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short poems

‘How I pine…’ - by Tom Leonard

{ Poem }

How I pine for a hawdy,
/ yir really beautiful body,
/ ahm right besotten,
/ ah fancy yi rotten;
/ let’s huvva tet-a-tet
/ – stoap playn…

When the Times Darken - by Bertolt Brecht

{ Poem }

When the times darken / will there be singing even then? / There will be singing even then. / Of…

Struidhealachd - by Meg Bateman

{ Poem }

Nuair a bhios mi air leabaidh a’ bhàis,
/ b’ fheàrr leam gun rachadh agam air a ràdh
/ gun do chosg a’bheatha gu…

Heaven - by John M. Caie

{ Poem }

A croon, a harp, a bonnie sang,
/ Wi’ naething tae dee but tak’ wir ease,
/ An’ still-an’-on we’re loath tae gyang –…

When Day Is Done - by Iain Crichton Smith

{ Poem }

Sorrow remembers us when day is done.
/ It sits in its old chair gently rocking
/ and singing tenderly in the evening.
/ It welcomes…

The Great Journey - by Hamish Whyte

{ Poem }

The old couple
/ board the train
/ and make for a table
/ with facing seats.
/ The woman says
/ you sit here
/ and see where we’re going
/ I’ll sit…

Women Friends - by Pauline Prior-Pitt

{ Poem }

wise women
welcome as sunshine
spreading delight

The Old Nobby - by Ian Hamilton Finlay

{ Poem }

My hull is leaking like a sieve,
/ The paint is flaking off my hatches,
/ My heart’s not worn upon my sleeve
/ (But on…

Haiku - by Pauline Prior-Pitt

{ Poem }

obituaries
/
/ for people younger than you
/
/ in the daily news
/ …

‘That is a strange day…’ - by Alan Hill

{ Poem }

/ That is a strange day
/ when you wake to discover
/ age has drifted down
/ imperceptibly, like dust,
/ and you’re totally covered.
/ …

Just ahead - by Alan Jackson

{ Poem }

Just ahead of hunger’s where I ride,
/ Below the rocks, above the tide.
/ Wind in my cape, star above,
/ We…

Da Corbie - by John Peterson

{ Poem }

Supraeme sits he,
/ His fedders prinkin,
/ Sun-bricht,
/ Ita da grit sun’s glinkin,
/
/ A lowin flame,
/ Wi black een blinkin –
/ Nor deevil ane
/ Keens what he’s…

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Scottish Poetry Library
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Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
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The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
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