A Collection of Haiku
2023
Pleading eyes of the outcast
Where will they find grace?
a post in the sand
to mark the surge of the storm
a gull lands and calls
In our history
When were we last satisfied
When - humankind - when
like an earthen bowl
our emptiness has purpose
ready for life's stew
penetrant and thick
cold uncompromising waves
sea eats at the cliff
here is the matter
how could one with thoughts so brave
be so meek in life
I will depart here
To follow the river up
Toward its wellspring
the good health of rain
sends blessings in multitudes
each drop a comfort
could we be as birds
commending ourselves to dawn
with flutters and song
The winter solstice
Effects the year's longest night
And largest shadows
a fissure in rock
where water seeps and freezes
cleaving it apart
something from nowhere
bold and unpredictable
sure uncertainty
unrelenting will
water will make smooth the stone
waves will form and fall
My true self resides
Somewhere beyond ideas
Ineffable me
Framed by auburn curls
Eyes green as summer's new grass
Smile full and joyful
today all seems new
i will live this day gently
and aspire no more
I believe in rain
These grey and hardscrabble banks
Will flower again
lichen is patient
nourished only by the air
quietly brilliant
belied by their size
hummingbirds are swift and fierce
the garden's swordsmen
spirits in trenchcoats
skulking in shadowed alleys
steal into my sleep
to follow the way
accept beauty wherever
the light and the dark
of all constancy
the fall of waves on the shore
gives comfort to doubt
so pure is this sky
could i climb its laddered clouds
stars would be too near
Hoary Spanish moss
Still sodden from the night's fog
Like an old man's beard
O generations!
The bloom is mother to seeds
That bourgeon henceforth
This crux of my life I was not born for myselfBut for something more
This crux of my life
I was not born for myself
But for something more
The rain came last night
I will go to the desert
Where soil awakens
When you have the choice
Of luxury or comfort
Choose the simpler way
