Scotland poems thus far

'Upon Arrival'
(Sept 25, 2009)

it is the wind that hits me first -
the Arctic north wind flying
south for the winter

when it rains, i'm told, it will
hit me sideways and even
the sturdiest umbrella

is no match for this gale force
which will whip my hair
like a flag half-mast.



'The Waves'
(6 Oct 2009 - after finishing V. Woolf's _The Waves_)

'Yes, this is the eternal renewal, the incessant rise and fall and fall and rise again.' - Virginia Woolf, _The Waves_

it is when the wave
punches the sand with its
white fist, when it digs

its heals and makes the bar
sink lower, that we learn
there will always be

death, always life, always
childhood with its big curious
eyes, always adolescence with

its unsteady limbs. we will
surely die. we will surely
survive the death of another.

and the kiss behind the
barn, the trip to India
which never happened

will be everything, will
be nothing, will be the
water and tress and bird-songs

which fill our lives
with wonder, with regret,
with splashing.