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  • The Ash Grove
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The Ash Grove

Ken Cockburn

a springtime ash, whose leaves emerge from black
an unlocked ash, so profligate with keys
a mourning ash, its branches heaped on pyres
a lettered ash, in the alphabet of trees
a hedgerow ash, which twists among the briars
a spreading ash, in summer’s heat a bield
a sporting ash, to take the shinty field

a warlike ash, for arrows and for spears
a lightning ash, and flame that flash provides
a hanging ash, a shade of dule and tears
a timeless ash, the horse which Odin rides
a steam-bent ash, which hoops the barrel staves
a buoyant ash, a charm against the waves
a blighted ash, whose crown is dying back


Ken Cockburn

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change list poems nature seasons sonnets trees
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Ken Cockburnb.1960

Ken Cockburn works as a freelance writer and translator, based in Edinburgh. His poetic practice often involves collaborations in other art forms, as in the Road North project with Alec Finlay, a Scottish version of Basho’s 18th-century journey in...
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