Aurochs to Zorra

Gardyloo!

Gardyloo!


Beware what flies
out yonder window
to the gutters below.
Beware it does not
shower you
with its fragrance
malodorous and rare.

Not,
the cologne of lilac, vanilla, pine
that greets you on your paths
through glen and garden!
Nor baby powder,
fresh and fine.

Don’t look up!
It stings the eye.

So beware
when next you hear the cry:

Gardyloo!

Be quick
and step aside.


© Kåre Enga

gardyloo: an old cry in throwing water, slops, etc.,
from the windows in Edinburgh.