haiku retrospective ccclxviii

A cinquain.

I thought
I was in love
but my heart was only
beating faster because I was
afraid

haiku retrospective ccclxvii

gray thanksgiving
an outburst of laughter
from the kitchen

24 November 2005


winter twilight
the warmth of his back
against mine

26 November 2005


first raindrops --
the small boy hangs
on his brother's leg

30 November 2005

haiku retrospective ccclxvi

breaking waves --
my daughter tries to catch the wind
in her hands

22 November 2005


country road --
the crowns of the madrones heavy
with orange berries

22 November 2005


november sunshine
the taste of lemon pepper
on my lips

23 November 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlv

Hooray! This marks the 365th post in the haiku retrospective that I began to celebrate my 50th birthday. Thus far, the retrospective contains roughly 1100 haiku.

ragged leaves --
where do cockroaches keep
their ears?

20 November 2005


dark water
the halyards slap
against the mast

20 November 2005


november darkness
tree shadows flicker
across the frosted glass

20 November 2005

haiku retrospective ccclxiv

waning moon
the skunk waddles
down the slope

19 November 2005


tree shadows
the coyote's ears lie
close to its head

19 November 2005


shreds of cloud
the raccoon scampers off
carrying a corn cob

19 November 2005

haiku retrospective ccclxiii

cold snap
the refrigerator freezes
the lettuce

19 November 2005


sunrise
two boys squabble
under the comforter

19 November 2005


quivering hesitancy
the mouse twitches her nose
before eating the cat's cheese

19 November 2005

haiku retrospective ccclxii

indian summer --
the ceiling fan creaks
on startup

15 November 2005


evening breeze --
the pedant picks
her nose

15 November 2005


banked fire ~
moon shadows
on the bedroom wall

19 November 2005

haiku retrospective cccxli

yellow ribbons --
the fat man pumps gas
into his SUV

11 November 2005


veterans' day --
the former green beret hides
in his barn

12 November 2005


contrails --
a coyote lollops
across the road

15 November 2005

haiku retrospective ccclx

storm clouds --
the woman separates
the squabbling boys

25 October 2005


time change --
the small boy laughs
at his own joke

30 October 2005


lingering clouds --
the scent of graphite
from the boys' drawings

30 October 2005

haiku retrospective ccclix

fitful breeze --
only a few yellow leaves left
on the maple

24 October 2005


morning rain --
yellow leaves in pieces
under the swings

25 October 2005


october clouds
grease stains in relief
on the highway

25 October 2005

haiku retrospective ccclviii

autumn sunshine --
a spaceship explodes
on the carpet

22 September 2005


autumn haze --
a kingfisher comes to rest
on the oak snag

27 September 2005


morning stillness --
a squirrel scolds the man
raking walnuts

5 October 2005

haiku retrospective ccclvii

cricket song --
the woodpile tarp gleams
in the moonlight

19 September 2005


autumn clarity --
the spoon scrapes the bottom
of the tea tin

22 September 2005


fall morning --
two miniature knights agree
to fight the dragon

22 September 2005

haiku retrospective ccclvi

autumn memories --
well-worn boots crush
the brittle leaves

18 September 2005


autumn dreams --
a new range of hair colors
at the beauty parlor

18 September 2005


autumn night --
your fingers trace the shape
of my dreams

19 September 2005

haiku retrospective ccclv

end of summer --
the quail's topknot bobs
across the road

7 September 2005


end of summer --
the peahens ignore
the peacock

7 September 2005


sticky honeycomb --
a bee tumbles out
of the hibiscus

15 September 2005

haiku retrospective cccliv

labor day --
another company cuts
health benefits

5 September 2005


approaching squall --
the bedraggled seagull grabs
a fish head

5 September 2005


clump! clump! clump!
these boots stomp the poetry
out of my soul

5 September 2005

haiku retrospective cccliii

presque vu --
the image of a solar eclipse
through a pinhole

29 August 2005


world view --
the duck's feet push
through the algae

29 August 2005


Labor Day heat --
he heaves the battered chainsaw
into the shed

5 September 2005

haiku retrospective ccclii

ghost town --
the first raindrops raise
a little dust

loose shutter --
the first raindrops raise
a little dust

dry diggings --
the first raindrops raise
a little dust

empty cistern --
the first raindrops raise
a little dust

withered corn --
the first raindrops raise
a little dust

18 August 2005

haiku retrospective cccli

distant drought --
a butterfly weaves in and out
of the live oak

14 August 2005


august night --
the cricket's song keeps time
with the neighbor's stereo

19 August 2005


long cast --
the angler pulls a bass
out of the sunset

26 August 2005

haiku retrospective cccl

train whistle --
she skips another stone
across the creek

11 August 2005


summer fog --
he pulls his roll apart
before eating it

13 August 2005


summer stars --
my husband starts snoring
again

14 August 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlix

fleshy thighs --
the lithe girl lost
in my imagination

8 August 2005


endless summer --
another beach boys tune
on the oldies station

8 August 2005


light overcast --
a mourning dove lands
on the pigeon cage

9 August 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlviii

Today's selection comes from a discussion of haiku rules and why it is important to use concrete images to create the haiku experience rather than resorting to imagination, abstractions, or judgements. The first selection is completely sarcastic in tone, but the next several are playfully meandering back to haiku-ness.

What we can see in our imagination is clearly superior to what we observe in the real world.

torn shadow --
a woman's heart flutters
in the breeze

Haiku by free association. No concrete images need apply.

7 August 2005


sword dancer --
her high-heeled shoe crosses
the line

7 August 2005


se rendre --
the shadows of the night
caress her

8 August 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlvii

My sons prefer to toss water wrapped in latex.

sudden rain --
a water balloon bursts
at his feet

It rained this morning, the remnants of a tropical storm in the Pacific. In my entire life, I don't think I've ever seen it rain in California in July. At first, I thought it was my neighbor's sprinkler, then I saw that it was watering my woodpile. Why, it was coming from the*sky*. Who woulda thunk?

worn work gloves --
the thunk-thunk-thunk of wet logs
hitting the woodpile

coffee break --
three stellers jays gossip
over the compost

21 July 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlvi

Check your towel before you get out, too. I once emerged from a relaxing shower, wrapped myself in a thick terrycloth towel, and had a brown recluse run down my leg.

A non-haiku tried to write me yesterday. I told it that there wasn't any way it would rise to haiku status. It grumbled a bit and subsided. You have given me courage to post it as a cinquain.

hindsight --
that fall I had
rollerblading backwards
lingers in my hip long after
you left

or...

hindsight --
that fall I had
rollerblading backwards
has stayed with me much longer than
you did

20 July 2005

haiku retrospective cccxlv

summer drought --
a line of cars creeps
through town

17 July 2005


shagging flies --
the shadow of a swallow
on the outfield grass

25 July 2005


no fog --
the crisp white trousers
of the mexican sailor

5 August 2005