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advice

For Refuge - by Pippa Little

{ Poem }

Use no names. Roads
/ have been whited out,
/ redacted.

As Time Draws Near - by Iain Crichton Smith

{ Poem }

As time draws near
/ the end of our days
/ and the plates fall
/
/ away from our knees,
/ let us not be…

Let Me Not - by Pauline Prior-Pitt

{ Poem }

Let me not be tempted
/ to talk incessantly about my illnesses;
/ the love of rehearsing them has become too sweet.
/
/ And more…

Avoiding the gods - by Ian Abbot

{ Poem }

They have come
/ to scald our blood, to call us out
/ from our bright houses to the twisted shadows under trees.
/ Let us…

How to Construct an Albatross - by Louise Greig

{ Poem }

Begin by setting the instructions aside.
/ Instead tune the mind to flight.
/ Attach the huge, clunking wings (treat like hangar doors)
/ – do…

The Peace of Wild Things - by Wendell Berry

{ Poem }

When despair for the world grows in me
/ and I wake in the night at the least sound
/ in fear of what…

From the Line - by Roderick Watson Kerr

{ Poem }

Have you seen men come from the Line,
/ Tottering, doddering, as if bad wine
/ Had drugged their very souls;
/ Their…

Lines for a Bookmark - by Gael Turnbull

{ Poem }

You who read…
/ May you seek
/ As you look;
/ May you keep
/ What you need;
/ May you care
/ What you choose;
/ And know here
/ In this book
/ Something strange,
/ Something…

The Guest House - by Jalaluddin Rumi

{ Poem }

Translated by Coleman Barks
/
/ This being human is a guest house.
/ Every morning a new arrival.
/
/ A joy, a depression, a meanness,
/ some…

Wit is it - by William Letford

{ Poem }

The stonemason sade it’s aw in yur heed
/ Yur eyes ur like windeez an yur brain’s gon naywhere
/ Build yurself a palace
/
/ The…

My First Bawbee - by Archibald McKay

{ Poem }

O! nane, I trew, on a’ the yirth
/ Was happier than me,
/ When in my wee…

Be prepared - by William Letford

{ Poem }

wear three T-shirts and one hooded top
/ layers are important
/ they can always come off
/ remember your oilskins
/ it’s always raining somewhere
/ wear a scarf
/ cold…

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Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2021.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
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