Poem: God Save The Queen

And the natives wear garlands –
Do they always wear garlands?
I doubt it.

Still, the food’s good.

Weddings. They tell me the whole world’s watching,
On various channels.

I watch my grandchildren.

The schedule – another red carpet
Leads up to an aircraft;
My husband admires the hardware.

I’ve done it so often, I do it so often,
So many years since I was me.

Think of me:

The only one silent as they sing the National Anthem.

29 June 2011

Poem: Anniversary Poem

Eleven long low years;
Eleven short slipped years.

A service to the nation.
A service to the poor.
A firework display.
A midnight crawl.
A thousand laid low words.
A hundred sweet sung notes.
A collision of hope.
A collision of sorts.
A collection of thoughts.
A connection of birds.

Eleven low left years;
Eleven sun stained years:
All I have to give.

All I gave I take back,
All I have you gave,
All you gave you will take back:
How many long low years?

28 June 1997

Photography: Leithscapes 01

Ten photographs taken in Leith:

Poem: Leap Year

In the hours of a day that normally
Doesn’t exist

We walk the minutes giving normality
A twist,

In a carnival caused by the
Curve of our trajectory,

Our movement turning slowly at
High speed through space.

We take the opportunity to turn
The direction of our story,

Challenge our selves, our
Circumstances, our place:

Discover this fiction that we have kissed.

29 February 2012

Poem: Princes Street Gardens

The park of lovers

In green gold sunlight,
Then clouded over,
Then green gold sunlight.

The eyes of others
Their eyes on others,

The park of lovers,
The home of lovers.

The city’s centre,
The city’s sunlight,
Then clouded over.

We move together,
Alone together,
The blades of pleasure.

15 September 2007

Poem: Suddenly

Suddenly deceit will stride into history,
Suddenly strangers will discard their mystery,

Suddenly bodies will sweat with a sweet consent,
Suddenly prophets will read the New Testament,

Suddenly killers will kiss in their prison cells,
Suddenly markets will see that it’s truth that sells,

Suddenly science will unlock another layer,
Suddenly colour will be but a fact of air,

And a billion small heroes pushing at walls,
The millions tip-toeing down forbidden halls,
Will not be around when the edifice falls,
Will die in the silence of their still-silenced calls,

So when suddenly comes let us suddenly stop
And remember the planting that led to the crop.

6 September 2011

Poem: Chain

Water and wine.
Wine and time.
Time and time alone.
Alone and alive.
Alive and awake.
Awake and aghast.
Aghast and relaxed.
Relaxed and restrained.
Restrained and open.
Open and listening.
Listening and speaking.
Speaking and sleeping.
Sleeping and pausing.
Pausing and continuing.
Continuing and ending.
Ending and laughing.
Laughing and glass.
Glass and stone.
Stone and water.

29 March 1997