Waving - by
I took your black fedora
from its hook in the hall and donned it
for you on the doorstep, waving,
as they drove you off into the void.
Best Scottish Poems 2020
WHAT IF THE MAJOLICA PLATE - by
what if the majolica plate
is a pot for a definite
purpose simply formed
to cast a speech bubble?
The Turquoise Slipper - by
News film
of a covid ward
lodged in my head
The Whitby - by
I know that out on the water, welcomed home,
is a replica of the ship they took my ancestors in–
to sugar plantations for former slave owners.
An Leabhar II - by
gus a thoirt a-steach do thèarmann teanta
is a shealltainn do do bheathaichean lìonta.
The Future - by
Doncha see the future
brightening like a golden sunset?
Summer - by
Where heather and Scots pines
Remind us of evenings past
When the world was less a place of wrong,
Story - by
In the manuscript, the verses
are written out on pages washed
with subtle colour.
Song of the Sevens - by
They say a star bigger than our own reaching its end becomes so dense matter
turns in on itself. I see dissolution, continuation in unconnected space.
Sing like a linty - by
For these are the ones
Wha stand on the sidelines
Like hunters wi guns.
No fellow-travellers - by
The stones face each other
in rows like booth-style
compartments in old trains.
Love in the time of Lexapro - by
It’s not quick & I’m resentful for this.
My SSRI & I are in a deep, dream-like relationship.
I am fully awake in the static;
when they leave, I shake,
when they stay, I sleep.