Reticence

The wooden columns of the Byre Theatre, St Andrews,

are like tree trunks holding the grove of the interior

space.

Three years ago, I installed a series of four-word poems

on the four sections of each column. Since then, all

the poems have been removed but for one column

which still bears the single word - 'reticence'.

Dusk print

New Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow.

a rudimentary song

Brief descriptions of bird songs in vinyl lettering

attached to a window looking onto a courtyard

planted with birch trees and benches.

New Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow.

Eight Delays

Eight poems on plaques attached to eight benches

in a courtyard. New Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow.

after the shower

it goes on raining

gently on the pond

under the willow

Selected Grasses

The names of grasses scroll across a moving

light sign. New Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow.

d'acqua e di boschi

sul margine di un bosco

l'esitazione di un istante

come dovrai comportarti

in compagnia degli alberti

andare con la corrente

oppure contro corrente

scorrere via continuamente

essere constantemente colmato

poems translated by Chiara de Luca

d'acqua e di boschi

is published by Edizioni Kolibris, Bologna

www.edizionikolibris.eu

after Lao Tzu

a small country sparsely populated
with a wealth of resources
never exploited
people seldom go far
their boats never venture
far from the shore
they have sophisticated devices
but seldom use them
energy and intelligence
but never display them
well-fed and clothed
living simply and quietly
they are honest to the honest
honest to the less than honest