Poem Seven: Things I Didn't Know I Loved--photos

Here are installation photos of the seventh poem in the series. A big thank you to Fionna Murray for the handwriting, Austin Ivers for technical prowess and Hazel Walker (of Aberdeenshire) for her helping hands. To read the poem in its entirety, go down to the posting for Feb. 15.

Poem Seven: Things I Didn't Know I Loved

Poem Seven: Things I Didn't Know I Loved

Things I Didn't Know I Loved (After Hikmet)

I didn't know I loved the street dogs of Boyle
every one, equal parts scruffed-up and old-souled
or that there was a reliable gang
of plasterers available to me at reasonable rates
if only I'd ring.
I didn't know I loved funerals, certain funerals,
how a village whips into action, Hi-Vis vests donned,
someone yells, "JOE! PRIEST CAR!" and it's directed
among traffic cones. (There's an underlying passion.)
I didn't know I loved shadows
the ones stone walls cast, how they map
a forked path to pick along.
I didn't know I loved hen parties de-bussing at the chapel
or Those Nervous Animals versus Drumshanbo Gun Club.
I didn't know I'd come to love the "u"
in colour, rumour, and neighbour
or how when a friend from Aberdeen says "odd"
it sounds, to these ears, like "awed".