i the gairden

maggies line the palin  

...boogie--woogie pianny

in the garden

magpies line the fence  

...boogie-woogie piano

 pumpkin foondert

anely the caunle left

...tae licht anither

pumpkin slumped

only the candle left

...to light another

 aneath hairst treen

plainstanes buskit

in gowd leaf

beneath autumnal trees

pavements adorned

in gold leaf

 weet bates  -

leaves flettent atween pages

o yestreen an the day

rain beats  -

leaves flattened between pages

of yesterday and today

 broozilt gowan  -

petals ligg

...exclamation merks 

crushed daisy  -

petals lie

...exclamation marks 

 licht throuch

the hairst treen

...apenin her keel boax

light through

the autumnal trees

...opening her crayon box

yestreen a corp

the day swans' bonnieness

...the burn's calm souch

yesterday a corpse

today swans' elegance

...the stream's equanimity 

droont eemigrant

his wan fissog turnt

tae the muin o hame

drowned immigrant

his pale face turned 

to the moon of home

auld daunce studio  -

the wrackin-baw's sweeng

feshes the hoose doon

old dance studio  -

the wrecking-ball's swing

brings the house down

 pittin oot the buckets  -

a fou muin

...sae claen

putting out the bins  -

a full moon

...so clean

 watterside poorhoose  -

they gove it thirsels

ablow the watter

riverside hostel  -

they gaze at themselves

below the water

 daw sinblink

chirtin watter

frae the freestit leaves

dawn sunbeam

squeezing water

from the frosted leaves

 furst the ambulance

wins in  -  syne bawdrons

his bell tinglin

first the ambulance

arrives  -  then cat

his bell tinkling

 the bairns hairst

the maumie aipples

...thayr hattert nebs

the children harvest

the ripe apples

...their flustered faces.

 i the perk

craws tissle ower a berry

tentless o the ref's whustle 

in the park

crows tussle over a berry

heedless of the ref's whistle

virus apairtness  -
new peths
throuch the wuids



social distancing  -

new paths
through the woods

the fush-cadger's
honkin tooter  -
bawdrons raxes up



the fish-seller's
honking horn  -
cat rises and stretches

hoosebund she goves
oot atween her baudies
...fantoosh lugreengs



housebound she gazes
out between her orchids
...exotic earings

magnolias apenin  -
anither year
anither  caunle



magnolias opening  -
another year
another  candle

efter the beerial
tea it the gowf club
...tentie o thaim sinkin putts



after the burial
tea at the golf club
...watching them sinking putts

dreich day  -
i the playgrun
the chute's siller linn



dull day  -
in the playground
the chute's silver waterfall

sparks on roddens  -
quattin thair reid life
thair clair spreit wins awa



raindrops on rowans  -
leaving their red life
their clear spirit falls away

mornin Mass  -
ootby a flocht o maws
threepin in tungs



morning Mass  -
outside a flurry of gulls
speaking in tongues

the auld jazzman's cortege

slaws bi the pub

...his owdience aye clappin

the old jazzman's cortege

slows by the pub

...his audience still clapping

unner the aipple tree
the auld sodger dwams
...amang the faw'n yins



under the apple tree
the old soldier dreams
...among the fallen ones

hern speirin
wi ilk fuitstap
...as the bodach daes



heron probing
with each footstep
...as the old man does

efter the blowster
bleck-eed
brummles



after the storm
black-eyed
brambles

skateperk  -
hauflins makkin
dunts an birses



skateperk  -
youngsters making
bumps and bruises

jivin
wi ma grandochter
...tuba an clarinet wyvein



jiving
with my grand-daughter
...tuba and  clarinet weaving

hame frae the yirdin  -
waterin
the gizzent flooers



home from the funeral  -
watering
the shrivelled flowers

swan preenin  -
feddery wiles
fleet doonstream



swan preening  -
feathery lures
float downstream

frae the
hazel tree
bleckie's luve sang



from the
hazel tree
blackbird's love song

blythefou swallae
loopin throuch
a mairchless lift




happy swallow
looping through
a borderless sky

sumhin's dee'd  -
simmer flooers growe
throuch the banes



something's died  -
summer flowers grow
through the bones

deuks fleet intae
a sinblink - becumin
whit a sinblink's becum



ducks float into
a sunbeam  -  becoming
what a sunbeam's become

pandemic  -  the day
e'en the craw
muives twa metres awa



pandemic  -  today
even the crow
moves two metres away

shaucht fause-face  -
throuch the haar
a bleckie chirmin



discarded face-mask  -
through the mist
a blackbird trilling

lockdoon easement
brickies back tae wark  -
thair rousty truans




lockdown easing
bricklayers back to work  -
their rusty trowels

gairden picnic  -
efter the bairns win awa
the wesps redd up



garden picnic  -
after the children leave
the wasps clear up

pecht on the brae  -
tentie o the wund
fouin the bairn's draigon



breathless on the hillside  -
watching the wind
filling the child's kite

thankrife  -
a freithin eller flooer
hystit tae anither simmer




grateful  -
a frothing elder flower
raised to another summer

pandemic  -
in's owergrown gairden
a rose barein its hert



pandemic  -
in his overgrown garden
a rose bareing its heart

kirk lockdoon  -
rosary i the gairden
...bummers' thrummin chorus



church lockdown  -
rosary in the garden
...bees' humming chorus

the craiturs
hae thair ain pandemic 
...chowkin on plastic




the creatures
have their own pandemic -
choking on plastic

the cailleach
sel-isolatin  -  anely
a sheddae tae be gliskit




the old lady
self-isolating  -  only
a shadow to be seen

a drave o baggies  -
a glisk auld sheddies 
stanced wi jeelie-jaurs




a shoal of minnows  -
I see old shadows
poised with jam jars

sinlicht skooks
athort the brae  -
yalla on the brume



sunlight creeps
across the hill  -
yellow on the broom

efter the souch
the puil
learns me meditation




after the breeze
the pool
teaches me meditation

scurs  -
a day
i the sin




mayflys  -
a day
in the sun

pandemic  -
the cricket pitch
owergrowen




pandemic  -
the cricket pitch
overgrown

covid 19
...pish-the-bed puffbaws
bidin a braith



covid 19
...dandelion puffballs
awaiting a breath

twa swans
on the roukie watter
...far awa heidlichts



two swans
on the misty river
...distant headlights

tint horseshoe  -
sumwhaur the soond
o huifbeats in waltz-time




lost horseshoe  -
somewhere the sound
of hoofbeats in waltz-time

wis't deforce?  -
the drake stoors awa
deuk weshes hersel wuidly




was it rape?  -
the drake rushes away
duck washes herself furiously

ping-pong i the perk  -
fawin gean flourish
begowks hauf-blin grandad




table-tennis in the park  -
falling cherry blossoms
fool half-blind grandad

in a bourach
o gowd stoor
moch an attercap




in a storm
Of gold dust
moth and spider

peerie laddie
slooshin throuch the dubs
...his buits gean flourisht




little boy
splashing through the puddles
...his boots cherry blossomed

voar gairdenin  -
Reid Rab's Yule pose
on the spade haunle




spring gardening  -
the robin's Christmas pose
on the spade handle

her NHS pentin
tapsalteerie  -
smirkin watergaws'r brawest!




her NHS painting
upside down  -
smiling rainbows are best!

lookdoon burthday  -
balloons hingin on the door
...naebody cums




lockdown birthday  -
balloons hanging on the door
...nobody comes

heelster gowdie
fir a crust o breid  -
the cailleachs sea-maw circus




looping the loop
for a crust of bread  -
the old lady's seagull circus

swans nestin -
she dovers it the mids
o's trampit peth




swans nesting  -
she sleeps at the centre
of his beaten path

fou muin
sillersmith
it wark




full moon
silversmith
at work

pandemic  -
thoombs-up frae grandad
the lozen snares oor braith



pandemic  -
thumbs-up from grandad
the pane traps our breath

lockdoon  -  awwhaur
the graffiti airtist's
smirkin mojis




lockdown  -  everywhere
the graffiti artist's
smiling mojis

the dreelin soond
o an airlie bummer
proggin




the drilling sound
of an early bee
probing

i the quate o lockdoon
a doo coos 
on the roof o oor ark



in the silence of lockdown
a pigeon coos 
on the roof of our ark

lockdoon  -
muin it the winnock
aw fause face




lockdown  -
moon at the window
all facemask

...and palms before my feet'  -
bit
no the-day




...and palms before my feet'  -
but
not today

(Palm sunday 2020)

virus apairtness  -
e'en the daffins
skew thair heids awa



virus distancing  -
even the daffodils
turn their heads away

voar aince mair  -
syle
aneath the nail-horns




spring again  -
soil
beneath the fingernails

lockdoon  -
gean floorish
cum  an gane...alane




lockdown  -
cherry blossom
come and gone...alone

coronavirus  -
the bairns waff, granny greits
ahint steekit winnocks




coronavirus  -
the children wave, grandma cries
behind closed windows

fauty can-apener  -
bluid i the beans
...deceesions!




faulty tin-opener  -
blood in the beans
...decisions!

blue bonnets'
dawn chorus  -  spatrels
on a stave o brainches




blue tits'
dawn chorus  -
notes on a stave of branches

rugby practeese  -
they hyst'm heich
...his haunprent agin the sin




rugby practice  -
they hoist him high
...his handprint against the sun

saft  souch  -
the skwurrel chynges
frae grey tae siller




gentle breeze  -
the squirrel changes
from grey to silver

Yoga i the perk  -
voar flooers
streetchin




Yoga in the park  -
spring flowers
stretching

autistic laddie
blithe i the sin
...hodden, a bleck bawdrons snokes




autistic boy
glorying in the sun
...hidden, a black cat hunts

bleckie's neb
brichtenin
sic a dreich mornin




blackbird's beak
brightening
such a dull morning

the yirth draws slaw
ower a hinmaist stane
...grannie's but'n'ben




the earth slowly covers
a last stone
...grandmother's cottage

climate chynge  -
maws soomin
i the tattie dreels




climate change  -
gulls swimming
in the potato furrows

canada geese
hae drapt by  -
arctic wunds i thair weengs




canada geese
have dropped in  -
arctic winds in their wings

MS  -
his nummin mou
words left hingin




MS  -
his numbing lips
a suspeded sentence

mornin Mass  -
throuch the apen door
the snowk o new-bakit breid




morning Mass  -
through the open door
the smell of new-baked bread

wunter nicht 
fou muin an sterns
...a snawbaw fecht




winter night 
full moon and stars
...a snowball fight

weet fir days  -
oorie vices
i the rone-pipes




rain for days  -
eerie voices
in the drainpipes

pianny practeese  -
i the gairden a maggie
wund lipperin its fedders




piano practise  -
in the garden a magpie
wind rippling its feathers

saw nebs gaither
females gae unner  -  fegs!
houghmagandie in cauld watter




goosanders gather
females go under  -  ugh!
sex in cold water

blowster
throuch the scrappie's
...oorie orchestral




gale
through the scrap yard
...eerie orchestral

telegraph wires
throuch the firs
speuggies cryin




telegraph wires
through the pine trees
sparrows calling

holocaust day  -
frae a stoppit train
a cailleach blaws a pree




holocaust day  -
from a stopped train
an old lady blows  a kiss

faur aff lichtnin

troot 

lowpin

distant lightning

trout

jumping

on a leash  -
the bodach
an's dug




on a lead  -
the old man
and his dog

sweilin sweilin
til't jalouses the sooth  -
lane guis



circling circling
until it senses the south  -
lone goose

the blowster's won in:
a pickle notes i the lum
syne a hale rhythm section




the storm's arrived:
a few notes in the chimney
then the whole rhythm section

throuch a freesty scab
voar shuits
...mending




through a frosty scab
spring shoots
...healing

amang bleck brainches
a bleck burd
...wunter negative




among black branches
a black bird
...winter negative

the Yule-tree stern
bund in deidly threids
...attercap




the Christmas-tree star
bound in deadly threads
...spider

reengin the bath
fir yestreen's attercap
...he goves frae the ceilin




searching the bath
for yesterday's spider
...he watches from the ceiling