a single egg fell
from the nest in the pine tree
doves in grey mourning
4/17/11
sometimes when I ride
i want to close my eyes and
let the horse rein me
4/19/11
having a kitten
means going through bandaids
like a house afire
4/20/11
on May twenty-first
at precisely twelve a.m.
rapturous moonrise
as the clouds were limned
just before the moon came up
i heard coyotes
5/21/11
4/8/11
now my sunrise year
of gray to crimson beauty
has come full circle
april to april
spring to spring, sunrise sunset
i’m the book between
4/3/11
remember april?
birth, death, anniversaries
unforgettable
house finches scolding
heavy cat kneading my arm
red deer in sunrise
3/29/11
the itinerant
doves of mourning have returned
for summer love songs
3/28/11
the lake is fierce
whipped tourquoise and aubergine
brave gulls time their dives
3/26/11
damn snow obscuring
stealthy black frozen puddle
ouch – i have fallen
…
hobbled by mishap
suddenly i see grey wings
northern harrier
3/25/11
sunrise slides northward
each day a bit farther left
Democratic sun
3/22/11
caked, stained tails and manes
the old grey mare turns to brown
mud season is here
…
they open the locks
far far north of here and the
lake level rises
…
vernal equinox
i feel a gut twinge, a cramp
like a teenaged girl
…
supermoon rises
in a cold clear sky
due east: proud blushed perigee
3/9/11
all careful plans have
larger forces at work, like
weather predictions
..
ladybug plays dead
good strategy, good for you
and good luck with that
..
cardinal treetop
bluejays in the apple trees
no bobolinks, yet
3/8/11
sugary branches
ice fog: what chilling god would
create such a thing?
2/28/11
february gasps
trees are figured in the rain
resolving details
I was called for jury duty in my county’s Supreme Court. Like most people, I saw this as an annoyance, an imposition and interruption of my own affairs, a selfish but justifiable sentiment. I forgot to bring a novel to fill the boring empty hours of selection, so I wrote some haiku.
…
jury duty call
a case of mental hygiene
clean, i am biased
no, i’m impartial
where my own bias occurs
cut from colored cloth
i feel dutiful
responsible, capable
also recluctant
marble leather stone
eagles brass rosettes bunting
words: in god we trust
if i am asked to
swear, “so help me god,” will i
be telling the truth?
so much waiting time
should have brought a book to read
crime and punishment?
church pews in the court
i guess justice is just like that
uncomfortable
what is he thinking
the accused sex offender
sports scores? what’s for lunch?
waiting for the judge
a juror parts her long hair
weaves a skinny braid
the court attendant
relaxes, along with us
reading the paper
all rise – we all rise
be seated – everyone sits
here come the judgement
some are duly sworn
i am not among them, i
am unselected
why disappointed?
partiality revealed
sets me free, or not
More winter haikus on topics of love, travel, weather and the seduction of spring.
2/15/11
I betray winter
by beginning an affair
with a younger spring
1/16/11
kiss of winter dawn
leaves a rime on my chapped lips
empty calories
1/5/11
nineteen ninety-one
flashback to the new year’s eve
he didn’t kiss me
12/28/10
Irate woman rants
gate agent blamed for all problems
a day in the life
12/26/10
The wind knocks palm fronds
against the roof, mocking sleep
impossible rest
The lake is freezing
seagulls float on mini bergs
crows stalk the shoreline
A half-grown cat’s tail
switches at the falling snow
winter under glass
Starlings tweak berries
from the tree’s winter fingers
oh, to fly as one
Here, invisible:
an eclipse eclipsed by clouds
better luck next time
Travel writer and fellow Freevillian, Rachel Dickinson, inspired me to explore the Haiku form with her Daily Haiku posts on Facebook. I think she cross posts them from a WordPress blog called The Daily Haiku. I was immediately hooked.
Here a few of the haiku I have written in the past few weeks, in reverse chronological order, starting with today:
—
Dec. 6
crows wheel in the wind
blowing snow drifts round the house
hot cat in my lap
—
Dec 5
a sound of crying
dominoes in migration
snow geese have returned
—
Nov. 25
menu: crock pot hen
baby peas and bread stuffing
cranberries, of course
Took dinner to the
old folk’s home and watched TV
she gave me a gift
—
Nov 23
mysterious sky
my changing weather outlook
winter advances
—
Nov 19, 2010
yes i♥friday
full of promises like an
unfaithful lover
Weekend mini series
Lust, shopping, TV, laundry
Sing Monday Monday
spider web catches
a snowflake and is revealed
otherwise unseen
—
Nov. 2 2010
I’m nervous today
about the voting results
sugar binge predicted
—
October 31
rain and snow obscure
the mountain in the distance
northern harrier
Sway To This : Patti Witten 