BEGUM, WIPE THE DUST

Round and round
looking for words
on warm streets

__slate and stone crunch
__along the hidden path

run to the garden, little ones
sun, beautiful sun
Begum, wipe the dust

__through yellow lace curtains
__gold glints in the jeweller's shop

running by the river
despite the pouring rain
she listens to the radio

__red cheeks and hot head
__angry son and crazy dad

playing cards at green table
three gamblers
losing patience

__the night rears up
__two silhouettes tumble

under her feet she
feels the shards
of a lover’s heart

__the teacups clink
__lunch is near

one corrupted disk
fifty-six wonderful photos
lost

__colours crackle
__everything ochres

a long cool crescent
slowly uphill
the perfect putt

__flame-headed girl
__strikes a match

million year-old beetles
shimmer in their coats
of coal

__the sea reflects
__evolution in your eyes

day after day
the cat mourns the mouse
that got away

__squirrels get busy
__the memory of nuts

violets and blues
mute astonished daffodils
so sudden

__a circle of pots
__to start a roof garden.

a nijuuin renga in summer
the hidden gardens, Glasgow
July 16, 2005

Participants

Colin Will (master poet)
Elspeth Murray (host poet)
Tasneem Karim
Bronagh McInerney
Heather McMillan
Raizia Sultana
Marianne Wilson