apened

his last image:

a butterfly at rest...

then eyes closed...wings opened

Tai Chi  -
dugs reeng'm yowlin
...dae they snowk teeger?




Tai Chi  -
dogs surround him barking
...do they smell tiger?

liggin hert tae hert
tentie
o the rackets




lying heart to heart
listening
to the fireworks

auld pictur frame

leukin throuch't...
ilk sicht a maisterpiece

old picture frame  

looking through it...

each scene a masterpiece

bricht sin  -
fir'r burthday granfaither
weirs a claen sark




bright sun  -
for her birthday grandad
wears a clean shirt

lit caunles
tears as they mouten  -
Nagasaki day




lit candles
tears as they melt  -
Nagasaki day

gladioli  -
life raxin
tae the tapmaist heid




gladioli  -
life aspiring
to the topmost head

butterie druckenly
ettlin tae win awa
frae the lavender




butterfly drunkenly
trying to leave
the lavender

hungower
he hings ower the brig
...oh fir the wit o deuks




hungover
he hangs over the bridge
...oh for the wisdom of ducks

striddlin etins
as the sin muves athort
...trees' sheddaes




striding giants
as the sun moves across
...trees' shadows

bi'r lair a poke o bluid  -
ootby the winnock
rodden berries




by her bed a bag of blood  -
outside the window
rowan berries

a vause o lilies
dreepin pollen
an: a Jackson Pollock




a vase of lilies
dripping pollen
and: a Jackson Pollock

staunin i the perk
heicher nor the bairns
...hern




standing in the park
taller than the children
...heron

a fowerteen billion year
vaig
cums cleedit in sinflooers




a fourteen billion year
journey
comes dressed in sunflowers

siller sin -
a drapt quinie
i the burn




silver sun -
a dropped coin
in the stream

mornin glore
tootles seelently
...droonin oot awthing




morning glory
trumpets silently
...drowning out everything

barbecue -
the sin's licht skirls
amang the links




barbecue -
the sun's light sizzles
amongst the sausages

fuchsia bell
dirlin
...eydent bummer




fuchsia bell
reverbrating
...busy bee

speuggies gaither
ablow thair parrysols
...wull roobrub




sparrows gather
beneath their parasols
...wild rhubarb

alzheimers -
a tak'm fushin,
aneath the scruif
sheddaed draves



alzheimers -
I take him fishing,
beneath the surface
shadowy shoals

he sayed he seen
the Almichtie daunce yince
...reid-crooned crans




he said he saw
God dance once
...red-crowned cranes

yer peerie bouet
sweengin doon the causey -
fireflee




your tiny lamp
swinging down the street -
firefly

hou the sin
pents the dub
in sheds o emerant




how the sun
paints the pond
in shades of green

shooglin the beddie -
i the winnock
a crescent muin




rocking the cradle -
in the window
a crescent moon

in fawin weet
a bleckie
...brawer nor musardrie




in falling rain
a blackbird
...finer than poetry

fou
he coonts the sterns
cryin thaim gowans




drunk
he counts the stars
calling them daisies

faither's day -
we hunker bondit
craw an me




father's day -
we sit bonded
crow and I

i the gairden  -
peer tree an wund
warstlin




in the garden  -
pear tree and wind
wrestling

craw an leprone
flee aff
tae cum yin




crow and baby rabbit
fly off
to become one