Weathered fence
Perfume bottles
in colored glass

Salt water
rushes past
Dead trees

Dark desert sky
The glow
of your tent

Birthday wish
Tree pollen
blows

Bicycle protest
Ducks cross
the boulevard

Stadium concert
Gulls crowd
the sky

Her stare
The large
eyed lynx

Her walk
The long
legged lynx

Moss
covered rocks
Sore throat

Date night
on the Ferris wheel
Flat tire

Rushed footsteps
and rain
Cobblestone street

Movement
in the valley below
Sheep

With flying colors
Balloons ascend
over the desert

Spring flowers
The mother’s persistent
dry cough

Lighting
her cigarette
Cherry blossom

Stiff rope looped
over the post
A rowboat

Our conversation
The lighthouse
and the rolling sea

Gated hogs
on the farm
Tom Waits, softly

Fresh
coffee beans
Homesick

Birds circle
and land
The muskox

An old door
propped against a tree
In the woods

The house stands
A fallen
tree

The tree stands
A fallen
house

Banjo plays loud
My Sunday
morning drive

Wind over
the mountaintop
Piled stones

Wind over
the mountaintop
Wooden cross

Wind over
the mountaintop
Your silhouette

The final
drop
A garden hose

The final
drop
A flower petal

The final
drop
A soldier’s corpse

Shore birds
Before
the sunrise

Shore birds
Before
the wave breaks

Shore birds
Before
you smiled

Sunrise
over the mudflats
Old church stands

Sunrise
over the mudflats
Oak tree stands

Snow
squall
Pillow fight

Hundreds
of blackbirds
A snowy sky

Snow
covered hill
Red sled

Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A bird lands

Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A squirrel passes

Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A boot steps

Debussy
Sounds plucked
from the wide blue sky

Bach
Notes rise
wide, blue, sky

The hanging tree
A rope
covered in snow

Stuck in traffic
Melting ice
falls off the truck

Speeding traffic
Melting ice
falls off the truck

Accident scene
Melting ice
falls off the truck

River thaws
Stepping across
the ice patches

Spring snow
The river
melts

Spring
Snow melts
on the river

Winter
seeds
Melting snow

Snow piles
on the jetty
Sea swells

Red berries
with snow
Winter chill

Holding my breath
Gaunt bear
in the campground

Tree buds
in ice
Winter chill

Heron stands
in the fog
Distant gunfire

Oak leaves
remain
Winter chill

Bombed
playground
Snow on the swing set

Bombed building
Snow covers
kitchens and beds

My dog and
his favorite tree
For the last time

After the snow
Sunlight on
the houseplant

Ice
The grass
leans

Red covered
bridge
Snowfall

Taking cover
under a red bridge
Soldiers fall

Soldier’s blood
in the snow
Beside the red barn

Soldiers move
Shadows against
the red barn

Winter wind
Soldiers pass
the snow ghosts

Soldiers pass
The snow
encrusted trees

Dry
snowfall
The rabbit listens

Dry
snow falls
The rabbit stirs

Fog
floats
Winter fishing

Fog
floats
Winter finishing

Cold night
A puffed sparrow
in the shadows

Cold night
A gaunt deer
in the moonlight

Cold night
Puffed sparrow and
a gaunt deer

We awake
Red embers
beneath the ash

Regrets
The winter
oak

Horses
in the snow
No saddles

Old stone
wall
Snow piled high

Ice flow
along the coast
The trees

Egret ascends
The frozen
salt marsh

Red
berries
Against the snow

Willow
bud
Against the snow

Cold inside
cold outside
Barn door

Still owl
Among the snowy
birch trees

Branches dip
in the stream
Summer departs

Fingers dip
in the stream
Summer arrives

Ice
covered trees
Brittle branches

Brown blowing
cattails
The setting sun

Empty house
Dry snow
on the gate

Empty house
Dry snow
on the door knocker

Ice
on the rose
Sunset

Ice
on the rose
Sunrise

Puddle
Fallen leaves
floating

Frozen
grass
Footsteps

Red robin
in the wet snow
Branches sag

Clear cold
stream
A stone

Branch hangs
low in the snow
Last leaf

Branch hangs
low in the snow
Another leaf

Reflections
on the frozen lake
Chimney smoke rises

Pond on the prairie
Geese descend
to the cold brown grass

Pond on the prairie
Geese ascend
from the cold brown grass

Leaf
hopped –
A frog!

Spider’s web
glistens in the morning sun
We step around

Bright red poppies
and a wide blue sky
Pass the beer

Sea
until the sky
Your gaze

Birds flock
on top of streetlights
People pass below

People talk
under the streetlights
Birds pass above

Colorful mural
Masked faces
on a city street

Monkey swings
in the jungle
Unfocused mind

Monkey swings
in the jungle
Focused mind

First drops
of rain
Kettle steams

Laundry hangs
in the alley
Fresh breeze

November sun
The warm press
of our bodies

Pliers in his
shirt pocket
Business casual

Sea rolls past
the pier
Our anniversary

Wedding day
Garlic and onions
on the kitchen counter

Wedding night
Garlic and onions
on the kitchen counter

African
violet
Mother’s Day

Dressed in black
Snapping her gum
at his funeral

Crabs
in the tidal pool
Seaside village

Fungi
on the forest floor
Redwoods

Double doors
opened wide
The coffin

Family boathouse
on the lake
Polishing the teak

Colored rocks
in the clear lake
Black flies swarm

Morning mist rises
over the estuary
Two men argue

House
on a salt marsh
Water lapping the stilts

The edge
of a salt marsh
Wet sunlit field

Marshland
The childhood smell
of muck

Bear
eats a fish
Fossil fuel

Only breath
The silent pause of
a string quartet

Learning to fly
Tom Petty
in dungarees

Learning to fly
John Coltrane
in reverie

Learning to fly
Johnny Rotten
in recovery

That Bird can fly
Charlie Parker
with mastery

Standing
still
In the suburbs

Still
standing
In the suburbs

Still
can’t stand
The suburbs

Journaling
The eagle stretches
its claw

Journaling
Toy blocks scattered across
the floor

Higher education
Monkeys
in a tree

The fence
and the car
Border guards

Hillside home’s
infinity pool
View that breeze

Lighthouse
Moonrise
over the bay

Wandering monks
Hounds sniff out
truffles in the forest

The line
between sea
and sand

The line
between sea
and sky

The lines
between the rolling
waves

A spray
of sea leaps
and falls

Peeling
hot peppers
The last time we cooked

Peeling
hot peppers
Rinsed our hands clean

Ladies quilting
Trading
stories

Ladies quilting
Repeating
patterns

Ladies quilting
Stitching together
history

Wooden boat
The breeze
on a cold lake

Muskrat stands
in the headlights
She lights a cigarette

Lover stands
in the porch light
She lights a cigarette

Foggy shoreline
Your profile
comes into view

Monarch butterfly
and the
Common milkweed

Family dinner
Slicing
red onions

Family dinner
frying
sliced onions

Early morning
The sweet smell
of burning sugar cane

Early morning
The sweet burning smell
of sugar cane

Early morning
The sweet smell of burning
sugar cane

Early morning
burning

Couple argues
Hot and cold pipes
beneath the sink

Crabs
on ice
The pot boils

Smoke and jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines

Smoky jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines

Smoking hot jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in those pines

Peeling wallpaper
End of
the argument

Flowered wallpaper
Peeling plaster
in the sunroom

Quick glances
Mountain roads bend
high above the sea

Parade route
Wildflowers line
the boulevard

Protesters march
Wildflowers line
the boulevard

Property lines
viewed from a drone
Marching in the streets

A basket
of potpourri
The public toilet

Rowing
toward shore
The wind

Rising
and falling waves
The sea

Old man
rakes the leaves
Remembering

House
with a gate
The visitor knocks

Tasting hors d’oeuvres
at La Belle Vie
Shrimp trawler at dawn

Nearly empty
Blackbirds splash
in the bird bath

Geese block
the moon
Coyote pass

Some houses
just rot and fall
Winter rose

Wet leaves
This town rose up
from a river

Silence
Wind blows
this flat land dry

Silence
Eel wrapped around
the eagle’s beak

Silence
The child
and a gobstopper

Hands pause
on the keyboard
Birdsong

Hands pause
on the keyboard
A footstep

Old friends
A piled and loose
stone wall

Flames rise
Autumn colors
surround the lake

The craze
these days
Potted succulents

The night hills
of Los Angeles
Each lit window

Harvest moon
Fall
to the ground

Harvest moon
Too big
to fall

Harvest moon
Too big
to fail

Harvest moon
Picking corn
from the ground

Western sky
Sun sets
behind the bison

Uncut grass
Bobcat
in the backyard

Painted
lady
Butterfly

Powdery
remains
The blue butterfly

End of summer
The sunflower
that never bloomed

Old dory
Lying still
on the shells and sand

Standing on a rocking
paddle board
Sky darkens

American
sparrowhawk
Sparrows

Beach grass
Tickles
from the breeze

Beach grass
Ticks
on my sleeves

Paddling the kayak
Waterline meets
sky

Lit church
Under the bright
Milky Way

Montana
open road
Red Mustang

Sky clears
Roasting
sunflower seeds

Strong flavors
Yellow onions
arise from the soil

Long walks
Rocks and sea and
windswept heathers

Canyon hike
Sounds of thunder
and rushing water

Rural signpost
Different roads
same big sky

September 11
Empty boots
by the door

Sea spray
The gull stands
in cold morning sand

Walking the mudflats
Bare feet
splashing on clay

Sandals left behind
Surf breaks
over the rocks

Paper boat
glides on the lake
The young boy wonders

Tugboat
pushes into harbor
The old man wishes

Camp fire
at night
As close as I can

Between us
The stars and
a camp fire

Open sky
Wire and post
cattle fence

Desert shade
Sparkling water
with lime

Branches dip
into the stream
Summer memories

Rooftop garden
Organic herbs grown
on the roof of a shack

Rooftop garden
Fair-skinned Herbert groans,
“The sunburn on my back!” 

Rose blooms,
drops, dries, and blows
The bees

Flies flit
Dirt caked
on a bison’s back

Footprints
in the wet sand
Children splash in the sun

Footprints
in the wet cement
Teens scatter in the night

Horses bent
The prairie
grass blows

Into the sundown
U.S. Highway 1

The garden
Before the peonies
bloomed

After the flood
Ducks swim past
my mailbox

Climbing
the mast in the sun
The breeze

Climbing
the trail on the shore
The waves

Climbing
the trellis in the yard
The rose

Climbing
the wall in the dark
The thief

Hummingbird
Deep into the red
Dahlia

Tourists rising
Hot air balloons
over the desert

Still pond
Speak

Still pond
Spoken

Red
rock
Rising

Wine
cellar
Warm sunshine

Cliff rises
from the sea
Grandfather’s wristwatch

Our shadows
Shifting angles on a
rippled pond

Ant
on a flower
Lawn mower

I’m too close
Bees buzz louder
in the begonias

Mountain views
The floating
lakeside dock

Flowers stand
in a widemouthed jar
Visiting Mom

Birdsong
and plumage
Sending out selfies

The dead
branches cut and cleared
Summer breeze

Standing on the bow
of a rocking skiff
Father’s Day

Wet dog shakes
in the sun – A crescendo
of scattering children

A jar of ice
cold lemonade
The mortuary table

Ostriches and lions
lounge on the grassland
Too hot today to run

Hiker’s reward
Big sky, whisky, and a
highland cow

Brief colors
Summers on the
Alaskan lake

Butterfly rises
The smell
of lavender

We stood close
under your umbrella
The honeysuckle

Dive bar
Photos of bison, bulls, and a young
Johnny Rotten

Pigeons flutter
Each flash
of the fireworks

Chewing
and listening
Rabbits

Chewing
and sniffing
Bears

Chewing
and spitting
Uncle James

Elephants cluster
Crossing the dry
river bed

Spanish moss
in the darkening swamp
Water in my shoes

Spanish moss
Water in my shoes
in a darkening swamp

Moving shadows
Windsurfer leans over
the choppy bay

Bear in a tree
Nowhere to go
but down

Boughs that bend
A bear ascends
the young poplar tree

Travelers wait
A bear on the road
leaving town

Seaside
getaway – Empty
lifeguard stand

Fish bites
the bait
Again

Falcon descends
talons tilted
Movement below

Water flows
under the bridge
The fisherman waits

Sweat flows
under my shirt
The policeman waits

Ants flow
over the lawn
My ham sandwich waits

HummingBirdSong

Hummingbird
song

Humming
birdsong

Humming
bird
songs

Humming
Songbird

Humming
song –
Bird!

Chair
on a dock
The sea

A moose chews
wildflowers, antlers wide
in the sun

Rabbit hangs
from the labrador’s mouth
The children scatter

Sparrows dip and shake
evaporating
droplets

Summer bees
Inspecting
the colors

Field of red
poppies, our sandals warm
in the sun

Field of red
poppies, our faces warm
in the sun

Water lilies
float upon the pond
Gently tethered

Crowded pier
stands above the surf
Gently tethered

Steaming nostrils
sipping my tea
The submerged hippo

Highway traffic
Passing the wild
flowers

Moonlight through
the cypress branches
Fireflies

Two forks
and a spoon
Crime scene

One boy
and his pail
The ocean

One boy
and his kite
The sky

One man
and a shovel
His grave

Summer lightning
The smell of idling
boat engines

Summer lightning
Children running
to the ice cream truck

Summer lightning
Your fingers spreading
on my back

Boys casting lines
off the rocky seawall
Fish too small to keep

Large Sorrento
lemons – Americans boast while
crossing to Capri

Amalfi coast,
sipping limoncello
on the water

Amalfi coast,
smelling petrol fumes
on the water

Tending the garden
on Independence Day
The caw caw of crows

Tending the garden
on Bastille Day
The caw caw of crows

Tending the garden
A muffler backfires
in the distance

Brown heat on the
great plains – A faraway
church steeple

Sunflowers
then
a faraway rooftop

Wet sand
Seagull pecks
at a bag of chips

Summer heat
Hold me
close

Summer heat
Hold my
clothes

Beloved garden
stones, long before
the strawberries

The petunias
Mouse
and hawk

Birds atwitter
Evening rain
then a raging stream

Rain
droplets
The bluebells

Two lovers
Those crawling
petunias

Waves rush
and foam
Seabirds hover

Young buck vanished
in the morning light – Startled
to read my bathroom scale

Dilapidated
fence, even the cows
step over it

The warblers
pass over, the cows
stand still

Grandfather’s hands
Each stone in the wall
placed and piled

Abandoned
asylum, an empty
barber’s chair

A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
My back stiffens

A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
His tail swats gnats

A deer chews
The garden
flowers

Umbrella lifts
on the windy beach
Last breath

Spiraled staircase
Rising hotter
and hotter

Heat blasts glass
down the metal steps
Fire escape

Trampled fence
Deer cross
the property

Butterfly lands
on a blade of grass
Sunset

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Empty building

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Broken glass

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Smoke is rising

Abandoned pier
Waves roll past
the remaining pilings

Morning walk
Sun glistens in the
spider’s web

Air Force
flyover
The crowd waves

Air Force
flyover
The crowd scatters

Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a vacant lot

Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a sunny field

Flickering light
Tiger painted
on a city wall

Flickering light
Tiger waiting
in a forest tree

Dreams
Sea nets
at dusk

Stormy night
Curtain blows from
the open bedroom window

Twister cuts
through the open field
The sparrows

Humpback breaks
through the swelling sea
The gulls

Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave breaks

Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave recedes

Ferns cross
the sunny patch
Children play

Hostas return
We can’t retrace
our steps

Turn out
all the lights
Night sky

Drive
until we can see
Night sky

Give me back
the stars
Night sky

Chess or
checkers
Two brothers

First kiss
Kettle steams

Salt marsh
Footprints

Overgrown yard
Charcoal and
the lighter fluid

Me and
the tall trees
Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony

Row
of roses
Six feet apart

Field
of garlic
Six feet apart

Still life
Warbler
on the hot tile roof

Still life
Sparrow
on the barbed wire fence

Family picnic
Cypress roots above
the water line

The seagulls
and the setting sun
Motorcar idles

Donkey stopped
in the rain
My birthday

Stone arches
Bent in prayer

Only air and gas
at the roadside station
We drive on

Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Deceptive politics

Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Obsessive hand washing

Bicycle leans
on the woodpile
Moonlight tryst

Tulips
peel open
Morning prayers

Cool water
Walking the beach
in our sneakers

Flowering field
The hog farm
processing plant

Empty church
Bent bluebells
blowing

Clear moon
A tremor on her
sleeping face

Birdsong
Four hatchling mouths
opened upward

Tiger emerges
from the darkness
The smell of hot cinnamon

Shining sun
Saplings shaded
beneath the oaks

The deluge
Empty church
in the valley

The deluge
Empty home
on the prairie

The suburbs
Springtime smell
of manure and mulch

Timing the market
Biking on wet
cobblestone

How we first met
Locomotive
smoke

Still mind
Sunrise through the
red rock arch

Until tomorrow
Matching masks
on the bedside table

School’s out
One bike
left in the row of racks

It was not a dream
Birdsong in the cold
April morning

Our last goodbye
Waning crescent
moon

SciFi everywhere
Everyday

Class of 2020
Waiting in the woodshed
for the rain to end

Each raindrop
returns again –
Labored breathing

Each raindrop –
Labored breathing
returns again

Tulips push
through the soil
Commerce returns

Spring rains
soften the soil
Exhale

Suicide hotline
Broken branches gather at the bend
in the creek

These years
Sparrows in the trees
at daybreak

Spray-talkers
Ants on a soggy
slice of bread

Antibodies
Robins peck
at the sunny grass

Starless night
Cold coffee
with milk

Heavy snow
Under the boughs
of the evergreen

Bronchial narrowing
Thick snow
on the branches

Vaccine
Greased up
for the big fight

Slipstream
Respiratory droplets
on the move

The economy
Sick patient
with comorbid risk

Spring stream
My blood flows
strong again

Spring stream
My breath flows
strong again

Respiratory
droplets – Soft
spring rain

Our eyes
rise and meet
Vista

Son
My fashionable face
mask

Father
My disposable face
mask

Grandfather
My hospital face
mask

All my teachers
Circadian
rhythms

Scattered stones
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Scattered lilies
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Missing socks
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Fever spiked
Season’s first
forsythia bloom

Fever broke
Season’s first
forsythia bloom

Hard rain
A traveler holds open the door
for a stranger

Hello
Distant
bluebird

Homebound
Hummingbird hovers
sipping nectar

Penned panther
Can’t catch
my breath

A leaf rises and twirls
and falls with the breeze
That uncovered sneeze

A hermit
crab scuttles
The patient fish

Rabbit stirs
My mother’s
dry cough

Honeysuckle wrapped
throughout the hedge
Infection spreads

Still home
Board
games

Six feet apart
A stranger replaces
the old man’s car battery

Receding tide
Driftwood and the passing
piping plover

Vigilance
The birth of a
foal

Frivolous
The mirth of a
fool

Spring chill
Rinsing
my spoon and bowl

Daybreak
Raindrops on the metal
rooftop

Mother’s love
Folding warm
towels

Pandemic
This sunshine

Long winter
Sunning ourselves between
the snowfalls 

If this fever
doesn’t soon break
Social media

Bees
in the hot attic –
Scattered thinking

No paper
How will we pay
our bills?

No paper
How will we wipe
our bums?

No paper
How will we get
our news?

No paper
We will chart
our course by the stars

Compound interest
Virus rates grow
day after day

Your hands
Power lines cut across
the grassland

4 am on the clock
Train sounds slowly
in the distance

Cormorants
stand at attention
The ship’s mast

Parents
stand in the darkness
The school bus

After the fall
The gull drops a clam
onto the rocks below

Morning market
Shore birds crowd
the advancing tide

March madness
Gull floats on the rolling
foaming sea

No wind
on the lake
Samantha

Clickbait
The gator swallowed
a mourning dove

Mind the Furies
Three crows atop
the winter tree

Surpasseth understanding
Blowing sand, surf, and
that all-covering snow

Engines idling
Turtle paused
in morning sun

Dragon waits
Lit windows curled up
the darkened hill

Not alone
Rabbit in the brown
winter field

Deeper
the winter woods
Your gaze

Eyeliner brush
A dusting
of snow

Geese in formation
The rising smoke
of her cigarette

Rally for votes
The sounds of hounds
in the distance

Monster truck race
Honking geese
flight song

Power couple
Asphalt and
the shifting alluvium

Bats blot
the sky
Legalese

Wind rolls
and swells and swirls the sound
Sleep

You step carefully
across the oars
The rocking skiff

Hounds
on the scent
Casino

Under the sycamore
Many seasons of
lovers’ glances

Rain
The sandy ravine is now
a clear stream

Rain
The muddy ditch is now
a muddy stream

Under the sycamore
Many seasons of
dead leaves

Hawk skims
the tops of trees
New salesman grins

Hawk skims
the tops of trees
New mother frowns

The chimney still
puffs smoke
Grandfather’s cabin

Trucks speed
up and down the highway
Chakras

Trucks speed
up and down the highway
Kegel

Two trees fell
Into each other
across the creek

The thief paused
Motion-triggered
light

Moonlit pond
Brightened window on a
darkened street

Moonlit pond
Brightened window in a
darkened house

My city
Steel trees that stand
but never bend

My city
Glass eyes that stare
but never tear

Damp chill
Flag flutters
in the streetlight

Step by step
homeward in the blowing rain
Heartbeat

Knotted oaks
line the college quad
Racehorse

Gaps of light
in the cloudy sky; Listen
to the children

Winter crow
Ache in my
teeth

Gaunt deer
The empty church
in winter

Smokestack plumes
The lost
argument

Promises
Slow leak drips
beneath the kitchen sink

Your last words
ended with a question mark
Wolf tracks

No snow
or ice
Street sand

Behind that
fixed face
Windshield ice

Season’s greetings
Hot gas escapes
from the ocean floor

Breakfast
conversation – Icy
river rising

Face frozen cold
walking to school
Multiplication tables

Cold gloved
fingers ache
Piano lessons

Hard to speak
with cold numbing lips – A floorboard
creak downstairs

Shoveled walk
The blizzards
keep covering

Silent cold
An unexplained
dog bark

Freezing hands
on my morning walk – Your skin
beneath the covers

Night wind
Mare bucks
and blows

Snow
squall
Sneeze

Frozen
footprint
Another birthday

Vodka straight up
He slipped and froze between
curb and car

Lake ice
cracks underfoot
Decision time

Ivy spreads
Roots before
leaves

Red feather
Fresh white
snow

My steadfast companions
Moon, streetlight,
that lit window

His old coat
Heartbeat
gone

Lead collects
in the cold water pipes
Broken branches

We’ve got history
That damp skunk
smell again

Night’s frozen eye
Blue and white surround
a misty moon

That oak tree
by the creek
Look again

That creek
by the oak tree
Look again

Winter crow
Emptied
hospital

Warm winter day
All the birds
are chirping

Frozen branches
Low orange full moon
stares

Locomotive
pushes through fog
Daybreak

Locomotive
pauses in fog
Cigarette

Wolf missed
the deer and noticed me
Scent of your neck

Blue sky curves
over my city
Palms upward

Hands wrapped
around my warm coffee mug
Remembering

The cold on my face
wakens and widens
Sky

Morning walk
Streetlight, cold, distant sound
of a car

Morning walk
Streetlight, cold, darkened
faces

Morning walk
Streetlight, cold, no one
ever waves

A year begins –
Cobblestones line
the icy streets

That deep spring snow
ten years ago

We stumble and fall
pushing through
the deep snow

Two trees that bend
then descend
into white drifts

I rise and push on

Slow thaw,
sunrise after sunrise,
snow on patches of grass

Spring sprouts here
sprouts there

Doorway swings
the shack; I’m gone
and yet I’m back

Offering
knock-knock jokes
to the thunder and sky

Waiting
for some reply

Out of the office
Blackberries blaze
in the sun

Coyote howl
The trees surround
this silence

She’s gone

For Tabatha

Come fly
Black crow
night

Come fly
black crow
Night

Ice melts
and spreads
These boots

Walking
the long winter shadows
Setting sun

A kiss
Before the ice
thawed

A kiss
Before the wind
warmed

A kiss
before the
sun

A kiss
Before the ice
thawed

Cold surrounds
and presses
A sparrow’s egg

Swollen
spring river
Fluid in her lungs

Empty house
A crow calls out
in the cold

The vacuum cord
won’t retract
Old dog sleeping

Buddha
Dry snow
over ice

Foggy dawn
We held hot cups
of tea

Slicing sweet
apples – Ten years
of marriage

Kigo and Kireji
Lovers
quarrel

Wind
levels
Hiccup

Lightly
touch my face
The breeze

Winds shift
The corners
of her mouth

Wind shifts
The corners
of her mouth

Those stars
No more fish
in the bay

Iced vodka
The fresh
cut flowers

Fog
covers
Your blaze

Summer kiss
Beside that red
setting sun

Just my breath
These silent
poplar trees

Green lawns
Dead beetles
line the curbs

Cherokee
No flowers remain
in the garden

Dry stones
on the hard dirt – A cat
walks by

A tin can
jiggles – The soft
winter night

The hummingbird
My doorman reads
Nietzsche

The old
man waits
His daffodils

Just me
Blood
flows

Her lips
Play
trombone

Morning snow
on sagging branches
Deadlines loom

Morning snow
on snapping branches
Deadlines loom

Lemon’s
squeeze –
Poetry

Tire tracks
Curved and crossed
on soft snow

Rock salt
on cracked snowy pavement
Shotgun blast

Winter
Warm breath
dissipates

Time
for a walk – Slow
economy

Third eye
Half-white day-lit
moon

I’ll sing
Until the birdsong’s
done

Night falls
Onto black
ice

Trees
sway
still

The snow crunches
It’s too close amongst
these birches

Windy waves
of powdered snow
Your entrance

Manicured
Can’t touch her ’til the tips
are dry

My poodle
pushes on, smelling life
in frozen ground

Shoveling dry snow
in the wind – The gulls
circle and call

Each of us
someday
Sirens’ call

Each of us
someday
Siren’s call

These old lungs
Plastic flapping on
wooded branches

Le mot juste
Raindrops on a
dry field

I am
A flat field, receiving
raindrops

Snow melts
on a flat field – What happened
to us?

A gull soars
then disappears
Grey clouds

Dead birds
Cheap
Peruvian sweater

Geese
descend again, then
again

A hawk circles
Silently searching
for flight

Geese rest
in the field
Until tomorrow

My wish?
To be an original.
Derivative, to be sure;
but a new combination,
an impossible individual.
Will you
be an original, too?

Sparrows splash
Warm
puddles

A gull’s call
A passing
cloud

A gull’s call
A passing
bus

I am once
Sprouted from this air,
that soil

New moon
Same wind through
the same trees

Geese rise
in morning light – I step
onto wet sand

Bring on
winter’s night – Only spare me
the wind

Rain melts
the snow to evening ice
We’ve slipped so far

We chatted at lunch
Slush on a cold
sunny street

Snow floats
The silent soft
white floor

Geese cross
A grey
damp sky

I see
my breath, but where
are the birds?

I see
fewer birds
These days

Seagulls scan
the black bay marsh
Mussel shells

swimming dust
in the light that cracks
the window

By my friend Craig Peritz. I haven’t seen him in 20 years.

I stop
The rabbit
stirs

The tractor sits
A frozen field
of wheat

Plastic flutters
In the tree’s
slow breeze

“Peanuts won’t sprout
in that patch of dirt”
The old man smiles

Today was my birthday, and I got a new president.

The moon’s low
open orange eye
waits

Rain
drains down loud everywhere
Family

Yellowstone needs snow
Snow out there looks wondering.
That’s why I told you.

By Russell, Age 7

Headlights
on puddles
Raindrops

My poodle paws
at puddles – I rarely
get to play

(a snow series)

Fresh snow –
Footprints where they
don’t belong

Fresh snow –
Unknown footprints
cross the yard

Fresh snow –
Footprints under
the window

Fresh snow –
Footprints where they
don’t belong

A wave of wind
I wait behind
my desk

Slow night
drive, the passing smell
of steak

Geese
call, I miss you –
Away

The cold sun
breaks through
Sinus pain

Night chill
The house lights
flicker

Trapped
My small
wet brain

I chopped wood
all day, and missed seeing
the butterflies

The hawk
circles back
The squirrels bicker

Hawks
hate
haiku

His coat
is still winter thick – A bear
sniffing berries

Snowflakes fall
from a sunny sky
We are improbable

A cold wind
so hard my eyes hurt
Orphaned

The wind whipped
Christmas trash down the street
A lobster shell

My pup
shivers
First snow

Black poodle pup pokes
his face in snow
First laugh

Bulldozers depart
An empty
squirrel nest

Nosing bubblegum
with hints of leather
Winter Scotch

I can’t see
you – Sun glare on
the frozen street

Stars above
He shivers
to sleep

Winter
My dog’s poop
steams briefly

Cattails under
a golden sun
Circling hawk

Gulls pick at
plastic – We belch
Christmas turkey

Cut trees
Browning
in a vacant lot

White birches
in winter dusk
Grandfather’s ghost

Wood planks
peel paint, then drop
The tall grass

Curved hills
covered in clouds
The small of her back

Curved road
through the hills
The small of her back

Frozen sliver
of moon
My breath

Two dogs
Nosing the same
smelly spot

Electric blue
over the treetops
Morning traffic

Night desert
sky stretches far
Between us

Never learned guitar
Fingers numb
from freezing rain

Born to sail
I squint into
cold, misty rain

A plane
Kennel dogs bark
and jump

Two planets
shine high in the sky
Distant romance

Rabbit runs
Followed by the shadow
of a hawk

Burnt wood
in the cold air – A car
door slams

Dried leaves
Tumbling and tapping
down the street

The hawk spreads
its wings and lifts
Mouse dangles

Bouncing pup
The stranger’s
sing-song voice

Farmers’ market
That girl has her
mother’s teeth

Green energy
Algae bloom in the
warm bay

Bride’s veil
Lilies on the surface
of the pond

Seagulls glide
Indifferent
wind

Bare black trees
Against a dimming
dusk sky

My poodle delights
Pouncing on his first
sheet of ice

Drivers rage
A warm
winter sun

Grey misty rain
Abundantly
dull

Cicadas
patiently await
their day

Revved motors
Those trees
are now gone

Smoke from
rooftop chimneys
Long winter chill

Frozen ground
Hints of
cat urine

Young oak
in the cold
Dried leaves remain

Road kill rabbit
Less shocking than a ripped
dollar bill

Bright holiday
box store
Candle smells and Santa

A-frame roof
Peaks against the
sliding snow

Sunlight on frozen
asphalt – I shiver
and squint

As you may have noticed, I have been experimenting with ways to make this site better as a community forum for the practice of writing haiku poems.

[continue reading…]

A couple argues
about their Christmas lights
Rain begins to freeze

Frozen dome
Standing beneath
the cold blue night

A cold breeze cuts
through my woolen cap
I can’t go home

Darren at TwiTip invited the Twitter community to post Top Ten Must Follow Twitter lists. Here are my suggestions if you want to follow All-Things-Haiku on Twitter.

[continue reading…]

Holiday shoppers
trampled a man to death
Cheap televisions

In memory of Jdimytai Damour, 34-year-old Walmart employee

Climate control hum
Co-workers argue or
doze

All-night cooking
Thanksgiving for all –
My feet are tired

By Christine

Stone still
This river
washes me clean

Forgotten acorn
Covered by
the wind

Forgotten acorn
Among the scattered
leaves

Rainy days
Soggy steps in
soggy socks

A forest path
Heavy air on
wet leaves

Key words and links bring
readers to blogs – They linger
a bit if you bleed

Poodle pushing
through forest leaves – The ground settles
back to rest

Warm breeze
My dog lifts his nose,
inhaling sky

How can Haiku Habits change your life?

I am new to writing haiku poems. I don’t pretend to post great haiku. I want to get better at haiku and through haiku. I want to pay attention, capture the moment, and share. This seems a good remedy for my human condition.

Life in seventeen syllables (or less). At a time.

What do you haiku? Critique, reflect, trash, enjoy! We get better – together.