Apr 15, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Before My dead parents livein my heart, as I in theirsbefore I was born Without Dog Without the white dog,whose leg is injured, I walk,tentative orphan Bright Peeps Bright peeps of bird songlift a canopy of fog –forest floor’s greening Quarter Year’s a quarter goneas small turtles sun themselveson an old gray log Last Fire Last fire of the year,saying goodbye to a friendnever without cheer Spring Snow First azaleahad opened one yellow bloombefore the snow came Close You can come as closeas you want, now that you’re gone –there’s nothing to fear Garbage Dump Crows, seagulls, black, white,both know heaven’s scent still lurksin a garbage dump Dunes Even when we thinkwe’re settled, we’re still nomadsin memory’s dunes Spring Cleaning At 3AM we hearmice stirring in the walls – canit be spring cleaning? Robin And Squirrel Robin and squirrelmeet in a flowering plum,then each one takes flight Bloom And Blush Now’s season of bloomand blush, colors delicatebefore summer heat At Anchor The weeping cherry’spink petals ride at anchoron drooping branches Two Lips Forever, neverare the two lips togetherthat pronounce, kiss “now” Least Monotony Over and over,spring happens, untroubled byleast monotony Ash Ash is soft, soothingto worn hands, as if, transformed,lost trees still sheltered Softness Of Sleep The softness of sleepconceals the cunning of dream,elegant as fox Up, Up Mourning dove twittersup, up and away – I staybehind in thought’s shade Stillwater Geese on still watercommune with their reflectionseven as I do Wildflowers On the forest floor,tiniest white eyes are open,stare up at blue sky Shad Tree The shad tree flowersschools of snowflakes racing toclimb back up the sky Grief...
Apr 12, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Stupor Stupor in the west,chill fog in San Francisco,inside and outside San Francisco Bay San Francisco bayas blue as ever, blue asI remember me Market Unimaginablethis mushroom here before melemon lion’s mane Tumbling I tumble in dreamlike clothes in washing machine,wake wet with wonder Goldfinch The goldfinch that fliesis not the same bird that lightson my mind’s thistle.. Dark Line Distant pelicans,dark line on sea sullen blue –I’m part of them, too Ink Against Cloud Pelicans are firstcalligraphy on the bay,then ink against cloud Drake’s Beach My bare foot touchesat Drake’s beach Pacific fringe –cold is sudden, sweet Sweet Peas Sweet peas blooming pinkin salt flecked breeze – how littleit takes to find joy Cliffs In cliffs of Drake’s beachI see myriad faces,sand, rust, maybe me Old Drake I’m like old Drake, tooI touch and then must let go,sail my own ocean Taste Of Ocean A taste of oceanlets me be less and be freeas spray in the wind Two Cormorants Two cormorants divein unison, kin of inkhunting in the murk Voice Of Nothing I’m voice of nothing –miraculous – it forms sounds –returns to silence Lady Bug One lady bug, orange,in pocked well-traveled driftwood –when did she hop on? Liz Ninety-four years olddwindling she’s a sparrowwho hops off, takes flight Clover White clover is back,the snows of yesteryear, here,sweetened for summer Hot And Humid It’s hot and humid,weather magnolia’s lovedsince the beginning Leisure How much is leisurethe opposite of work, howmuch work all its own? Noose Summer’s in full swing,long shortening days, the noosearound its neck, loose Embargo An embargo stillsmy tongue – what’s so precious, moon.that I...
Apr 12, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
Surprise Sour cherries glowas red as coals, but don’t burnthe mouth they surprise “Live small…” “Live small and be large”slight motto for a cruel timewhen sloth and greed rule Now Is Now is the surroundthat’s always here, for it stayseven as it goes Blackbirds The hypnotic graceof birds in flight setting typeon the sky’s blue page Fog SF This fog is bracing,muffles sight and cleanses mind –soft life from the sea Oakland Docks Shining flightless craneslean over hulls heaped with “goods”or should I say “bads”? “Your days are numbered” “Your days are numbered”says the setting sun – I know,long for the new dawn As Little Mother, dead mother,you hear me as little nowas you did in life Our Boots Our boots by the wall,dusty from the morning’s ride,still and eloquent Llama I sit on the porchand look out on the valley,watch one brown llama Curtain Curtain of purpledelphinium by the creekrushing down Lundy Out The Window Out the window nowmist shrouded hills running north,still horses grazing Small Black Frog My horse’s hoof just missed a small black frog – neitherof them were concerned Whispered Thoughts I whisper my thoughtsto the white dog, sure she’ll keepmy confidences Abiding The abiding greenspeechlessness of pines underthe great mountain’s brow Raccoons’ Window The wild clematishas almost reached the raccoons’window in the oak Rain Hesitates The breeze barely stirsthe huge limbs of these old treesas rain hesitates Lost And Found Each and every dayis lost even as its found –memory’s a dream Near 60 What I know takes meby surprise as if I weretwenty and dreaming Pasture I move the fencesin my mind trying...
Apr 12, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
As Pale Pink Before its bloomingmilkweed blushes as pale pinkas the shyest dawn Boulder Father, each boulderis your monument for me,you, who loved the earth First Yellow Orange The first yellow orangesquash blossom was just openearly this morning What Music? What music do they,white cabbage butterflies, heardancing in the air? Rapturous Rapturous, the scentof milkweed crosses sunlitclearing in morning Content In Mint Cabbage butterfliesare content in mint as breezeruffles the dapple Not To Be Resolved Knowledge is freedom and tyranny both, riddlenot to be resolved As Grass As grass holds the ground,I try to grasp a bit, holdas I go to seed Power’s So Hungry Power’s so hungry,it tries to devour pitywhich sticks in its craw Miscegenation Brown as chocolate,this magnolia blossomafter three white days Golden Bee Sky of powder blueand the green day is immensewith a golden bee Cloud Pagodas Cloud pagodas floatin the soft blue summer sky – cloud colored dog sleeps Robins Arguing Robins arguingas first fireflies flickerand sky is pale blue No Fire No fire can burn loveto gray whispering ashes,nor make it forget Napping In afternoon heattiger lilies are nappingalong the roadside Indigo Bunting Indigo bunting –I had lost not just the namebut also that shade Babel I’m dreaming sevendifferent languages at once –and I understand Broadcasting After the rainstormmilkweed resumes broadcastingecstatic odor Gnarl I’d speak with the gnarlof tongues buried deep in wood,their thrust out of sight Two Infections A cold has me and I can’t let go of myself –that’s two infections Circumstance Serpent Circumstance serpentwinds around me while I’m notlooking – then squeezes Flavors I miss my parents,missed them while they...
Apr 11, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
First Day of Summer, 2008 The season has changedbut I remain just the same,riddled by inklings Geography Now’s geographyI am always exploring,yet can make no map A Long Time To live a long time,to outlive so many selves,to have been a crowd Instant A black cat slinks by –not our own resurrected –but for an instant… Prophecy Not so long agoyesterday was tomorrow –this is prophecy Bluebird Bluebird flashes by,concentration of the skycrossing this black creek At White Lily Just about high noonhummingbird refuelingat the white lily Alike Firefly in my handa single glow and then gone –how alike we are Hot Muggy This hot muggy daythe white dog lolls in the stream –why should she come out? Doubloons After thunderstorms,two goldfinches in the oak –doubloons in mid-air Wave Wave is, then is not,crashing in lace on the shore –I’m the same fabric Insouciant Insouciant snow,morning glories in summeras the day’s heat builds Softly AccompanimentI recognize, my childhoodplays softly inside Heat The heat of summerchanges how all reds are red,how yellow yellows Fact Losing I go most oftenon fact losing missions, not onthe fact finding ones That I Am This fact that I amor is it a fiction Ican’t find my way through? Stilts On stilts of sunlightmorning rises up through oaksto grasp blue of sky A Cloud The blue of my eyessuggests an internal skywhere I am a cloud Thyme A huge golden beein tiny pink blooming thyme –this scent stops me, too Two Bull frogs are twangingthis hot close summer morningafter two murders July 6, 2008 Last of the blackcaps,the very first blackberryfifteen feet apart White Veins...
Apr 4, 2009 | Haiku, Poetry |
White Egrets In the tidal marshwhite egrets at attentionas stiff sea breeze blows Opened Mouth An open mouthed fish,white, dead in seaweed tanglewashed up on Drake’s beach After Point Reyes On the other coastI left myself walking the beachwith wind for my thoughts Just As Flimsy I try not to put pressure on words, let them knowI’m just as flimsy Pepper Red Here in mid-Julydrought has brought a few leaves down,turned them pepper red Too Many Of Us Monarchs – not a one,blue fin tuna are few, too –too many of us River Talk The river can’t hear,but it talks and talks, says thingsthat sound new each day Peppers Little green rocketspoised atop their green fuel tanks –hot chili peppers Trilling Trilling cicadasancient chorus of summerunder a deaf moon Dead Mouse In The Path I cover distanceso I meet such diverse fateslooking for my own All Wrong I’ve done it all wrong –but what was it, anyway?I’ve no idea Monarch In Maine A monarch in Maine,first of this long hot summer,flying speck of hope Waves And Clouds The waves and the cloudsget all mixed up together –they’re only water Notes Take notes on nothing –these may well prove instructiveshould you meet something Slant Birches on a slanthalf fallen after the storm –white slashes in green Subway Platforms Living and the deadmingle on subway platformswhere my mind runs trains Never Speak If I understoodwhat I meant to say, I mightnever speak a word Terns The chattering ternsare gaiety and terrorsharing the same sky Popham Beach All’s apparitionon Popham Beach in the mist –my feet, yours, the sea Flash Flash of...
