John McDonald

snell wund  -

throuch the causeys

a joogler jooglin gullies

bitter wind  -

through the streets

a juggler juggling knives                                        

Fume O Peat Reek (Hub Editions)

sundoon  -

she rugs a reid threid

throuch her flooerin

sunset  -

she draws a red thread

through her embroidery                                          

Fume O Peat Reek (Hub Editions)

aw day

the yin butterie

fouin the gairden

all day

the one butterfly

filling the garden                                                      

Fume O Peat Reek (Hub Editions)

hauf-tyme baund  -

yin chiel sheds himsel

wi a cymbal

half-time band  -

one musician shades himself

with a cymbal                                                                

Tuin Tin Tassie (Hub Editions) 

ower tottie

tae win tae thair chapper

he daffs alane

too tiny

to reach their doorbell

he plays alone                                                            

Tuim Tin Tassie  (Hub Editions)

yill bottle taps skailt  -

he hunkers

refleckin on the Galaxy

beer bottle tops scattered  -

he sits

musing on the Galaxy                                              

The Throu-Gaun Chiel (cyberwit)

in a seelent vennel

a maw skirls

swallaein the jeelin wund

in a silent alley

a gull screams

swallowing the icy wind                                          

The Throu-Gaun Chiel (cyberwit)

coortin kipple

a coffee atween thaim  -

stame heavin

young lovers

a coffee between them  -

steam rising                                                              

The Throu-Gaun Chiel (cyberwit)

freesty mornin  -

oot frae a jaur

the rizzard lavender's blae braith

frosty morning  -

out from a jar

the dried lavender's blue breath                              

The Throu-Gaun Chiel (cyberwit)

anither yirdin  -

sin blinters on the spaiks

o a birlin trinnle

another funeral  -

sun glitters on the spokes

of a turning wheel                                                      

The Throu-Gaun Chiel (cyberwit)

i the bombed kirk

a bairn

...skailt chalice

in the bombed church

a child

...spilt chalice                                                                          

zenspeug

awthing

rowed in sinlicht  -

naethin unforgien

everything

wrapped in sunlight  -

nothing unforgiven                                                            

Sommergras Sept 2012

bairn doverin

in a sinblink:

hapt in licht years

baby asleep 

in a sunbeam:

wrapped in light years                                                      

Taj Mahal Review vol12 no2

wi's razzor

he pynts tae the fou muin  -

his sowpied neb

with his razor

he points to the full moon  -

his lathered face                                                                

Taj Mahal Review vol 9 no. 2

immigration:

the bairn's derk fingers

kinchin's mither's herr

immigration:

the child's dark fingers                                                                 

knotting his mother's hair                                                            

Kamesan's World haiku anthology 

monks

cleedit in fite

pensefu caunles

                                                                                 Taj Mahal Review vol 10  no  2

monks

dressed in white

wistful candles

roon the wa's

faimilie photies

takkin tent o's deein

                                                                                   Taj Mahal Review vol 12 no 2

round the walls

family photographs

watching him die

fou muin  -

on the cunyie

a hooer's paewae neb

                                                                                      Taj Mahal Review vol 12 no 2

full moon  -

on the corner

a prostitute's pale face

sterns

cuilin aff

i the het bowie

                                                                                     Taj Mahal Review vol 12 no 2

stars

cooling off

in the hot tub

linn  -

throuch a pearl's rouk

the bodach skews

                                                                                   Taj Mahal Review vol 10 no 1

waterfall  -

through a cataract's mist

the old man squints

dementia  -

he hunkers i the mids

o a skailt jeegsaw

                                                                                     Taj Mahal Review vol 8 no 2

dementia  -

he sits in the midst

of a scattered  jigsaw

waddin day  -

a butterie fidderin

throuch thair sheddaes' herts

                                                                                      Taj Mahal Review vol 9 no 2

wedding day  -

a butterfly fluttering

through their shadows' hearts

midnicht express

pewlin

...teuk a fere tae heiven

                                                                                    Taj Mahal Review vol 11 no 1

midnight express  -

wailing

...took a friend to heaven

oor luvin...

mellin wi burdsang

at keek-o-day

                                                                           Taj Mahal Review vol 11 no 1

our loving...

mixing

with the dawn chorus

hoaspice veesitin oor  -

agane

the wappin beds

                                                                       Harvests of new millenium vol 3 no 1

hospice visiting hour  -

again

the enormous beds

echain

throuch the cosmos:

brattles shentin us

                                                                       Harvest of New Millenium vol 12 no1

echoing

through the cosmos:

gunfire shaming us

trauchlin hame  -

derk muins o's crummock

i the snaw

                                                                     Harvests of New Millenium vol l5 no 1

trudging home  -

dark moons of his walking stick 

in the snow

perishin kirk  -

frae the meenister's mou

ghaists o Yules bygane

                                                                             Harvest of New Millenium vol 6 no1

freezing church  -

from the minister's mouth

ghosts of Christmasses past

it sterts tae snaw  -

the blin musicianer

leuks upwarts

                                                                            Harvests of New Millenium vol 2 no 1

it starts to snow  -

the blind musician

looks upwards

the bairn

bletherin tae me  -

brawer nor wurds

                                                                             Harvest of New Millenium vo 6 no1

the baby

chatting to me  -

better than words

dementia

tentie o the butterie

...skeerie lik  

dementia

he watches the butterfly

...fearfully

*

voar ferr  -

pipes seelent

weet paradeedles

spring fair  -

bagpipes silent

rain paradiddles

*

anither bluid test

...traipsin the lang reid rod

o hairst

another blood test

...trudging the long red road

of autumn

*

furst burthday  -

balloons,gulshichs,

an time's smirkin mou

first birthday  -

balloons,cakes,

and time's grinning maw

*

Donegal mornin  -

yin lum

reekless

Donegal morning  -

one chimney

smokeless

(for Seamus Heaney)

the stag

gralloched  -

its croun o jaggies

the stag

hung to bleed  -

its crown of thorns

*

swaws rattlin  -

spairge

o brucken wattergaws

waves crashing  -

spray

of broken rainbows

*

maws fecht ower the bucket

...hameless

he squerrs's shouthers

gulls fight over the dustbin

...homeless

he squares his shoulders

*

wab

fingerprentin

the harr

web

fingerprinting

the mist

*

stour o's shock

ower  -

a stilt yirdin'm

storm of his stroke

over  -

a crutch earthing him

*

oot frae's mools

ugsome thrissels:

mools o the torterer

out from his grave

horrendous thistles:

grave of the torturer

*

autistic laddie

faw'n ower

cartoons jig on's neb

autistic boy

fallen asleep

cartoons dance on his face

*

brod set

wytein the veesitors

e'en the speens hearkenin

table set

awaiting the visitors

even the spoons listening

*

the bodach

hirples alang  -

bonnie kirstals growe in's bluid

the old man

hobbles along  -

beautiful crystals grow in his blood

*

auld freen  -

oxterin'm

oor banes bairge

old friend  -

embracing him

our bones collide

*

she wins awa...

brakkin the threids

o a wab

she leaves...

breaking the threads

of a web

*

a scrieve hame

desert stoor

slairt

a letter home

desert dust

smudging

*

wund amang the sprots

the cailleach

tellin'r beads

wind among the reeds -

the old lady

telling her beads

*

festival's en -

a lane pipie stauns

sax inch frae the muin

festival's end -

a lone piper stands

six inches from the moon

*

nicht soonds

fauldit inby

the auld saxyphone

night sounds

at rest inside

the old saxophone

*

peat lowe -

we hunker, threy glowein nebs

goavin at a fowert

peat fire -

we sit, three glowing faces

gazing at a fourth

*

potter's hauns

wrochtin the tuimness

o's blae joogs

potter's hands

shaping the emptiness

of his blue jugs

*

blowster -

'guid mornin' smirk

blawn awa

Gale -

'good morning' smile

blown away

*

the muezzin crys -

awbody taks on

the set o incaain

the muezzin calls -

everybody assumes

the shape of prayer

*

dryin nets -

maws drift athort

... a slaw gemme o chess

drying nets -

gulls drift across

... a slow game of chess

*

lang vaig -

she wyyves the miles intae

a granbairn's shawlie

long journey -

she crochets the miles into

a grandchild's shawl

*

the auld scuil steekit -

anely the bummers

murmellin a lesson

the old school closed -

only the bees

murmuring a lesson

*

tick tock...

the bombed bairn

pendles on's stilts

tick tock...

the bombed child

pendulums on his crutches

*

armistice day -

the reid maple

liggs its wreath

armistice day -

the red maple

lays its wreath

*

swans gaither

...bit the day the bodach

maits the wirms

swans gather

...but today the old man

feeds the worms

*