Apr 20, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Winter 2007 First dawn of winter –pale blue sky with rose margin –a few mourning doves Lost Shadows in sunshineall of those whom I have lostshadows in sunshine Blue Jay Blue jay in the fogas if the sky had escapedfrom captivity In Fog Every water birdin fog seems a part of dreamand the white dog, too Coots White dog dispersescoots – thunderous the applauseof rising lobed toes Mapping I’ve wandered so muchI’ve lost hope of mapping whereI’ve been, where I am Dream Sea I’m sleepy and wantto drift down into dream seato become a fish Like Thirst Sun slakes appetitelike thirst after grey daysand changes my mind Where? Do I hold my griefor does my grief carry me?Where are we going? Squawking Hidden in the mistmyriad geese are squawking –then the beat of wings Great Blue Great blue heron makesthe ugliest squawk as helaunches into fog Fifteen I’m trying to guesswhat’s the meaning of all this –I’m fifteen again Coiled Red buds on green canesof wild roses in winter –spring is coiled to spring Look Out What I see when Ilook out my windows dependson what is inside Think Less I want to think lessbut shadows are suggestiveeven in half light Oak Smoke The smell of oak smokeunder a gray wintry sky –I am burning, too My Forest Contradictions arethe pillars, beams of my house,wood of my forest Bowl Games New Year’s Day footballat once leashes, unleashesthe savage in me Finishing Finishing a year,starting anew – just the workdone by an instant Arrowheads Shot from morning’s bow,arrowheads of geese overthe crest of the hill A Black Stick White dog...
Apr 18, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Black River Cardinal overthe black river makes a shocksomething like waking Right Hip I slip on the ice,land on my right hip and seethe world made all new Print Roosts Blackbirds in bare oakshadows of blackbirds on snow –print roosts then flies Recesses In such recessesof me as I but half knowI invent a life Dark River Across dark riversycamores reach bright white arms,join against sky’s blue One White Whisker Just one white whiskercaught in sun says sleeping catis not a gray rock Sloppy V Geese in sloppy V –the settled ease of rich fieldshas wrecked discipline Clocks Buried Sixtieth birthday –clocks buried in my cells knownothing comes easy Peas Today’s dawning isunlike yesterday’s, unlikeas peas in a pod What I’ll Never I swim in detail,what is unaccountable,what I’ll never say Fallow Garden lies fallow,but underneath is fermentjust what works in me Heavy Heart Dad, I watched you pryboulders from the earth and knewyour heart was heavy Mute Transmutes Now clouds cloak the skyas a mute transmutes horn’s sound,finds a new beauty Light’s Insignia I don’t mean to tellthe whole story, just to showlight’s insignia Finches Dozens of finchesin tangled winter bare vine –all still an instant Piece Of Cloud Dog’s a piece of cloudcome down to wander the woods sniffing for squirrels Not White I’d begin againif I could find alphabetwhose hair was not white Cherish I cherish the crowswho lived through West Nile virus –surviving’s glad, sad My Creation My creation isa dog howling at the moonwhich is a deaf pearl Almost Twenty Black cat I wait ondemands water fresh and cold –she’s almost twenty Fierce Photon...
Apr 18, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
First Day Of Winter First day of winterwhiff of skunk under cream cloudriver dark and slow Sweet Goal I dreamt that I scoreda sweet goal in the World Cupand then I woke up Freedom’s Scent My dreams remind methat I don’t know who I am –they bear freedom’s scent Loose Mesh The loose mesh of mindcatches so much, lets so muchslip through without trace Solstice Tree A parrot’s flyingparallel to the ceilingclinging to the fir Changing Shape Aftermath of lovewhen the dead are mists in mindchanging shape, color Charcoal The oaks are charcoalon cloud as a gray squirreldives into ivy At Haulover Bay, St. John How could I have guessedsquid could be so seductive?love’s not deductive Meerkats A tiny litterof meerkats in my officeon a shelf of dreams Now I am older nowthan I’ve ever been, younger than I’ll ever be School On Magnolia This jade is the lastliving remnant of the schoolwhere I taught myself Wild Rose Tangle In wild rose tangle twittering small bird chorussings praise of sunlight Bed I’ve now put to bedthose who once put me to bed –their last sheets are earth Ice Ferns Now sun starts to thawice ferns from the dark puddlesin this muddy trail Quaint As Clothing I’m always nakedin my mind, so ideasseem quaint as clothing Rose Sun in the tangle of leafless winter trees makesa delicate rose Flicker’s Head Top of flicker’s headall the way up an oak, redhammer on blue sky Last Day Last day of the yearmy stomach aches for the past,for the future, too. How Wishes Travel How wishes traveldown the generations, work mischief and music...
Apr 18, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Winter Solstice Dawn after solsticefirst pale pink light tells me sunhas not deserted Stuck I am always stuckbetween “Hello” and “Goodbye”,mispronouncing both Snow News News of snow can’t reachthe worms in the earth untilit melts and then delves Afternoon Tea In a cup of teaI fall asleep, kept afloatby a raft of dreams No Way No way to retrievea flake of snow, not quite likeall the rest, melted Sudden Now Now’s always suddenfor here it is, and then not –whisper of regret Pearl And Grey Sky’s a patchwork quiltof pearl and grey, whose restlessseams are never done No Hurry No hurry’s shut upwith the snail in its dark whorl,slide on slimy foot Bird While I am readingmy mind flies away, a birdseeking its own sky Like A Wedge Grief is like a wedgethat waits for sledge’s impactto split me open Oak Smoke The smell of oak smokein winter sunlight tells meI’m alive right now Unruffled Ocean The winter sky’s blueas an unruffled oceanfree of continents Whisper Whisper of wateras flames lick a new oak log,one hour from ashes Stained Glass Arms of winter oakscarve blue sky into a mazeof stained glass windows Skins Of Night Grapes with skins of nighthold the fervors of sunlightof a season past Vanilla Moon Setting in the westvanilla moon’s recliningon its bright backside My Worries All afternoon Itried to sleep off just the factof all my worries Scholar I am a scholarwhose subject is ignorance,my own, massive Next I’m next to nothing,like lace chewed leaf or the frostthat morning will melt Last Day I watched the gold sunset this last day of the year,half...
Apr 18, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
One Cardinal I always wonderwhy one cardinal does notset the woods on fire Tiny Drab Such tiny drab birdshave such sweet lavish voices –I’m non-descript, too Last Light Last light of the year –pink oak trees reach for the sky –I’m both young and old Winter Rain Winter rain, steadyfrom sky as gray as the hairthat’s left on my head Sixtieth Year My sixtieth year’saround the corner, I wishI could bend light, see After The War Just after the war,I was born, who knew nothingof its strife, horrors Grief Rebuilding The war became partof me and each breath I tookwas grief rebuilding Fifty Nine Fifty-ninth birthday,walking in snow with white dogunder a gray bowl Understand Me Understand me – lightchanges instant to instantand so does seeing Dry Snow The dry snow has stopped,waits for the night wind to cometo shift it, sculpt it First Star Quiet of the nightas snow waits for the first starto slip through the clouds Black Nose White dog disappearsinto whiteness of the snow,black nose left behind All I Say All I say is saidin passing, some chance remarksbefore night takes me Lapse What I imagine I am is less what I amthan my lapse from it Indecent All of this odd lifeis indecent exposure,how sun devours me Young Crow What a young crow knowsit knows deeper than its bones –genes make tool making (Nature 13 January 2005 page 121) White Antlered The stain of shadowon the smooth surface of snow –oaks, high, white antlered Still On Snow White dog barks the barkshe saves just for foxes, barksand is still on snow All Love’s Lie...
Apr 16, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Disaster Disaster’s the starthat burns always too brightly in hope’s firmament Lost Question I’m shy of myselfand wander this paradiselike a lost question Blue Ease A day slips awayas pelican’s industrycontrasts with my ease Billion Years These beaches have sandto make a billion years passthrough night’s narrow hips Soldier Crab Armies Soldier crab armiesare on the move in moonlight –little do they know Sting Ray Sting ray in shallowsa melodious shufflethis side of flounder Whispers So many whisperssnake their ways through the domainof what I can’t say My Blue Eye I’m made to be, ceasein a lost sun’s golden blink,my blue eye, the sky Lost Horizon Horizon is lost,blue into blue before black,stars studded above Vaster Whimsy is a dreamof exit in a blue mazevaster than I know Dawn Breeze Clouds are boiling upfrom the horizon – dawn breezeripples purple sea Orphaned This is how it is –when I dream I am no moremy words are orphaned Rooster Knows Rooster knows day cracksalways a new way, each pinkand silver new found Frayed Green Sabers This banana treebrandishes all its frayed greensabers in the wind Palm Fronds Palm fronds glisten greenunder chalk runes written onpowder sky blue board Clouds Trekking Clouds trekking blue sky are an alphabet before any alphabet Suddenly Suddenly I findI’m looking back on my life –a fable, too true Other If I could have been someone other than myself,who would I have been? Bows of Cloud Unstrung bows of cloudfloat across powder blue sky –where’s Odysseus? The Lost In transparent blueof a green day on St. JohnI keep losing me And Tang Green turtle and tanglight...
