bleckie

neb fou o wirms

...hedgeraw medusa

blackbird

beak full of worms

...hedgerow medusa

a ginge gibbie-cat

on the skive

fir luve or bluid

a ginger tom-cat

on the prowl

for love or blood

butterie's

stravaigins  -

sae zen lik

butterfly's

wanderings   -

so zen like

wull brummles  

teirin

oor hauns

wild brambles

tearing

our hands

waddin mindin  -

ilka year the roses

aye clap thegither

anniversary gift  -

every year the roses

still cling together

 the bummer's druin

i the lily's craig

...bumbazin tanpura

the bee's drone

in the lily's throat

...hypnotic tanpura

furst puff-baw seed  -

lanely ghaist

stravaigin

first puff-ball seed  -

lonely ghost

wandering

croonin-day  -

a flee-by

o deuks

coronation -day  -

a fly-past

of ducks

Rose o Sharon -

the roariest buss

i the gairden

Rose of Sharon  -

the noisiest bush

in the garden

fellin firs -

the incense

the droosie coos

felling pines  -

the incense

the drowsie cows

sneddin roses  -

fite roses

reiddnin

pruning roses  -

white roses

reddening

 wundy  -

the sauch chynges her dress

frae emerant tae siller

windy  -

the willow changes her dress

from green to silver

cauld wund  -

the burn

chitters

cold wind  -

the stream

shivers

gairden pairty  -

throuch the scrogs

straeberries' reid een

garden party  -

through the undergrowth

strawberries' red eyes

years bygaun

the bairns' photy

slawly dwinin

years passing

the childrens' photograph

slowly fading

roastin day  -

amang oor sheddaes

a droopin yin

hot day  -

among our shadows

a drooping one

the quate burn

meets wi the clints

...threeps

the silent stream

meets the rocks

...utters

the orchid's heid

faws

...flutherin butterie

the orchids's head

falls

...fluttering butterfly

fush-cadger's tooter

cryin in

...fush frae the sea

fishmonger's horn

summoning

...fish from the sea

amang jenny nettles

a hodden flooer  -

its reidness is its blateness

among nettles

a hidden flower  -

its redness is its shyness

troot lowps

in an oot o the burn

...siller steeks

trout leaps

in and out of the stream

...silver stitches

doitit he liggs on clints

waasht up  -  the yin on the brae

skairs's pyne

demented he lies on rocks

washed up  -  the one on the hill

shares his pain

(Peter howson's judas)

ristin on an ashet

flet peaches  -

thair sax bare erses

resting on a plate

flat peaches  -

their six bare bottoms

ettlin tae fit

key tae lock  -

the bodach's trummlin haun

trying to fit

key to lock  -

the old man's trembling hand

heavin up

frae the lum-heid

a coomy craw

rising

from the chimney-pot

a sooty crow

speuggie keeks

throuch the wisteria

...his purpie dreidlocks

sparrow peeps

through the wisteria

...his purple dreadlocks

pop-concert  -

alang the wey,

gairden wa's broukit wi pish

pop-concert  -

en-route, garden walls

stained with urine

waddin day  -

cleidit brawly in fite

the haw-tree

wedding day  -

dressed in glorious white

the hawthorn

 schuil Mass

...ah hearken

tae the rowin thunner

school Mass

...I hear

the rolling thunder

yestreen's pear flourish

flutherin doon  -

fite-heidit granbairns

yesterday's pear blossom

fluttering down  -

white-headed grandchildren

a patch 

o pish-the-beds  -

sum sins sum muins

a patch 

of dandelions  -

some suns some moons

sodger's gairden  -

pish-the-bed puff-baws

...caunles fir the deid

soldier's garden  -

dandelion puff-balls

...candles for the dead

coronation day -

abuin the burn

a crans' carnival

coronation day  -

above the stream

a swifts' carnival

i the busses

a mistaen flourish:

chaffie

in the bushes

a mistaken blossom:

chaffinch

in an oot

o the auld postbox:

blue-bonnets

in and out

of the old postbox:

blue-tits

ristin bi the waaterside

unner

a blae sauch-paittrened lift

resting by the riverside

under

a blue willow-patterned sky

pear flourish  -

...an yon tig o reid

on the petals' lips

pear blossom  -

...and that touch of red

on the petals' lips

airlie mornin -

the blinterin licht

o the eesock's breist

early morning  -

the flickering light

of the dippers breast

voar circus  -

tits birl bi  thair neb

on threid-thin sprigs

spring circus  -

tits spin by their beaks

on thread-thin twigs

on a cauld mornin

the birsle

o gean treen

on a cold morning

the warmth

of cherry trees

efter the mawin

a hirplin bummer

heidin fir the gairdener

after the mowing

a limping bee

heading for the gardener

voar scooryin

tae brust oot  -

magnolia's olympic blinkie

spring racing

to burst out  -

magnolia's olympic torch

cailleachs' yoga 

on the strand  -

tiggin taes...seiven muins!

old ladies' yoga

on the beach  -

touching toes..seven moons!

shinders

ower the firth

... bodachs daffin it petanque

shooting-stars

over the estuary 

...old men playing petanque

swaws rowin in

fite-cappit

...maws on the strand

waves rolling in

white-capped

...gulls on the shore

kintra nicht maisic  -

a dug barks, twa dugs bark

thray dugs...

country night music  -

a dog barks, two dogs bark

three dogs..

tropical Isle

fantoush farins

...granfaither blaws on's scoatch bree

tropical island

exotic foods

...granddad blows on his his scotch broth

 a fuffy queue  -

suddently a bairn croons

...smirks spreid

an impatient queue  -

suddenly a  child sings

...smiles spread

stert o the saison  -

in the soomin puil

a lane deuk 

start of the season  -

in the swimming pool

a lone duck 

swans  -

yin snecks sauch twigs

the ither's baggit shiffle

swans  -

one snips willow twigs

the other's pregnant shuffle

maggie

nest biggin  -

gies a haun wi the weedin

magpie

nest building  -

helps with the weeding

frae ma winnock  -

a tod lamps by, an

ambulance stops...it ma yett

from my window  -

a fox lopes past, an

ambulance stops...at my gate

leafless sauchs  -

thair yallaness an oorie

bonnienesss i the weet

leafless willows  -

their yellowness

a strange beauty in the rain

echa  -

the lassie quat her sang

i the unnerpass

echo  -

the young girl left her song

in the underpass

jazz i the gairden  -

bleckie bleck bleckie broon

... a blae egg

jazz in the garden  -

blackbird black blackbird brown

...a blue egg

.

mornin hunds

yowlin, knackin

the bunts o freesty ghaists

morning hounds

howling, snapping

the tails of frosty ghosts

fou muin  -

i the gairden bawdrons' een

...yalla sins

full moon  -

In the garden cat's eyes

...yellow suns

the fush-van

feshes a snowk o the sea

tae the causey

the fish-van

fetches a smell of the sea

to the street

fluid trock redd  -

the burn

croonin agane

flood debris cleared  -

the stream

singing again

roondin a bend i the burn  -

the suddent licht

o swans an snawdraps

rounding a bend in the stream  -

the sudden light 

of swans and snowdrops

covid lockdoon  -

we brunt oor palm corse

an sainit ilk ither

covid lockdown   -

we burned our palm cross

and blessed each other

(Ash wednesday)

voar sin  

a boorach

o daffins

spring sun

a cluster

of daffodils

her gairden

fou o plastic skwurrels  -

she  fells the rael yins!

her garden

full of plastic squirrels  -

she kills the real ones!

Valentine's day  -

twa speuggies 

halfers a fat-baw

Valentine's day  -

two sparrows

share a fat-ball

ma brunt haun hailin  -

its huil

bairnlie new

my burnt hand healing  -

its skin

baby new

craws in sinlicht  -

on the wa

dirlin graffitti

crows in sunlight  -

on the wall

kinetic graffitti

twa windae-waashers  -

ah suddently mynd

a cataract appintment

two window-cleaners  -

i suddenly remember

a cataract appointment

frae the yirthquak's 

derk bore  -  a peerie bairn

...caum it its hamecomin

from the earthquake's

dark hole  -  a tiny child

...calm at its second birth

hern

humphed

amang the snawdraps

heron

hunched

among the snowdrops

swan preenin  -

a bygaun jogger

...her pink pleats

swan preening  -

a passing jogger

...her pink pigtails

 swans

doverin on the snaw:

swans

asleep on the snow:

wunter mornin  -

throuch lace hingers

 jeelt brainches

winter morning  -

through lace curtains

 frozen branches

new neebours  -

thair bawdrons veesits

weirin a reid boo-tie

new neighbours  -

their cat visits

wearing a red bow-tie

hogmanay rackets

brustin bricht fir saiconts

...the leal muin

new year fireworks

bursting bright for seconds

...the constant moon

alang the plainstanes  -

Yule treen untinselled

heeld on the buckets

along the pavement  -

Christmas trees untinselled

lean on the dustbins

furst day it schuil  -

mithers

greitin

first day at school  -

mothers

crying

Yule mornin  -

treen ableeze wi sparks

sae perfitly space't

Christmas morning  -

trees ablaze with raindrops

so perfectly spaced

 2023  -

a new neb waukens

in shut-doon door-cheek

2023  -

a new face wakens

in  a closed-down doorway

aw nicht

the orra maisic

o a chist smit

all night

the surreal music

of a chest infection

abuin ma care bed

lichts athort the ceilin

...cumin an gaein

above my sickbed

lights across the ceiling

...coming and going

furst snaw  -

hairst's musardrie

rubbit oot

first snow  -

autumn's poetry

erased

freesty nicht  -

efter the Yule pairty

glessy-e'ed dubs

frosty night  -

after the Christmas party

glazy-eyed puddles

blawy  -

lang Johns on the waashin rope

...doitit ballet

windy  -

long Johns on the washing line

...crazy ballet

auld tarrybreeks

on's daith-bed  

hearkens tae the maws pewl

old sailor

on his death-bed  

listens to the gulls cry

furst advent caunle

sterts tae daunce  -

sterts THE DAUNCE!

first advent candle

starts to dance  -

starts THE DANCE!

unco peerie squaik  -

maggie's fund

sumhin siller

strange little squeak  -

magpie's found

something silver

 trainspottin  -

myndin the auld puffers

...freesty braith

trainspotting  -

remembering the old puffers

...frosty breath

geelt hameless  -

reid straiks o a pastel lift

i thair een

frozen homeless  -

red streaks of a pastel sky

in their eyes

hern's fuitprents

amang the saugh leaves

...stobbie calligraphy

heron's footprints

among the willow leaves

...spiky calligraphy

wa-gang agane  -

eemigrant laddie

nirlin i the weet

leaving again  -

emigrant son

shrinking in the rain

 i the winnock  -

fou muin, attercap,

an the threids am claucht in

in the windoow  -

full moon, spider,

and the threads I'm caught in

doacter's appintment  -

it his winnock skwurrel

hunkers creckin a nit

doctor's appointment  -

at his window squirrel

sits cracking a nut

mawin the girss  -

the creck

o cracker nits

mowing the grass  -

the crack

of hazelnuts

burds cheeplin

wund i the treen  -  an me:

God's HI-FI seestem

birds chirping

wind in the trees  -  and me:

God's HI-FI system

saw neb dookin

gaein unner   -  syne 

scartin whaur a lug micht be

goosander bathing

going under  -   then

scratching where an ear might be

leukin lik the hinmaist leaf

on a nakit acer

...Reid Rab

looking like the last leaf 

on a naked acer

...a robin

auld tarry-breeks  -

his twa powls

the swallin causey

the old sailor  -

his two walking sticks

the swelling pavement

efter the weet  -

speuggie lans on a brainch

brings doon anither shour

after the rain  -

sparrow lands on a branch

brings down another shower

snail  -

his siller lines

o musardrie

snail  -

his silver lines

of poetry

on a brainch, sparks,

a raw i the sin  -

suin tae kythe as cluds...agane

on a branch, raindrops,

a row in the sun -

soon to become clouds...again