drauchts
throuch the auld hoose  -
ghaists appenin doors  




drafts
through the old house  -
ghosts opening doors

a reid tash spreidin  -
his drapt jaur
o ladylanders




a red stain spreading  -
his dropped jar
of ladybirds

they pynt tae a stern:
her deid dug  -
whilk stern wull they pick fir me?




they point to a star:
her dead dog  -
which star will they choose for me?

auld tarry-breeks
in's shooglin cherr
myndin the ocean




old sailor
in his rocking chair
remembering the ocean

days o weet  -
snail-pooer
on the muive




days of rain  -
snail-power
on the move

youthie craw
greitin fir mait  -
reid o's craig




young crow
crying for food  -
red of his throat

hauflins
pluffin thayr e-fags
...here be draigons!




youths
puffing their e-cigarettes
...here be dragons!

jyner's fooneral  -
a life cleedin timmer
the day timmer cleeds him




joiner's funeral  -
a life dressing timber
today timber dresses him

nebbin a stieve souch
they aye heeld forrit
...weir memorial




facing a stiff breeze
they still lean forward
...war memorial

in french perks
thrissels growe
...seeds frae hame




in french fields
thistles grow
...seeds from home

(THE SOMME 100 YEARS ON)

eenin dander  -
soond o
runchin snails




evening stroll  -
sound of
crunching snails

nems aye thair
on the tree  -
the hert swallin




initials still there
on the tree  -
the heart swelling

schuil sports-day  -
the swith o fuit
ootrinnin the weet




school sports-day  -
the fleet of foot
outrunning the rain

faither's day  -
yin hunkers on the plainstanes
weet fouin's Tassie




father's day  -
one sits on the pavement
rain filling his cup

bygaun the  winnock
a fou muin peeps in
...smirkin




passing the window
a full moon peers in
...smiling

slidderin athort
the ice-rink winnock  -
snail




sliding across
the ice-rink window  -
snail

happin'm in's
Kirstenin mantie
...cumulus cluds




wrapping him
in his Christening shawl
...cumulus clouds

juist anither fursday  -
weet stapt, burds chirmin,
a life-hauder turnt aff




just another thursday  -
rain stopped, birds singing,
a life-support switched off

oot frae a snawy perk
a hauflin
...baird trim




out from a snowy field
a youth
...beard trim

sic dafferie!
sic sport!
...bluid on the causey




such fun!
such sport!
...blood on the street


(Euro 2016)

ettlin tae cleek
the bairnie
...efter a butterie




trying to catch
the toddler
...chasing a butterfly

on the bink
a babbie's dummy  -
roon the bink fag-ens




on the bench
a baby's pacifier  -
round the bench cigarette-ends

mercat day
generations bairge  -
grandad's wheelchair, babbie's pram




market day
generations collide  -
grandad's wheelchair, baby's pram

the brewery lum's reek
sweys
druckenly




the brewery chimney's smoke
sways
drunkenly

the down's syndrome laddie
gaups
it the bodach's bool fit




the down's syndrome boy
stares
at the old man's club foot

a cailleach cried Mary
her bairn streekit on'r laup
...weir memorial




an old lady called Mary
her child stretched on her lap
...war memorial

haiku stravaig  -
the  suddent comma
o a deid moose's tail



ginko  -
the sudden comma
of a dead mouse's tail

they rair'n cheer
the militar err shaw  -
naebodie taks tent o the crans




they roar and cheer
the military air show  -
nobody notices the swifts

a raw o nursery bairns
geeglin
it a raw o deuklins




a line of nursery children
giggling
at a line of ducklings

ablow
the gean tree
a pink-spreckelt craw




below
the cherry tree
a pink-speckled crow

lanely laddie  -
his threepins
carriet on the wund




lonely boy  -
his conversations
carried on the wind

on the burn  -
a traffic jam
o gean floorish




on the stream  -
a traffic jam
of cherry blossom

choir practeese
a smidgin aff-key  -
the blin lassie's dug leuks up




choir practice
a little off-key  -
the blind girl's dog looks up

voar tirl  -
gean flourish's
glamouris cairpet




spring breeze  -
cherry blossom's
magic carpet

graith an burds
skirlin  -
snowk o upturnt yirth




machines and birds
screeching  -
smell of upturned earth

babbie mappie  -
in's baggit een...
the warl




baby rabbit  -
in his bulging eyes...
the world

daffins
wizzent heids bou'd  -
anither voar sert




daffodils
shrunken heads bowed  -
another spring served

furst deuklins
zigzaggin  -
the runt's wud peddlin




first ducklings
zigzagging  -
the runt's frantic pedaling

peerie aipple tree
raxin tae beir  fruit  -
och! the makar's life




little apple tree
struggling to bear fruit  -
ah! the poet's life

hoose o the deid bairn  -
sumyin's left
a cheen o gowns




house of the dead child  -
someone's left
a daisy-chain

votin day  -
speuggies scash
it the burdbrod




election day  -
sparrows squabble
at the birdtable

sin
on the daffin perks  -
samen sin
on the perks o slauchter




sun
on the playing fields  -
same sun
on the killing fields

follaein snail's pad
maggie
cums deezie




following snail's trail
magpie
becomes dizzy

fou muin  -
aipple flourish
fite




full moon  -
apple blossom
white

snail's
siller runes  -
tells o muinlicht




snail's
silver runes  -
tales of moonlight

auld grewhoond
tentie o the mappies  -
his dowie een




old greyhound
watching the rabbits  -
his sad eyes

he feeds's fruit treen

bluid'n bane

...reid reid aipples

he feeds his fruit trees

blood and bone

...red red apples

hunkert it the door
o's hedge tenement  -
eenin speuggie




sitting at the door
of his hedge tenement  -
evening sparrow

tummlin
throuch the brainches  -
maggie the pierrot




tumbling
through the branches  -
magpie the pierrot

Pace paraud
throuch the daffins
...lichtit caunles




Easter procession
through the daffodils
...lighted candles

fou muin  -
daffins
muinglowe




full moon  -
daffodils
moonglow

throuch the derk wuid  -
daffins
lichtin a peth




through the dark wood  -
daffodils
lighting a path

bleckies
it houghmagandie  -
tulips git a reidie




blackbirds
mating  -
tulips start to blush

he flees amang cluds an aw  -
esscock
i the burn




he too flies among clouds  -
dipper
in the stream

fou muin  -
a new granbairn
sookin




full moon  -
a new grandchild
suckling

bi the lochside
swans gaither
...craigs threidin Celtic fankles




by the lochside
swans gather
...necks threading Celtic knots

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