The Ash Grove

The ash tree is symbolically associated with healing, so it is ironic when one considers how prone the trees are to ash dieback disease. In 2013, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh organised an exhibition about ash dieback disease, and it was here that Ken Cockburn’s ‘The Ash Grove’ first appeared. Now, it has been added to Cockburn’s Floating the Woods (Luath Press, £9.99), a new collection that mixes haikus, nature poetry and meditations on Roman history and classical mythology. Cockburn launches Floating the Woods at the Scottish Poetry Library at 6:30pm on 29 March, in a free event.

a springtime ash, whose leaves emerge from black an unlocked ash, so profligate with keys a mourning ash, its branches heaped on pyres a lettered ash, in the alphabet of trees a hedgerow ash, which twists among the briars a spreading ash, in summer’s heat a bield a sporting ash, to take the shinty field

a warlike ash, for arrows and for spears a lightning ash, and flame that flash provides a hanging ash, a shade of dule and tears a timeless ash, the horse which Odin rides a steam-bent ash, which hoops the barrel staves a buoyant ash, a charm against the waves a blighted ash, whose crown is dying back

You can find a copy of Floating the Woods by Ken Cockburn at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT. For poetry enquiries, e-mail reception@spl.org.uk or visit www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk.