The Morrow-bird - by
Stones, it won’t be sufficient
just to sit on your dowps and say ‘nay’.
Trees, don’t be waving your arms about
in some new breeze every day.
Scottish Parliament
The Beginning of a New Song - by
Let her new river shine on a day
That is fresh and glittering and contemporary;
Let it be true to itself and to its origins
Inventive, original, philosophical
The Voyage - by
And if or when the people’s surge subsides
/ to tourist trickles from this present spate,
/ do not relax or quietly desiccate,
/ do not…
Wolves - by
for the new Scottish Parliament
/
/ The icy rain is spitting
/ on the pines and golden birches.
/ Hangings of black cloud
/ are torn apart by…
For the Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 9 October 2004 - by
Open the doors! Light of the day, shine in; light of the mind, shine out!
/ We have a building which is…
In Praise of Bridges - by
I.
/
/ On our immigrant Canadian street
/ we heard at least twenty words for frozen,
/ spoken by snow-blonde children named for Icelandic volcanoes,
/ Ukrainian saints…
Coming back to Meall Fuar Mhonaidh - by
February, and the rising light leaves nothing illegible.
/ Meall Fuar Mhonaidh, snow-fisted, risks its name,
/ a lump of rock, rounded; a muscled…
Loss - by
The sound of horses’ hooves in market square
/ recalls the riding out to mark the bounds,
/ the summer rites and battles fought…
Morning Glory - by
1. SPL, Summer 1999
/
/ A photograph taken upstairs in the Library
/ of one of your ‘kinetic poems’,
/ the upright rotating bluegreen barber’s pole…
The Canny Moment - by
Pu awa the endill scheit o winter.
/ Yank it aff fae the pikes an runkled scruif
/ for the canny moment. Fae…
Labour - by
The bricht rays o the Winter Solstice daws,
/ Streakin oot owre the Mauchline Basin Plain,
/ Lichtin oan a slumberin colossus,
/ The…
Wounded Dancer - by
The earth as holy ground
/
/ The dancer holds her breath
/ homo-would-be-wise walks the earth
/ boots up and strides the earth
/ which now lies…