burnie-becker  -
in'n oot in'n oot
steekin's wye upstream





dipper  -
in and out in and out
stitching his way upstream

abuin the lums
muin heizes forfochen lik
...anither nicht-yokin




above the chimneys
moon rises wearily
...another night-shift

dayset  -
pink maws
scud an dook




sunset  -
pink gulls
glide and swoop

a bing o leaves  -
licht sheens
frae the monie cheeks




a pile of leaves  -
light shines
from the many facets

in the perk
mynd fou o thochts
a peerie bleck dug rins throuch




in the park
mind full of thoughts
a little black dog runs through

died doo  -
fedders drift
amang the faw'n leaves




dead pigeon  -
feathers drift
among the fallen leaves

hunkert
bi'r carebed
hairst dowes intae wunter




sitting
by her sick bed
autumn slides into winter

fite freest  -
anither year
aulder




white frost  -
another year
older

an on-ding  -
on the plainstanes
an umberellae stramash




heavy rain  -
on the pavement
umbrella collisions

hunkerin
in a sinblink
...space trevellers




sitting
in a sunbeam
...space travellers

maws soom
wi the swans
...an drame




gulls swim
with the swans
...and dream

leaves
croodilt in a neuk  -
soond o thayr chitterin




leaves
huddled in a corner  -
sound of their shivering

craw's tentie
o swan preenin
...sterts preenin




crow watches
swan preening
...starts preening

on the new palin
a furst fetter-lock  -
an F an L snibbit in luve




on the new fence
a first padlock  -
an F and L locked in love

inby the tree's skellet
a stoundin heart  -
speuggie




inside the tree's skeleton
a beating heart  -
sparrow

swans  -
pace an brawness
wrocht frae fedders




swans  -
peace and elegance
made from feathers

swans  -
he fuspers in'r lug
she hysts'r fan




swans  -
he whispers in her ear
she raises her fan

her furst
schuil photy  -
the amissin tuith




her first
school photo  -
the missing tooth

dawin  -
fusher an wabster
seein tae thayr nets




dawn  -
fisherman and spider
checking their nets

swans
sic mense  -  she on pynts,
he arabesque




swans
such elegance  -  she on points,
he arabesque

waasht ashore
a pumpkin heid
...its daithless smirk




washed ashore
a pumpkin head
...its deathless smile

fou muin
stottin
amang the hystin glesses




full moon
bouncing
amongst the raised glasses

hairst wunds  -
the maple stauns
in reid duds




autumn winds  -
the maple stands
in red rags

faw'n leaves  -
hou they lou
tae jouk his besom




fallen leaves  -
how they love
to dodge his broom

wi's guidwilly
umberellae
snail taks tae the rod




with his generous
umbrella
snail walks out

it the kist o whistles  -
he hauns hing
tae re- assemmle the quait




the organist  -
her hands poised
to re-arrange the silence

craws
sin on thayr backs:
a threitenin skimmer




crows
sun on their backs:
a menancing glitter

furst licht
tuscan haar heizes
...the meestery souchs oot




first light
tuscan mist rises
...the mystery exhales

hairst souch
strippin
the sauch




autumn breeze
stripping
the willow

(strip the willow: a lively Scottish dance)

throuch the jyle palin  -
brummles
foostin awa



through the prison fence  -
brambles
rotting away

hairst muin  -
fouin
bawdrons' saucer




harvest moon  -
filling
cat's saucer

the Angelus bell  -
the fairmer
healds on's howe




the Angelus bell  -
the farmer
leans on his hoe

the auld monk's back- stuil
fou
o sinlicht




the old monk's chair
full
of sunlight

throuch the stainit-gless:
licht in a coat
o monie colours




through the stained-glass:
light in a coat
of many colours

on keltert perks
yowes clype
...we coff a fridge magnet




on tilted fields
sheep cling
...we buy a fridge mangnet

efter
meditation oor:
midgie bumps





after
meditation hour:
mosquito lumps

hairst gairdens  -
wuidreek heizes
...chynes o a sweein censer




autumnal gardens  -
woodsmoke rises
...chains of a swaying censer

on the causey
a drapt plectrum  -
croonin frae the treen




on the street
a dropped plectrum  -
singing from the trees

a stoorin moose
a lowpin puddock:
leaf'n wund daffin




a scuttling mouse
a leaping frog:
leaf and wind at play

blae  -
the dowieness
o bowlt streengs




blue  -
the melancholy
of bent strings

pouin rasps
...granfaither's
hungower een




picking raspberries
...grandfather's
hungover eyes

a singul leaf
reelin doon
...day o the yirdin




a single leaf
spiralling down
...day of the funeral

baurley
sheenin gowd
baird o a wince yin




barley
burnished gold
beard of a sage

burnie-becker  -
yin braith syne aff
fleein unnerwatter




dipper  -
one breath then off
flying underwater

mornin incaains

it the shrine

...skwurrel

morning prayers

at the shrine

...squirrel

skirlin o brakes  -
speuggies waashin
in a powie




screeching of brakes  -
sparrows bathing
in a pothole

dramein
in dubs:
the sinflooers




dreaming
in puddles:
the sunflowers

a cran
kittles the peerie dug:
fite scart on the girss




a swift
teases the little dog:
white scribble on the grass

thayr bairn's
hame-wrocht mobile:
streeng'n yill cans




their baby's
home-made mobile:
string and beer cans

hairst  -
a furst
chitter




autumn  -
a first
shiver

hingin
humminburd
haudin ma braith




hanging
hummingbird
holding my breath

rodden tree
biggin yir berries  -
nivver oot o contract




rowan tree
building your berries  -
never out of contract

fou muin  -
snail's trails
...sic embroidery




full moon  -
snail's trails
...such embroidery

a troot lowpin
a ploom fawin
...day o wunners!




a trout leaping
a plum falling
...day of wonders!

yorlin
its fedders fuffelt
...caunle i the wund




yellowhammer
its feathers ruffled
...candle in the wind

i the wee-oors
on the uisual clint
...hern cleedin hissel




early morning
on the usual rock
...heron dressing himself

furst day it schuil
she shaws'r tint tuith
...cums thayr hero




first day at school
she shows her missing tooth
...becomes their hero

i the burn's
derk keekin-gless
...dernt thingums




in the stream's
dark mirror
...hidden things

corsin the brig  -
a suddent blae thocht:
keeng's fisher




crossing the bridge  -
a sudden blue thought:
kingfisher

an auld fere
pauchlin alang  -
a ettle'n ettle tae owerhy...




an old friend
shuffling along  --
I try and try to catch up...

interruptin
the collogue  -
skwurrel on'r phone line




interrupting
the conversation  -  squirrel
on her telephone line

douche drames  -
snail doverin
inby the straeberry




sweet dreams  -
slug asleep
inside the strawberry

ragtime pianny  -
i the gairden
a maggie haps




ragtime piano  -
in the garden
a magpie hops

bi the
the neb-pentin tent
a peacock butterie



by the
the face-painting tent
a peacock butterfly

poacher's bothy  -
i the muinlit winnock
a saumon skimmers




poacher's cottage  -
in the moonlit window
a salmon glitters

ootby the
REHABILITATION DEPT.
a hippity craw




outside the
REHABILITATION DEPT.
a crippled crow

quat on the porch
the ukulele
plays itsel




left on the porch
the ukulele
plays itself

sparks fawin
intae the sea
...wheel o burth'n daith




raindrops falling
into the sea
...wheel of birth and death

daein a jeegsaw
thegither  -
cluds'n me




doing a jigsaw
together  -
clouds and I

in aw
the hingin sparks
the yin sin




in all
the hanging raindrops
the one sun

on the waashin rope
speuggies
shooglin thirsels dry




on the washing line
sparrows
shaking themselves dry

a thochtie phone caw  -
ettlin tae mak
faither youthie  agane




a worried phone call  -
trying to make
father young again

thristles  -
pittin on
thayr purpie bunnets




thistles  -
putting on
their purple bonnets

hauf doverin
bi the watterside  -
furst cluds, syne swans, haud by




half asleep
on the riverbank  -
first clouds, then swans, pass by

the dung-doon site
a'ready a pictur
o wullflooers




the demolition site
already a picture
of wildflowers

a bleckie chirms  -
the mornin glories'r
aw lugs




a blackbird sings  -
the morning glories
are all ears

junkie  -
a mornin snowk
o champit sitherwid




junkie  -
a morning snort
of crushed southernwood

pilkin fruit  -
thayr hauns tig
clam wi luve




picking fruit  -
their hands touch
sticky with love

ceetie maws
doverin on the lum
...dramein o swaws?




city gulls
dozing on the chimney
...dreaming of waves?

swans
biggin thair nest
...a gemme o jaik straes




swans
 building their nest
...a game of jack straws

on a clinty strand
his priesthood endit  -
a hern skares's quate




on a rocky shore
his priesthood ended  -
a heron shares his silence

gala day  -
wellies it the door
pensils o lichtnin




gala day  -
wellingtons at the door
streamers of lightning

mawin the girss  -

bummers stoor fir

the hinmaist dod o sookie

mowing the lawn  -

bees race for

the last patch of clover

anither year
the circus retours
...crans




the yearly circus
returns
...swifts

doonpoor  -
the abbot's
rainbowe colourt umberellae




monsoon  -
the abbot's
rainbow coloured umbrella

athort the loch
the hoolet's skelloch
lippers




across the lake
the owl's cry
ripples

the dule
o fumeless
roses




the sadness
of perfumeless
roses

airlie mornin
rooster
...fairmyaird blues




early morning
cockerel
...farmyard blues

'the glorifeed twalt'  -
burds cross the lift
...fawin no fleein




'The glorious twelfth'  -
birds cross the sky
...falling not flying

roon the vause
faw'n petals
...colour o'r goonie




round the vase
fallen petals
...colour of her nightdress

the scholars
in bricht uniforms  -
the deuks in thayrs




the school children
in bright uniforms  -
the ducks in theirs

maw skirls
fleggin the speuggies
...terrorist!




gull screams
frightening the sparrows
...terrorist!

treen rax fir the sin  -
aw bit
narcissistic sauch




trees stretch for the sun  -
all but
narcissistic willow

fleein in a straucht line  -
butterie
in a stour





flying in a straight line  -
butterfly
in a hurry

bummers'n bairns  -
hou we lued
rid sookie




bees and children  -
how we loved
sucking red clover

bummer
struislin hame
wi secks o gowd




bee
struggling home
with sacks of gold

aumond flourish fawin  -
they rake fir't
in granfaither's herr




almond blossom falling  -
they search for it
in grandfather's hair

sweein
on the waashin rope
...a souch




swinging
on the washing line
...a breeze

whitsunday  -
poinsettia's
lowin tungs




Pentecost  -
poinsettia's
tongues of fire

flooer shaw jeedges  -
bummer
taks a close leuk




flower show judges  -
bee
takes a closer look