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shadows fold within shadows of the rose
again and again
a little girl makes it rain
cherry blossoms
black and white
the absolute truth
of her ultrasound
an old woman sweeps
the walk of cherry blossoms
children’s laughter
early spring hike—
brushing the winter dust
off her bones
fireworks at twilight forsythia
July 5th—
ants darken the edge
of a dropped chip
phosphorescence
a firefly alights
on the periodic table
We walk under a scorching sun next to the river. … (haibun continues)
summer breeze …
the wind generators
in unison
back at
the pawn shop—
the moon in the window
the curve
of her hips—
buttercups
waiting for the sheep to pass a skylark's song
each
butterfly
carrying
spring
(haiga, click through for image)
as she leaves again the scent of apricots
a swallowtail
touches my fingertips—
warrior pose
unboxed letters
what I missed
between the lines
this delicate rain
the petal makes a typo
of a gravestone date
teaching my sons
to skip river stones
ripples converge
days, weeks, months
her dressing gown still hanging
on our bedroom door
grandma’s well
the water tasted like iron
and cold—
that darkness
from which I’m made
in the curve of the piano a face disappears into itself
beer and wine
a summer night
with my sometime thing
cherry blossoms
I fold my resume
into a crane
(haiga)
yoshino cherry tree—
it was never a question
of if
perched
at the tip
of summer
red-winged
blackbird
garden hose a silver arc reaches the last cabbage
box spring
new sheets
old lovers
in the park
pigeons peck in front of
empty benches
white water rafting
we spin around
our laughter
first recital
all the ballerinas out of step
(haiga)
zen garden
one rock
out of place
garden wall
behind the snail
its long noon shadow
ceiling mirror
between screams I see
my child being born
sun-baked dust–
the one thing moving
is my neighbour?s tongue
a crossword puzzle
side by side my parents
I lifted a single peanut up to the great animal. … (haibun continues)
flurries of willow fluff
seven ducklings scatter
among the reeds
wind through the pines
your hair
falling off my shoulder
alone tonight
the stillness
between stars
delta breeze
an old, old song
from the ice cream man
how casually
a brown bird
catches a butterfly
in its beak
and flies away
it happens every year
but still
the woods filled with birdsong
end of day
three snails devour
one blossom
long summer
the smell of rain
new again
Living in New Jersey, it was noon before I turned on the TV and heard that the planes had hit the towers. My first thought was of my ex-girlfriend, who was still a friend.
the window
overgrown with trumpet vine
my dream of flying
tornado siren,
even the stars take shelter
summer’s end—
I let the thimbleberry
rest on my tongue
liquid sky . . .
a steel bucket hits
the well water
mossy boulder
the softness and hardness
of life
the skip of a skipping stone alpine swifts
abbey ruins
through a window frame
a tuft of wild barley
pink moon
i am asked again
why i’m not a mother
how cleverly the word divides us
twilight
and it gives off the kind of hot chill one can get at times of transition… (part of a haibun)
Grey dawn
climbs the sky
bird over bird.
moving day—
untangling bookmarks
from the brass doorknobs
moving through
the summer moon
slow swell
attention
standing tall in a stiff breeze
ixias
today slips
into the room ? hungry
on tiny paws
(haiga)
thunderbolt---
eyes light up
in the pine tree
night paddling the land blacker than the sea
overnight
the leafing returns
to this dying oak
beneath my hand
such desire for spring
where creek willows weave the sunlight ducklings
falling rain
grandma goes upstairs
step-step
a new path—
little bones
around the fox’s den
frost on the furrows
up to the vanishing point—
sunrise