January 2007


chipping away
at the frozen windshield
fingers numb



even the spiders
abandon their webs
blizzard warning

February 2007


dew spills
over the crocus lip
a groundhog's shadow


three nuns,
almost invisible
dreary dreary day

March 2008

between me
and the preacher--
her Easter Bonnet



comments:
**I like that there is more than one level to this haiku.

**This one says so much in these three little lines. I really
appreciate the layers of meaning.

**This haiku could have easily crossed the line into sentimentality by
saying " warm sun", "a new chick" or "baby's hands" but, by carefully
keeping just this side of the line it sketches - for me - a pure,
unadulterated, perfectly lovely but not sickly-sweet moment of spring.

**I like the openness of the phrase, then the lovely surprise of line three.

tugging black gloves
over her liver spots
another funeral

May 2008

even her dog
shakes in the corner
first clarinet lesson!

tulips in bloom
without her this year--
misty morning

Return to Shorts I     Go to Shorts III
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we weave a lei
for the Genesee's bow
our men - coming home    

dress white
in their on-deck formation
my heart thuds    

we rush breathlessly
under the arch of swords
white merged with white  

  five months leave
gone past this night--
again, Vietnam  

  five letters
arrive in one batch
'I miss you'    

ship shelled,
they limp to the Philippines
two left behind    

he tells me
he wants his own space...
the pain of silence  

he pulls away
when I kiss him
five years now    

bags packed
I still hope he'll beg me
to stay    

pauses lengthen
between his words and mine
yearly phone call    

his letters
are beginning to fade
cleaning out day

Published fall 2009 Sketchbook Journal

----------------------------

a white moon
swims in the late day sky 
lone swan

a sigh
as the lights go out
home again

barely seen
against the setting sun
maple tree

last night's dreams
clatter into the morning trash
tight-lipped chaperone

my mirror
reflects a stranger's face
another calendar flip

-----------------------------
So Sudden

dedicated to my dear friend, Jimmy Laney

 

rereading his letters
that last breath
so sudden

the flowers
bend towards his warmth
graveside

scent of gardenias
everywhere
his absence

his smile
flits through my today and yesterday
yellow butterfly

the sky
is crying today
his empty hammock

a light
at the end of the bed
my old friend

reborn
when spring next arrives
his lilies

 

published in Sketchbook Sept 2010