A selection from published books and pamphlets
The Necklace
In my dream
I gave you a necklace
of polished orange and turquoise stones
I placed the necklace
around your neck
and noticed then
how two of the stones were shaped
one like a heart
and the other like a scallop shell
each encased
in a delicate setting of silver
The rest I can’t remember
so I can tell you
no more
than this
I gave you a necklace
of polished orange and turquoise stones
I placed the necklace
around your neck
and noticed then
how two of the stones were shaped
one like a heart
and the other like a scallop shell
each encased
in a delicate setting of silver
The rest I can’t remember
so I can tell you
no more
than this
An Amazing TaleEverywhere you go in India
you hear tales of amazement One sunset as we sat in the café watching the sun not quite reaching the horizon but disappearing into a distant mist we heard Paul from Dunfermline relate how he had seen this man in an ashram hold his hands over the head of his girlfriend seemingly pushing her down When he took his hands away she shot up into the air which as Paul said is certainly something Hazel doesn't usually do of an evening |
New Yoga TeacherA new yoga teacher has arrived
and while the swifts swoop and chatter overhead she holds her morning class under the palm trees Her students sit in a circle around her She is the centre of their universe They all sit cross legged and listen to what she has to say She is so calm and composed sitting in the lotus position like a Buddha with the world swirling around her Her peace radiates Every gesture that she makes is so graceful and serene all can now see how balance can be achieved |
In the Museum of Tibetan Life DharamshalaThe monk hums his mantras. The room murmurs as he breathes. The eleven faced Deity of Compassion gazes down and around gently. The rows of golden Buddhas float in the cabinets. The woven colours of the hangings glow in swirling lines The monk hums his mantras. The room murmurs as he breathes. From the windows you can see mountains snow capped, sharp silver in the sunlight. Within all is deep shadows and candlelight. Breathe in the spice and scent of incense. The only sound the monk shuffling around as he hums his mantras the room murmurs as he breathes. |
A JumperThe train stopped in the tunnel
We waited Nothing happened I thought this is unusual Sometimes it stops at Govan and waits while the driver changes over but this is different I could hear a voice faintly No one moved Suddenly the door at the end of the carriage opened The driver walked through saying we needed to make our way to the next carriage We all got up and shuffled forward Found the front of the train was just in Buchanan Street Station A policeman in a yellow jacket was speaking on a phone People were standing around A girl in a uniform holding a clip board was asking questions Satisfied with what she heard she moved towards the carriage bent down did something The doors opened We got out There on the platform was a leather handbag with shoulder strap and towards the edge one black block heel shoe That was all |
Clear Light
Clear Light
All is light Divine Vision Peace and harmony Open space No longer needing to play the game
Space
There is no time There is only open space Emotion Passion Pleasure The past will revisit you
|
Durham CathedralThe people who built this place
knew what they were doing Solid rooted in the earth while soaring to all-powerful God What we see here are the bare bones of faith To have seen it in its early state of riotous colours gold leaf highlights glittering must have been an amazing sight before the Reformation zeal destroyed the frescoes smashed the stained glass defaced the statues Despite all this the cathedral still stands high above the city facing both east and west towards the rising and the setting sun almost encircled by the river far below This is a geomancer’s dream The people who built this place knew what they were doing. |
The Labyrinth1.
In the morning we walked the labyrinth heads bowed staring down at the light and dark lines that made our path The organ played chords ever ascending to the heavens clearing our minds meditation of movement long hypnotic notes soaring upwards to the vaults We followed one another along the lines of stone following in the footsteps of how many thousands from ages long ago seeking peace enlightenment a calming of the troubled mind only the polished stone beneath our feet A journey with no beginning and no end |
The Kasbah
|
AmagiLast night
Amagi came into our lives Before long conversation flowed wine was poured People came until quite a crowd had gathered all strangers until now from Latvia, Italy, England, Holland, Spain so many places Suddenly we were on the move stumbling down dark alleyways All the stalls now closed All thoughts of how we would return swept away with the joy of going |
MirleftWe arrive at Mirleft
in a grand taxi packed with people make our way to Hotel Abertih and enter There’s one guy sitting at the bar He turns and asks where we’re from Scotland I reply Whereabouts in Scotland? he asks Glasgow I say Whereabouts in Glasgow? he continues Pollokshields I reply Whereabouts in Pollokshields? he asks On the corner of Shields Road and Leven St is my answer. Bloody heck! says Jim That’s three doors from where my wife lives We have come all the way to this remote place and this is how it is We order two beers and in come Craig and Geoff from Cornwall and lo and behold they know most of our friends down there What is it about travel that makes you closer to where you've been than to where you’re going? |
Monday 5th December
|
VanyaHow we love you Vanya
Our first grandchild Our first granddaughter You are never still Except when you sleep Always running bouncing Dancing laughing Painting making Playing games on the iPad And your laugh Ah you have the family laugh Your Auntie Lucy has that too You are a bright spark in our lives But best of all we love When you hug us And say you love us Here on this distant island There is a little girl Who reminds us of you She too is never still Always running bouncing Skipping dancing laughing Just like you |
Sunday 25th December
Christmas Day
The sun shines The fishermen from Snake Island Arrive to sell their catches to the cafes There are crabs and sea urchins And many kinds of fish All with bright clear eyes This is how today begins Breakfast of fried eggs from the chickens That run around our feet With bacon streaky and smoked Warm bread A legacy of the French And Cambodian jasmine tea Life is surreal At this table on the beach Gazing out to sea Today The little flying fish Are putting on an amazing display Flashing silver shoals in the sunlight As we float near the shore They fly around us Like tiny dolphins |
Without YouThis would be nothing without you
Without you beside me The waves on the beach Would be meaningless The sound As they gently meet the shore We hear this day and night While awake While asleep It becomes part of us Of who we are Of who we have now become But without you beside me All of this would be nothing |
All of it
We like to float
In the warm water Close to the shore Gazing up into the sky At the sea eagles as they fly In wide circles With outstretched wings Lying in a hammock Gazing at the sunset Pale blue islands in the distance The sound of a flute The cry of a bird The beat of drums Swifts flying above Or at night sitting on deckchairs The breeze coming in Bright green lights Of fishing boats in the distance The sound of the waves The evening star All of it |
Angkor WatAs the sun rose
Monkeys scampered along beside us Fish rose in the moat An invisible bird Called out of the trees The high pointed tower Symbol of Mount Meru Came into view Gradually all the towers The surrounding mountains appear As we get closer We see pillars steps doorways We climb till we reach As high as we can go A plateau of dark and light And in the centre The sacred place Where dimly we see Images of the gods |
Glasgow School of Art
|
CatsWhile waiting to collect tickets
for the panto in the foyer of the Kings Theatre a swing door opens and in walks on two legs an extremely large cat who goes over to the bar pours himself a glass of water then saunters off through the door marked Back Stalls The man in front of me in the queue turns and says with a smile That must have been Macavity |
Vieux Farka TouraAt the Arches
Celtic Connections 2012 Rippling rhythms of Africa bass and drums tribal chants electric music They shake and play We sway out here in the darkness Lightness of touch aim so true while his voice echoes voices from the beginning Cry of a man alone surrounded by sorrow hardship survival a cry from deep within Fluid music a flock of birds pirouetting in the wind |
At the ConcertSitting on an
end-of-row seat at the concert I knew all the people with seats along the row would be barging past sooner or later So I sat up on the seat edge and waited Sure enough a couple came As they passed I said to her Prepared meaning I was leaving a way through Oh Yes she said laughing clutching a full glass |
While on an Evening WalkThe petals of the cherry trees
drift down like confetti Spring Weddings happening all around us |
Saddam ?looking out of the window this morning
I saw him again the man who carries two Sainsbury’s shopping bags for a short distance then puts them down on the pavement goes back for another one picks that one up and deposits it with the previous two and then repeats it all again How long it takes him to get his shopping home I don’t know Or even how far it is All I do know is that this performance happens from time to time and just after the Sainsbury’s bag man had shuffled off out of view I saw Saddam Hussain’s double again The moustache The shiny suit Always a cigarette Maybe he was |
Unpublished poems
Harvest MoonFrom our room
High above the castle walls I saw the Harvest Moon Sink silently into the trees Then I noticed to the East Through the window On the other side The sun arise from a distant hill filling the sky with golden light and all the while from far below the soothing sound as the river flowed and sparkling poured across the falls Now the tree tops level with my eyes glow green and still in the morning light I turn and see The whole wood panelled room filled with brightness end to end while diamond shadows of lattice windows make patterns on the walls Never before have we slept in such a romantic room And even as I finish these brief lines I sense a flash of movement from the corner of my eye as past our tower room a pair of swallows fly With thanks to Philip Howard of Naworth Castle |