Haiku

Haikus

Plus Tanka, Haibun, and other short poems.

In the deep blue night

Sharing stories with the stars

Their laughter glowing

One last goodbye and they leave

Smearing light across the sky

Thinking of days past

Barren branches, tar black trunks

Distracted by birds

Snow specks, trapped in emerald grass

Clouds of white and gray, scattered

Something shouts from

Patches of snow in the grass

A spirit, vibrant

A leaf, crushed underneath snow

A branch, swept away in the wind

Awakening

Snapping upright, seven a.m,

A solitary cowbird call 

Midday in the town 

Small piles of filthy snow 

Withering away

Birds congregating on carts

The dying breaths of winter 

As I’m climbing up a steep incline on the closest trail to my home, I feel a transition. Going away from the faint sounds of cars zipping, the smell of trash, and the sight of restaurants, I reach total immersion into my new surroundings. The robin’s call. Abandoned wasp nests falling apart. A tree, standing tall in spite of being struck by lightning a few days ago. The wheat stalks are covered in mist and silence spreads, as if this is nature's warning of the coming dusk.

Still as my sight is limited by the dark, the subtle ways of nature are visible to the other senses. The sound of swaying grass and animals scurrying into their tunnels. The smell of pollen on the ground (and the lightheadedness I get from it). I feel the beating of life underneath me, from the roots and mycelium networks below me, reaching from this trail to places beyond. The sky is dark now. I can only see the dirt path below me. I start making my way out. I hesitate, stopping often, taking time to stand still and enjoy nature’s peace.

Nighttime in a forest 

The trees are transmogrified 

Darkness illuminating

A beautiful cardinal 

Spots a friend and flies away

I am filled with a lonely angst

Up on a window side

The small cat is intrigued by

The pitter-patter of rain

Riding a bike by

The summer stream

When the butterfly jumps out to greet me

The sun melting snow 

Brings back memories of

A lovely blue jay

The flurries of snow

Bouncing off windshields

While street lights flicker

A rotting berry 

Intermingled in the snow

and mud-stained ice

hands numb from the cold

as the moon stares down at me

through some tree branches

snowy afternoon

when that silly Minecraft song

makes me think of you

An abandoned muffler

Is taking a leisurely nap

On the dirt-covered grass

the only light

shining in the wheat field

A glow stick bracelet