haiku simple

2012-02-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

magnolia buds
swollen, soft --
tiny dancers poised
for the first movement

2012-01-26T14:49:00.000-05:00

thin stirrup of crescent moon
cradles evening star --
sleet pings on my office window

2011-12-15T15:07:00.000-05:00

lacework of mist
rolls down through dark pines
my breath rippling morning's first tea

2011-12-05T15:39:00.000-05:00

fan of bird wing
catches evening rays
on waking
dreams slip sideways

2011-11-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

in the still
deep in darkness
fingering the rosary of regrets
once again

2011-10-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

autumn weeps
puddles of scarlet leaves --
the cut that never quite heals

2011-08-17T14:37:00.000-04:00

north winds

tease the edge of summer --

women lug bags of yarn

2011-07-20T15:22:00.001-04:00

sunlight slipping down --

lucidity amidst heat

2011-07-18T14:35:00.001-04:00

blue waves
lap the highway --
cornflowers run amok

2011-06-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

2011-05-05T17:34:00.000-04:00

snowfall in May --
spilled blossoms from above

2011-04-14T17:19:00.002-04:00

willows sprout fresh ribbons --
young girls on a lark

2011-04-07T11:57:00.001-04:00

on warm winds
the smell of green --
earthworm carves a trail

2011-03-28T12:33:00.000-04:00

willow buds caress --
pale moon balancing

2011-03-11T16:22:00.000-05:00

winter's tattered remnants --
laced with birdsong

2011-02-24T13:51:00.001-05:00

snow banks
gritty and blackened --
the last guest that lingers on forever

Catching Up

2011-01-31T13:08:00.000-05:00

I apologize to my fellow bloggers who are following Haiku Simple as I have not kept up on who you are and visiting your sites. I promise over the next weeks to catch up with you all!

2011-01-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

drifts of white
lace the windows --
pearled edge of lunacy

2010-12-17T16:13:00.002-05:00

tapping the old wood of desire --
under darkness river folds to ice

2010-11-24T11:36:00.000-05:00

setting sun melts
into woodsmoke --
regrets rising with the moon

2010-11-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

I call for you --
the return of echoes

2010-11-10T15:09:00.003-05:00

silver light --

the gentleness of November

2010-10-29T15:49:00.002-04:00

a lumbering sweep of wing
heron rises --
I turn one more page before sleep

2010-10-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

slightly frayed
silken petals
at the point of stillness . . .

2010-09-27T13:52:00.001-04:00

woodsmoke
twilight thoughts --
roots dreaming of what might be

2010-09-17T14:44:00.002-04:00

I swim in the
shadow of a cloud
the shoreline recedes --

eternity and other passing moments

2010-09-15T15:39:00.000-04:00

shell pink leans
on dried gold of leaf --

September roses

2010-08-25T13:46:00.000-04:00

flickering beneath twilight shadows
laughter of a goldfinch --
weightless

2010-08-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

wisps of cloud
across a high blue sky
at the bottom of the closet
wedding veil in a box

2010-08-13T12:54:00.001-04:00


"Roiling"

visitors crowd the house
birthday candles blown --
storm clouds muscle out the sun

2010-07-29T16:05:00.000-04:00

elemental
surface
light and shadow
quiet . . .

2010-07-22T11:57:00.001-04:00

a whisper of north wind
lifts the curtain --
your finger tracing my spine

2010-07-05T17:17:00.001-04:00

slow steady stitches
on fine linen --
starlight embroiders the night sky

altered photograph by poet

2010-06-23T14:55:00.001-04:00

holding up the night sky
raspy love song

lone cicada

2010-06-17T13:34:00.001-04:00

your cotton shirt
pressed against my face --

above us pine needles tap stars

2010-06-15T14:25:00.002-04:00

through open windows
honeysuckle and sea spray --

lovers' first embrace

2010-06-10T12:29:00.001-04:00

blush of petals
darkening shadows --

the arc of night

2010-05-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

washed linens
ruffled by a breeze --

snowdrifts a distant memory

2010-05-07T16:23:00.000-04:00

tilting the balance of light
earth swivels --

summer awaits

2010-04-30T15:37:00.002-04:00

river of clouds above

light as passing memories ~

2010-04-09T10:56:00.002-04:00

slender white light --

magnolia greets the morning

2010-03-30T15:23:00.001-04:00

rains pummel the earth
incessant birdsong --

winter's silence breaking apart

2010-03-26T14:15:00.002-04:00

spring light on pine needles --

your laughter lingering in the air

2010-03-24T12:49:00.001-04:00

this spring morning
battalion of lawnmowers --

just a little off the top, please

2010-03-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

vapor trails
scribe the evening sky --

hating long goodbyes

2010-03-12T12:23:00.003-05:00

thin ice slab
drifts with the swans --

defying the odds

2010-03-10T11:24:00.002-05:00

shadows stretch across the lawn
like laundry airing in the morning sun

why this sense of dread . . .

2010-03-10T11:07:00.002-05:00

amber threads --

tracing the path home by river light

2010-02-25T16:45:00.001-05:00

slender blades
the surface breaks --

eruptions of spring

2010-02-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

kick the can
once a child's game --

now bits of frozen detritus

2010-02-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

howling --

me or the wind?

2010-02-17T14:36:00.001-05:00

winter drips -
puddles in my brain

Ode to Summer

2010-02-15T16:52:00.003-05:00

gently last rays stroke
late in the day --

white blossoms like fireflies

2010-02-05T11:54:00.002-05:00

ruffling the still whiteness

birdsong --

spring cannot be far?

2010-01-29T15:37:00.002-05:00

thick skin of ice
full wolf moon --

I feel a howl rising

2010-01-25T15:01:00.001-05:00

a thin gray light --

the weight of winter

2010-01-18T08:50:00.005-05:00

winter's frozen landscape
bleak and gray --

I draw you to me in the darkness

* * *

reminiscence -

antidote for despair

2010-01-08T15:50:00.003-05:00

new snow --
a lovely silk layer over black ice

2009-12-31T15:03:00.003-05:00

the sound of deep winter no sound

2009-12-27T12:09:00.000-05:00

on the table
a knuckle's worth of nuts --
over-indulgence

2009-12-21T12:09:00.006-05:00

Solstice Rose

photograph by poet/artist

snow and ice burn through
the brief daylight hours --

the arc is complete

2009-12-19T16:21:00.001-05:00

snows surge
up the coast --

the urge to nap overwhelms

2009-12-17T13:01:00.002-05:00

bone-cracking cold descends --

Debussey warms the house

2009-12-14T11:25:00.002-05:00

icy shards
pure color
petals break off at my touch --

2009-12-06T08:41:00.002-05:00

wind whispers in the trees
earth expectant
we embrace an old friend -- snow

2009-11-27T09:25:00.001-05:00

waters choppy under grey skies
anger surges over the dinner table --
Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-23T13:49:00.002-05:00

renaissance
original photography by artist/poet

tired petals swirl in the wind --

met by drifts of woodsmoke

2009-11-23T13:41:00.004-05:00

resort town in late autumn
homeless shamble
leaves skitter down main street --

2009-11-16T15:24:00.005-05:00

so many stars like kisses blown by the moon --

* * *

battalion of geese
taking wing --

tiny skidmarks on the sky

A slight departure . . .

2009-11-10T16:40:00.006-05:00

Although I have created this blog to celebrate haiku, I also would like -- from time to time -- to expand into other poetic expressions. This is all new to me. It is only in the last few years that I find myself turning more and more to poetry. I find that the cadence and rhythms soothe and often allay fears of despair.

So I will navigate slowly into this new territory, feeling my way as if in the dark . . .

Today, as I drove to work I passed a number of wetland areas and fallow fields. The sky was a lowering grey mass of clouds but the air has been warm these past few days. The colors are now subdued into soft ambers and rust, and trees appear to be made of worn leather and chamois if the light hits just right.

I love this hush-filled time of November, our respite before the holidays go full swing. It is a time of bittersweet melancholy, of remembrance, of stories and tales, of ancient songs that strike a chord yet are seemingly unknown. It is the time of bercuse, the French lullaby, of the nocturne and the adagio, of the slow dance towards winter . . .

Deep History

beneath mists
of woodsmoke
fields languish,
dreaming of
deep histories and ancient melodies,

of travelers' feet and
tillers' plows,
of brambles and bracken and
of seeds sown from pockets torn,

of countless wide blue summers
of harvests reaped and
of a new green that is yet to come --

2009-11-04T08:43:00.002-05:00

tall grasses

wrestle with the wind --

getting tangled in the sheets

2009-10-27T15:05:00.007-04:00

in just one breath
last leaf falls
sky opens wide --

* * *

harvest time
bees in final delirium --
then the blue of deep sleep

2009-10-24T15:25:00.005-04:00

Last Rose

original photography by poet

mellow light

warming petals

the last rose - -

2009-10-19T14:08:00.004-04:00

slender hoops

bent birches --

not easy to be caressed by snow and ice

(we had a freak snowstorm yesterday -- October 18!)

2009-10-14T13:36:00.001-04:00

the patchwork of melody
holds a trundling shuffle that
recalls dusty roads
of tired limbs coping --

2009-10-02T16:24:00.002-04:00

sleeping behemoths
looming large --
the mountains!

2009-09-27T21:28:00.003-04:00

sun touches the horizon
slides from sight
my fingers gather small pebbles

* * *

in the garden
dead-heading marigolds --
their rusty smell embedded
in my fingers

* * *

arashi
wind-driven rain
silks that wrap and fold
the storm within --

2009-09-18T16:00:00.001-04:00

climbing ivy
russet and gold --
love lines from the earth

2009-09-17T13:56:00.000-04:00

on the deck
flip-flops warming in the sun
another year before
I feel that feeling . . .

2009-09-09T14:26:00.000-04:00

paint brush rests
by my side --
shaft of light breaks
sparrow-gray skies

2009-09-07T19:11:00.000-04:00

i smell old dreams
they grip my heart
then slowly sink --
no peace tonight

2009-09-02T14:17:00.000-04:00

here is my song --
last blossom
such joy
yet so fleeting

2009-08-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

old jalopy stripped
only the chassis remains
someone's glory days --

2009-08-19T15:02:00.000-04:00

the road curves wide ascending
vistas open up --
breathing eases now

* * *

spires of loosestrife
cornflowers and goldenrod --
color-stippled roads

2009-08-18T13:09:00.000-04:00

Mimosa Blossom
digitally altered photograph
by poet

the scent of mimosa
catches one
after the fact --

a bit like love

2009-08-13T15:42:00.000-04:00

shadows scrape
the edge of lawn --
dinner dishes in the sink

* * *

small fly sits
at the open window
summer is closing down

2009-08-07T13:32:00.001-04:00

dry stalks shrouded
in greenery

sweet peas and bindweed
clamber and frisk

2009-08-03T12:39:00.000-04:00

black ant scurries
across a creamy white
constellation --

queen anne's lace

2009-08-03T12:34:00.000-04:00

the darkness holds sound

little gifts
dispersed on the night air

sweet cadence . . .

2009-07-28T14:49:00.000-04:00

diamonds sparkle
raindrops captured
on the screen --
tears of an old woman

* * *

goldfinch and tiger lily
the colors -- yellow and orange -- blaze!

* * *

spin cycle
rotation
time measured
cyclists click by
the hour curves round --

* * *

hugs and kisses
the fragrant herbs of love --
children play in the garden

* * *

yarns weave
needles click
and memory rests
her burden by the fire --

2009-07-20T13:41:00.001-04:00

memories fall through
the fissures of my heart

cicada rubs its song -

2009-07-16T16:44:00.000-04:00

whispery calm
descends

evening light pearled
a smell of
fresh melon

2009-07-16T16:42:00.000-04:00

pine trees at dusk
are sad things

dark silhouettes draped
against the
gloaming--

2009-07-09T16:38:00.000-04:00

(original artwork by author)

storm coming on
seething, roiling
driven by north winds
but birds still sing!

2009-07-07T16:23:00.000-04:00

(original artwork by author)

across a moonlit sandy stretch

the scent of honeysuckle
slips by –

2009-07-05T15:04:00.000-04:00

bright yellow dips
past the pines

goldfinch chuckles
at the thought of summer

2009-06-25T12:26:00.000-04:00

petaled faces search
for the sunlight

I turn, watching
a dragonfly

2009-06-24T13:01:00.000-04:00

maple leaves lean
weeping on the lawn

geese fly
on the wings of winter

2009-06-23T15:43:00.000-04:00

shadows sway
on the grass,
green and yellow –

small crow
announces dinner