Category: Issue 07

wind shift–
the hunting dog
quivers

still pond –
I write my name in water
with a dry stick

first cold night–
the click of your domino
as we play by the fire

Veteran’s Day–
my chanting produces
a sparrow

moonless sky
so much darkness
from my pen

oppressive heat
from the block of flats
a tuneless song

November rain
buzzards drip from the water tower

after the rain –
the silence between
insect songs

cold fireplace –
I light it up
with the letters from you

autumn deepens . . .
the slow stroke of a crow
into the wind

leonids —
the sparkle
in her laugh

in falling snow
a fawn browses alone –
autumn dusk

crime scene
a cluster of
crushed begonias

meteor shower . . .
a gentle wave
wets our sandals

first snowfall –
a city-full
of student drivers

too blue
for this sky
late jay

Mars landing-
a tendril of red dust
shifts from a footfall

black fedora
the blind man
inspects its brim

wall calendar
O’Keeffe’s moonflower droops
out of the page

afternoon tea
Teddy Bear takes
three sugars

late autumn frost
the bench gathers moonlight

a gust whirls
leaves of a great ginkgo:
the shadows on a shoji

winter fog —
she decides to colour
her hair

cormorants glide
over orange bull kelp–
autumn sea

first star
the sound of acorn caps
underfoot

winter storm
seagulls are outshouting
the waves

late autumn —
his marriage proposal
written on the sand

first chill
the apple blushes
as I brush off frost

first snow …
the children’s hangers
clatter in the closet

dawn—
the bow rises
with the dolphin

rainy day
champignons sweat
on the hot stove

the old dog’s sigh
a log settles deeper
into the embers

dull day —
the way a raindrop
runs down the banana leaf

the lustre
of a moonlit snowman…
winter begins

Christmas eve —
the woman in the checkout line
blinking back tears

christmas eve service
the boy behind me prays for
another mother

winter sun –
on the fading narcissus
the last rays

first date–
letting her
put snow down my neck