Wednesday, December 31, 2008

midnight

midnight--
slowly slipping off
her silk straps

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

winter garden

winter garden--
plaster rabbit
hops away

Monday, December 29, 2008

streams

winter light streams in--
the girl gives her blond hair
one-hundred strokes

Saturday, December 27, 2008

alone

clouds cross the moon--
your back to me
alone in this bed

Friday, December 26, 2008

after Christmas

after Christmas--
poinsettia petals
dropping

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas day

Christmas day--
the girls set the table
without being asked

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

after the party

after the party--
rearranging plates
in the dishwasher

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

piercing cold

piercing cold--
the piercing clank
of the garden gate

Monday, December 22, 2008

wind in the pines

wind in the pines--distant shakuhachi music

Sunday, December 21, 2008

solstice

solstice--
snow falls
embers rise

Friday, December 19, 2008

park bench

park bench--
the sleeping man's eye
fills with snow

Thursday, December 18, 2008

winter burial

winter burial--
the baby's cry drowns out
the eulogy

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

blizzard

blizzard--
deer blinks in the wind
snow-laced lashes

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

snowflakes

snowflakes fall
in monochrome silence:
mute haiku

Monday, December 15, 2008

snow lantern

snow lantern--
lacking spark, lambent
with moonlight

Sunday, December 14, 2008

perigee moon

perigee moon--
unstrung pearls scatter
between us

Saturday, December 13, 2008

winter night

winter night--
a tree cracks
in the cold

Friday, December 12, 2008

last word

soft snowfall--
calling my sister by my name
his last word

Thursday, December 11, 2008

snowstorm

after snow--
yesterday's footprints
a memory

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

flurries

flurries--
two crows perched
on a white cross

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

frozen

frozen pond--
only moon glides across
its dark glass

Monday, December 08, 2008

nativity

venus rising--
nestling the newborn
in Mary's arms

Sunday, December 07, 2008

merging

upon the water
snowflakes merge with essence
like you and I

Saturday, December 06, 2008

advent

advent chocolates--
finding today

preempted

Friday, December 05, 2008

sock-mates

winter night--
unable to find
my sock's mate

Thursday, December 04, 2008

pearls

frost moon--
I reach for mother's
pearl earrings

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

bed of roses

on the rose
snow finds a fragrant

winter bed

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

winter sky

winter sky--
a skein of wild birds
unravels

Monday, December 01, 2008

veil

veil of fog--
looking over oranges
a veiled woman

Sunday, November 30, 2008

winter

snow-drifted landscape
this expanse is no place
but winter

Saturday, November 29, 2008

dusting of snow

dusting of snow--
lifting my child to place
the faded angel

Friday, November 28, 2008

Tetons in snow


Tetons in snow--
the jagged terrain
of my soul

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving--
hands held around the table
for
dad's tenor grace

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

economic haiku in NY Times headlines

to buy children’s gifts
mothers do
without


outlook grows
more dire
for housing market

repose

fallen leaves
fill the hammock--
autumn repose

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

returning

returning--
her aged hand draws back
the lace curtain

Monday, November 24, 2008

graveside

graveside--
my breasts
leaking

Sunday, November 23, 2008

early winter

Happy birthday, Andy.

early winter--
placing on my son's grave
baby's breath

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Atlanta autumn

Atlanta autumn--
the last leaf

gone with the wind

Friday, November 21, 2008

winter moon

winter moon--
the cygnet tucks her head
in a snowy wing

Thursday, November 20, 2008

silence

winter silence--
only the sound
of falling snow

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

persimmon moon

persimmon moon--
the involuntary moan
when you enter me

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

gibbous moon

gibbous moon--
the fit of our pale bodies
spooning

Monday, November 17, 2008

hunter moon

hunter moon--
a lone coyote howls
from the foothills

Sunday, November 16, 2008

late autumn

late autumn--
in the shorn field
a weathered barn falling

Saturday, November 15, 2008

publication in Simply Haiku

Check out my haiku published in Simply Haiku.
Most of these poems appeared here first in one form or another.

first snow

first snow--
seeping wild rose hips
for tea

Friday, November 14, 2008

wind

wind
blowing
my dress
up

Thursday, November 13, 2008

field goal

high school football
the field goal clears

the moon

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

veteran's parade

moisted-eyed
those who remain salute--
veteran's parade

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

eau de Afton

after riding
she bears the scent
of wind and sweat

Monday, November 10, 2008

autumn moon

autumn moon--
polishing grandma's silver
I see her eyes

Sunday, November 09, 2008

new moon

new moon--
the swaddled newborn
latches on

Saturday, November 08, 2008

caresses

caressing the wind
that caresses them--
bare branches

Friday, November 07, 2008

translucent leaf

translucent leaf--
autumn sun limns
its fragile skeleton

Thursday, November 06, 2008

rain

rain--
through the window
the landscape runs

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

voting

wishing not
for an "I voted" sticker

but an ink-stained thumb

Monday, November 03, 2008

windblown leaves

windblown leaves--
becoming versed
in this language of loss

Sunday, November 02, 2008

day of the dead

day of the dead--
the candle sputters
with your breath

Saturday, November 01, 2008

early frost

early frost--
the moon cradled in
a tree's bare branches

Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween

Halloween
doling extra candy in

her pink pillowcase

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Prayer for Holly and Santiago


We celebrate and bless
This love-struck day
And its solemn, joyful
Leap of faith

To Holly and Santiago
Love arrived unbidden,
In a tender gesture or gaze
Silently given

From Wyoming and Colombia
The arc of time and space
Gathered them inevitably
Into eternal embrace

May your love be embroidered
With patience and forgiveness
Adorned in devotion that
Like Cana’s wine is endless

And to mark that first fateful chance
Always make time to dance…
This is me reciting the poem I wrote for my sister's wedding.

river mist

river mist--
scullers row in unison
geese in their wake

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

woodpile

woodpile
rings of a spider's web span
the rings of an oak

Monday, October 27, 2008

Windswept prairie

Windswept prairie--
In autumn sage antelope
Prick their ears

Friday, October 24, 2008

Cold rain

Cold rain--
She smoothes her veil
Into place


*My little sister marries today!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Autumn walk

Autumn walk--
Leaves swirl 'round the neighbor's
New foreclosure sign

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Falling leaves

falling leaves—
after chemo, he washes
what’s left of her hair

Friday, October 17, 2008

Falling leaf

Falling leaf--
In its slow surrender
Seduction

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Hand-me-down

Stitching a button
This coat another year
Another child

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Harvest moon

Harvest moon--
I recall my own hopeful
Gravidity

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Autumn rain

Autumn rain--
Drawing down her

Dogeared favorite

Friday, October 10, 2008

Confession

Deathbed confession
Litany of acts
Left undone

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Autumn proof

with Marty

Autumn proof--
Aroma of rising bread
Leavens the whole house

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Dying light

Dying light--
Her last words linger
In the stillness

Monday, October 06, 2008

Frost

First frost--
The young man's voice cracks
For the first time

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Waning moon

Waning moon
Bolero unravels
Our waxing love

Monday, September 22, 2008

Autumn equinox

Autumn equinox
A golden thread braids the days
Of the season

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Harvest II

Harvest moon--
Vellum pages fall open
To "a time to reap"

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Full moon

Full September moon
A rising rainbow trout
Iridesces

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Text

Caught in a downpour
Text from my daughter
R U OK?

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Deserted beach

Your wet body
Pressed to mine
The pounding surf

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Genesis

For such as this ray
Of moonlight dusting your face
Were galaxies made

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Answer

My love is answered
In your pleasured flesh, whose heart
I own the question

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Memento

On my fore finger
Two parallel scars, memento
Of a child's first teeth

Monday, July 28, 2008

Sundial

Sundial, time's shadow
Traces the patina'd face,
Falls across my own

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Looking glass

Looking glass image
The silver reflection is
No more than mirage

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Things lost

Beauty of things lost:
An heirloom locket, a love,
The faith of childhood

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Transformation

Birds sing the morning
Into day; your love summons
Me into being

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Refugee

Old refugee
Wrinkles carved deep
As her suffering

Friday, June 06, 2008

Wish

Baroque fountain
The hopeful child

Casts her copper wish

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Witness

Bearing witness
Willow weeps over
A new grave

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Broken

One-hundred aspects
Reflect in broken mirror
Of my shattered heart

Monday, May 19, 2008

Riverdance

A dancing bouquet
Yellow butterflies blossom
On the river's edge

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Undone

In every wild bud
Summer comes
Undone

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Flight

Dandelion seeds:
Fledgling summer
Takes flight

Friday, May 09, 2008

Iris

Banks of white iris
Sway in the breeze, their beauty
Fleeting as my own

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Concert

High school symphony
Straining to see my daughter
In forest of bows

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Mystery II

Cast off illusion
Dwell in the house of doubt where
To know is to die

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Earth perfume

A revelation
Carried on the breeze, perfume
Of fresh-plowed humus

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Church bells

Church bells' somber chime
An enumeration of
Error and regret

Thursday, April 17, 2008

New life

Within your embrace
A new creature I quiver
Like a fresh-furled leaf

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Datura

Whirling dervishes
Datura's white petals yearn for
Sacred ecstacy

Thursday, April 10, 2008

After disbelief

What remains when disbelief has gone? ~Philip Larkin

After disbelief
Nothing to profess, recant
To thine own self true

Monday, March 31, 2008

Aperture

Through the aperture
Of retrospect, prismed past
Shimmers a mirage

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Known world

Bounds of the known world:
Far as I see in your eyes
Wide as your embrace

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The cross

Torturous planks, less
Crucifix than bridge crossing
The mortal chasm

Friday, March 21, 2008

Bridge

Bridge, mediator
Of earth divided, beauty
In form, metaphor

Friday, March 14, 2008

Droplets

After rain, droplets
Hang globular on branches
Refracting the world

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Sunday morning surf

Sunday morning surf
Communion of sea and sand
Where God's voice moves still

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Celadon

In celadon spring
Nature is a green-glazed bowl
Ready for the kiln

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Memory II

A reliquary,
Memory, littered with pain,
Exquisite beauty

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Melancholy

In gloom and shadow,
Illusions haunt elusive
Sleep, no tomorrow

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Love letter

An avowal, each
Vernal petal, unlike my
Unsent love letter

Friday, February 15, 2008

Sudden spring

Spring comes unbidden
Longed-for then suddenly blooms
In full profusion

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Valentine

As to sun dogwood
Opens first blossoms, to you
I open my heart

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Metamorphosis

As caterpillar
Emerges butterfly, so
Winter flowers spring

Friday, February 08, 2008

Extravagance

An extravagance,
This luminous day and you
And I together

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Spirit house

In the spirit house
Of my body dwells passion
Married to rapture

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Wolf Moon

Guardian of night
Lighting the boundless dark of
Howling loneliness

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Evanescence

Snowflakes in my hair
A last farewell as you and
Snow will melt away

Friday, January 18, 2008

Gray

Winter's gray embrace
Gathers in melancholy
Even sparrow song

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Snowflakes

Snowflakes fall
Haiku
From heaven

Monday, January 07, 2008

In the beginning

Creation's big bang,
Universe is conceived in
Cosmic orgasm

Sunday, January 06, 2008

French kiss

French kiss, silent tongues
Seeking, answering, praising
Love's lingua franca