"leith" poems
Go fetch to me a pint o’ wine,
An’ fill it in a silver tassie,
That I may drink, before I go,
A service to my bonnie lassie.
The boat rocks at the pier o’ Leith,
Fu’ loud the wind blaws frae the ferry,
The ship rides by the Berwick-law,
And I maun leave my bonnie Mary.
The trumpets sound, the banners fly,
The glittering spears are rankèd ready;
The shouts o’ war are heard afar,
The battle closes thick and ******
But it ’s no the roar o’ sea or shore
Wad mak me langer wish to tarry;
Nor shout o’ war that ’s heard afar—
It ’s leaving thee, my bonnie Mary!
2.7k
Sometimes
I imagine,
low flying gulls
pilfering dreams
then selling them
on Leith walk
for 1.50.
Mar 19, 2011
Mar 19, 2011 at 4:03 PM UTC
Into our rooms, we scurry
into the comforts of chairs we can spin on,
screens we stare at for hours;
there is so much we have condensed
into the slight rhythmic movement of the wrist.
Only twenty years old and where have I come to,
on a desk with a jar of money beside Derrida
(with a cartoon where Plato instructs Socrates)
and the tattered pages of
Foucault, madness and civilisation -
those sick lepers ride a boat, which reminds me:
the Leith overflowed today, gushing
rushing into the harbour. I
looked out the window, imagining
it was Styx
and the ferryman had come to get me.
There is so much
artistry to it all, sometimes
it overwhelms me and I stutter
and remain silent for days;
the swirling air encloses
around; leafs tear,
wind flurries, shuffling shoes
shuffle shoefully
marbles that drop down stairs
knock knock
tick tock, tick tock
old Clock tower ding ****
ding, these clocks, Burns, don’t you get sick of them?
it is now time to begin
the lecture. Open
the rows
for late students. I am definitely
going to be late today. Look, someone has inscribed
“you are the yellow bird I have been waiting for”
I feel great
Can we write our stories with passion today?
Can we speak to each other properly today?
Can we see the sky rupture today?
It’ll be like walking the beach at night
at sunset.
Oh, god
when will
I ever
Forgive me, forgive me, I was distracted
for a second there
with Lear’s fool who implores
“Give me an egg and I’ll give thee two crowns”
and the funny looking cat that stares at me through
the bathroom window.
Apr 17, 2013
Apr 17, 2013 at 1:37 AM UTC
Were You To Be Gone
Could I carry on
Were you to be gone
I guess I can
But do understand
The skies would be blue
But have no more color
Not driving with you
Would lose all of its wonder
Songs would be noise
Losing all of its joy
Sunshine on Leith
Sounding more like a bleat
A walk through the mill
Would only be Bill
No longer as green
A whole different scene
Those rides to nowhere
Would lose all of its flare
I’d hear no more laughs
For my driving gaffs
Going out to eat
Would just be that
No longer sharing
Just me getting fat
Could I carry on
Were you to be gone
I guess I can
Be a man with no plan
Dec 12, 2018
Dec 12, 2018 at 5:58 AM UTC
A storm front moved maculately
West to east like weather
Delaying flights of fellow improvisatori
Sepia tones overlaid on eyes like heather
Dull gray weather, hardy like the heath
Ahead of horrid humidity
Far away, is there sunshine on Leith?
Only Scottish proclaimers know with certainty
Fake trees and grass
Sit before window glass
And internal highways beckon
But first I’ll wait
as this flight is late
By some 3600 seconds.
-071410-
Jan 14, 2015
Jan 14, 2015 at 1:37 PM UTC
I held onto your nettle rope
that your hands fashioned
then we descended
the watch tower in Leith Hill,
elopimg through the
greensand way
so that we could by pass the silent pool
where no young maiden could
tbe waylaid
by errant Knights again.
By such means compassion blossomed
gallantry pertained to new days
Jan 17, 2016
Jan 17, 2016 at 3:12 PM UTC
Young Robert clambered from his bed,
This bonny boy, the town smack head.
He drew the curtains, struggling to find his wits,
The death of his brother had made him turn to this, in bits.
Dressed in clothes not changed for a week,
He slowly wandered down the street
Looking for things to rob, dear and cheap.
As he pondered the Edinburgh crowd,
He began to think all were sheep
Stuck in societies pleasures, but little did they know
of the everlasting euphoria that comes with narcota
In the godforsaken rain, wind or snow.
And young Robert, or Bobby to his mates
Was nothing but doomed, funded by the state.
Jun 20, 2017
Jun 20, 2017 at 5:48 PM UTC
Mcdonald says
A jimmy wis lost
in Auld Reekie
'n' sae asked
a polis boaby
is thare
a B& Q in Leith?
'
n' th' polis boaby said
Na bit thare is
a D & E in Dundee.
We hud a roar
'n' Finch bought
th' neist round o' drinks.
A scotsman wis
in a taxicab
whin th' driver said
Th' brakes dinnae wirk
'n' we ur gaun
doon th' road
'n' ower th' cliff.
Sae th' Scotsman said
If ye cannae
stoap th' taxi
at least stoap
th' ruddy meter.
Ah laughed
bit he juist sat thare
wi' that straecht goup
o' his
smoking his ***
wi' care.
Mar 12, 2021
Mar 12, 2021 at 4:33 AM UTC
I was wondering why our being is here,
Why illusion more than liberation is near
Nirvana spoke in me, Vasana followed by a fallen tear.
I was wondering why darkness still comes after light.
Why One had to disperse, had to suffer, had to fight
And why the light had to come down from the height.
Leith kanfoud.
Feb 26, 2021
Feb 26, 2021 at 10:27 AM UTC
Depollute me, pretty baby
**** the rot right out of my bloodstream
Oh, dilute me, gentle angel
Water down what I call being grateful
Oh, you kissed me just to kiss me
Not to take me home
It was simple, it was sweetness
It was good to know
You look perfect, you look different
I don't wonder about your indifference
If I said you could never touch me
You'd come over and say I looked lovely
Oh, you kissed me just to kiss me
Not to make me cry
It was simple, you are sweetness
Let's just sit a while
Depollute me, gentle angel
And I'll feel the sickness less and less
Come and kiss me, pretty baby
Like we'll never have ***
Mar 26, 2025
Mar 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM UTC
Party time in the club
Enjoying one selves every day
Loud music playing in the corner
Close to the bar so people can get ******
Then a man came up to the other man and said he was a loser and that man gave him
An almighty wollop
Over the head and he started
To fall down
He went to the dentist to fix up his teeth
And after that he went to see
Damien leith
His music was cool
And everyone danced
And other people headed to
The lounges for a bit of romance
He drank a vb followed by a XXXX
And lied down on the lounge
Waiting for a bit of ***
We see 25 chicken kebabs
On the kart outside
I think the man running it
Went inside
To get more ingredients
To make them happy
The crowd said come on
Be very snappy
Cream sitting on the lounge
Mark sitting there having a bit of a winge
Not good not bad not great
But not horrible
You see the homeless
Are waiting for their meal
All you care about is
Drinking beer and then spew
Aug 9, 2017
Aug 9, 2017 at 6:48 AM UTC