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animals

Ducks & Rabbits - by Veronica Forrest-Thomson

{ Poem }

in the stream;1look, the duck-rabbits swim between.The Mill Raceat Granta Placetosses them from form to form,dissolving bodies in the spume. Given A and see2find be3(look at you, don’t look at me)4Given B, see A and C.that’s what metaphor5is for. Date and placein the expression of a face6provide the framefor an instinct to rename,7to try to […]

The Vixen - by Ken Sutherland

{ Poem }

The vixen skreichs I the wuid
at the hinmaist o’ the day;
thon’s an eldritch cry
frae the day-daw o’the warld
yit souns for us this nicht.

Visiting the Animal - by Lesley Glaister

{ Poem }

I press my face against the glass
/ and there he is:
/ the recognition is complete
/ my way at least. The padded
/ luxury of his…

Charades with Freya (7) - by Diana Hendry

{ Poem }

Animals are easy. I can do penguin waddle,
/ hoppy frog, snappy croc. And Actions – all
/ those ings – dancing,…

from The Cherrie and The Slae - by Alexander Montgomerie

{ Poem }

About ane bank, where birds on bewis
/ Ten thousand times their notis renewis
/ Ilk hour into the day,
/ The…

Adam, There are Animals - by Chloe Morrish

{ Poem }

There is a small fox
/ slipping through the fabric of morning,
/ still coated in a layer of grey dusk
/
/ and carefully placing his…

The Victoria Falls - by Muriel Spark

{ Poem }

So hushed, so hot, the broad Zambesi lies
/ Above the Falls, and on her weedy isles
/ Swing antic monkeys swarm malignant…

I, Lizard, performance artist - by Emily Ballou

{ Poem }

My art is my performance. / My performance is endurance.

Rats - by Alison Prince

{ Poem }

You want to be a fat cat, want to do the deals?
/ Fix the odds, pull the birds, eat expensive meals
/ that…

Winter Piece - by Harry Martinson

{ Poem }

Delicate ermine tracks
/ cross lightly
/ in eights on the winter snow
/ there where a hidden ice-brook with its white fur roof
/ winds forward,
/ there where…

Flying-Fox - by Albert Wendt

{ Poem }

More rat than bird,
/ more superstition than fox,
/ you hang from that banyan
/ branch like a deflated black
/ umbrella and, when you flap
/ through the…

A Little Nap Rap - by Christine De Luca

{ Poem }

A little nap rap
/ When I got home one evening
/ to my cosy living room
/ I found a squirrel at my table
/ and…

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Scottish Poetry Library
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Edinburgh EH8 8DT
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© Scottish Poetry Library 2026.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
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