haiku retrospective ccliv

columbia falls
the first golden poppies bloom
along the highway

2 February 2003


undone
a fatty piece of lamb
in the roasting pan

2 February 2003


muddy yard
the girl pirouettes in
forget-me-not blue

3 February 2003

haiku retrospective ccliii

As a Quaker, the subject of pacifism is central to who I am. I struggle with the difficulty of following the path of peace all ways in my life. I experience a lot of ridicule because, even though pacifism might be morally sound, people think that it's impractical.

I've been thinking of John Woolman lately. Woolman was an American Friend in the early 18th century. He was a strong witness against the practice of slavery, and he opened many hearts to his concern.

indigo dye
the lash of the whip
on the slave's back

I also think of George Fox, who refused to take part in the British Civil war almost 350 year ago. Yet when William Penn asked whether he should resign his commission in the army, Fox said, "Carry thy sword while thou canst." By this, Fox meant that Penn's conscience was not in his keeping.

nuclear arsenal
carry thy sword
while thou canst

I look forward to sharing what we can, disagreeing when we must, and learning from our differences.

open hearts
peace
is every step


31 January 2003

haiku retrospective cclii

blue winter sky
the forest hidden
behind the trees

30 January 2003


grandmotherly kindness
the sound of ducklings
hitting the pond

31 January 2003


columbia falls
the first golden poppies bloom
along the highway

2 February 2003

haiku retrospective ccli

As a diversion from making the "blacklisted" web page, I collected the following middle lines from a number of my haiku and rearranged them into the following new haiku. I added prepositions and adjusted cases when necessary, but left the lines as untouched as possible.

Enjoy the surrealism.

trees glow green
a hippopotamus opens
the sound of an ornament

bumpy flight
guatemalan security checks
the blur of insects

the woodcutter shaves
a large raven rummages
on the beach freeway

storm clouds gather
every trail leads
to reflections of children

a dead leaf spins
the old woman stretches
the silence between ticks

layers of sunlight
the bean vines climb
on spider silk

the red poppy buzzes
tree branches toss
the sine wave's scamper

the child climbs on my lap
a red m&m melts
roses explode

yellow leaves among the green
sun glints off the tail
of a swallowtail butterfly

all colors fade
the truck dumps asphalt
on the out-of-town guest

layers of color
tooth marks in the frosting
of the vegetable feast

a single willow leaf spins
dumping the water out
of the puzzled haijin

a blackberry stretches
reflections from the water
the duck's neck extends

the ripples of their footsteps
a jet roars across
the spout of the teapot

a fingerling leaps
the sedges' leaves dip
into a swarm of sand fleas

the duck family emerges
a leaf detours
around the rock-throwing boy

green kingfisher
the diving boys climb
a craggy oak branch

a rock skips through the reflections
a wave of cirrus clouds breaks
so many dreams left

a boy cannonballs
two streaks of silver and
the smell of sewage

the hiss of the ocean
the dragon princess growls
at red, white and blue bunting

speed bumps
a corona around
the frayed american flag

three ravens circle
the stars and stripes hang limp
against tarred road felt

a storm of yellow leaves
the old man drills bolt holes
in his twin horns

the prelate dawdles
his open hand cracks
the mountain ridge

upturned garbage carts
women exchange soup recipes
carved on fallen branches

29 January 2003

haiku retrospective ccl

Five different takes of a snail crossing the road or five snails?

the earth turns
a snail crosses
the road

warm front
a snail crosses
the road

early robin
a snail crosses
the road

snow melts
a snail crosses
the road

morning pastry
a snail crosses
the road

29 January 2003

haiku retrospective ccxlix

winter picnic
another orange peel
hits the compost
....in California, where it's a sunny 60F today and the children have decided to eat their lunch outdoors.

oranges and sunshine
he runs his bare toes
through the grass

too early for dandelions
the cat finds another
place to nap

28 January 2003

haiku retrospective ccxlviii

One might try:

enron's america
“in greed we trust” 

I think that tolerance of bad haiku is necessary to the development of good haiku. Many haiku don't work, but we have to do the best we can. If we're going to learn how to write haiku, we need lots of practice, and some of that practice will produce flops.

 Sometimes, when a person posts a bad haiku, someone else will post a variation that's positively brilliant. I find that process highly educational. Thus I encourage people to post the haiku they can't get to work, as well as their masterpieces.

joe's diner 
“in grease we trust”

29 January 2003