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| Best
Scottish Poems 2005 Introduction |
The Poems | Acknowledgements
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The poems |
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| Larry Butler |
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Four Directionsfor and after Gael Turnbull. 3 July 2004 The garlic bulbs burst bolt to attention long stems rise upwards twist then point southwards scent of fresh salad the garlic bulbs burst First published in island, No. 11. Reprinted by permission of the author. 'Four directions' was inspired by and written for Gael Turnbull on the day I heard about his sudden death. I’ve been a fan of Gael’s poetry since the early 70s when I found his books in the London Poetry Library: A Trampoline: Poems 1952-1964 (1968) and Scantlings (1970). In recent years I’ve had the pleasure of his readings and performances which were always innovative and playful. His nature poems often reflect through repetition and rhythm what actually happens: burning turning the earth the leaves (from 'Six Country Pieces') When I heard Gael had died I went down to my allotment to see what was happening in the natural world, and I read aloud his collection, A Gathering of Poems. Because of a wild rose bush nearby, I lingered over 'Five/Four Time', reading it over and over since the beginning is the end, the end the beginning: bramble hedge roses weave and unravel loop and turn backwards roses in tatters bramble hedge roses The music is the language, the language is the music and the images float forever on the wind. I looked up and saw my garlic bolting and twisting like writing in the air. Being influenced by Far East traditions of imitating the masters, I took Gael’s poem and used it as a template for my own. All his lines have five syllables, all my lines have five syllables. We begin and end with the same line, the rest are short couplets playing with rhyme and alliteration. Gael has five couplets; I finished with four. In an earlier version, I had a fifth couplet: 'garlic seed floating / gloating your words', but decided it was too obvious. Less is more. The line: 'for migrating birds', is both a tribute to Gael’s pioneering Migrant Press, and an acknowledgement of his passing from this place to who knows where. With such a clear structure to follow, my poem almost wrote itself. After the funeral in the cemetery behind the church, I read my poem then put it in his grave along with a biscuit his grand-daughter gave him – 'He might be hungry where he’s going'. An elegy for Gael Turnbull, with its suggestion of migrations, wildflower freshness and sorrow. Larry Butler was born in Illinois, grew up in northern California, and has lived in Glasgow since 1981, where he teaches Tai-Chi, movement and leads improvisation workshops. He co-founded the Poetry Healing Project out of which he founded and developed Survivors’ Poetry Scotland and Lapidus. Previously in London he was Director of PlaySpace Trust, Matchbox Theatre, and co-director of the Drama Therapy Centre. A few years ago he completed a feasibility study for the Greater Glasgow Health Board on the idea of 'Arts on Prescription' and now he is helping to create an arts/eco-village, as well as collaborating with a jeweller, a visual artist and an architect to make 'a place where thought happens' – a portable, autonomous, origami hut. › island |
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