Four haiku from Zen Speug

Poet-in-Residence is pleased to feature another small selection of haiku from the ever-growing Zen Speug archives (quick P-i-R link at left). The haiku are published with kind permission of Edinburgh's talented haikuist John McDonald and displayed here with their English translations. In Poet-in-Residence's humble opinion the first and last are well worth a longish linger.


simmer shows -
the attercap biggs
his hoose o dreid

summer fairground -
the spider builds
his house of horror


the cailleach
an the burn
...at thair ain slaw raik

the old lady
and the stream
...at their own slow pace


cadger an's dug -
his dowie sang
follaes me hame

beggar and his dog -
his sad song
follows me home


yill bottle taps skailt -
he hunkers
refleckin on the galaxy

beer bottle tops scattered -
he sits
musing on the galaxy

c) - John McDonald (2008)