at least

at least
we look up at the same moon
this sweet longing

this love

this love
the stars all shine
a little brighter

early winter

early winter
the pond's edge
gives over to ice

cold rain

cold rain
the persistent warmth
of your kiss

early winter

early winter
only an empty nest
in the bare tree

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving
a new seat
at the table

blue moon

blue moon
the hope
of an afterlife

for Andy

maple

maple in full flame
becoming at last
myself

last leaf

last leaf
I too
am dying

falling back

falling back
the fading light
caught in your hair

autumn wind

autumn wind
knowing what you
will say next

Honorable Mention: Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

cherry blossoms
leaving the hospital
alone

http://www.vcbf.ca/haiku/2010-winning-haiku

leaf after leaf falls

leaf after leaf falls
the way your laugh
makes me laugh

chrysanthemum moon

chrysanthemum moon
the way
you open me

autumn stillness

autumn stillness
only the sound
of your heartbeat

no turning back

wading deeper
into the Autumn creek
no turning back

equinox

equinox
reminding my daughter
in my mother's voice

early autumn

early autumn
crossing Sope Creek
your steadying hand

JapanFest TODAY!

If you are attending JapanFest today, please be sure to stop by the haiku workshop at noon.

See you there!

JapanFest Saturday, 9/18, Gwinnett Center

Pinecone, The North Georgia Haiku Society is presenting a haiku workshop at the 23rd annual JapanFest at 12:00 noon next Saturday at the Gwinnett Center in suburban Atlanta.

We will be presenting on modern English haiku, reciting a few favorites, and helping participants to try their hand.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

mackerel sky

mackerel sky
first gold leaves spangle
the maple

RIP Peggy Lyles 1939 - 2010

first cool morning
bluets
for her grave

My mentor and editor passed away on Friday.

Peggy's obituary

last color

last color
drained from the sky
my eyes soften

blue moon

blue moon
the day
I get over you

autumn breeze

autumn breeze
the sussurus
of leaves

moonlight

moonlight
your hand pressed against
the small of my back

summer haze

summer haze
were you ever
the man I loved?

cricket song

cricket song
my longing too
unanswered

late summer

late summer
the gardener polishes
a bronze girl

thunder moon

this old fight
knowing both our parts
thunder moon

from dusk to dawn

from dusk to dawn
you and I
just like evening star
and morning star
one and the same

eclipse

eclipse
the taste of goodbye
in your kiss

cloud watching

cloud watching
the reunion
of Pangaea

mosquito

mosquito
and I
blood brothers

hiking trail

hiking trail
my shadow merges
with the oak's

trail's edge

trail's edge
deceiving only ourselves
bunny and I

sego lilies

sego lilies
the trail dissolves
into wildflowers

ceiling fan

ceiling fan
the whir
of my thoughts

this common sabbath

this common sabbath
spokes of sunlight splay
from a nimbus cloud

summer day

summer day
clover bending
with the bee's weight

memorial day

memorial day
a sea of small flags
bearing witness

afterward

afterward
nothing between us
everything between us

lover's quarrel

lover's quarrel
the tea kettle
silenced

summer heat

summer heat
the air you no longer
displace

lingering dusk

lingering dusk
the silence between us
says it all

stone's last skip

stone's last skip
before sinking out of sight
wishing I had known
that farewell kiss
was really goodbye

magnolia buds

magnolia buds
tell me, what breaks
your soul open?

wild horses

wild horses
your twenty-year-old body
as if yesterday

été

été
such beauty only French
can capture

spring cleaning

yellowed envelope
holding your golden curls
spring cleaning

Special Olympics

Special Olympics
athlete's smile
takes the gold

sickle moon

sickle moon
metallic taste
of this papercut

tanka

no words exist
to articulate my love
so let me
show you now
with this kiss

late spring

late spring
height of unknown children
notched on this door frame

evensong

evensong
sunset the pale orange
of mother's hair

mother's day

mother's day
the neighbor's lilies
on my breakfast tray

spring wake

spring wake
the sun
before its rise

untimely death

untimely death
watching dust fall
through sun's rays

RIP Charles Wood 1932 - 2010

twilight

twilight
portrait of a child
that will never age

another summer

another summer
summoning the courage
to try again

swollen spring river

swollen spring river
the line catches
first light

experimental haiku

life                death

blue iris

I arrive at his hospital bedside to find him much closer in his harrowing and humiliating decline. Despite the pain that even morphine and dilaudid only dull, he welcomes a stream of visitors. His eyes fill with tears as I squeeze his hand and tell him I love him.

We always knew it would be lung cancer, yet we cannot believe when the diagnosis comes.

blue iris
the color of his eyes
fleeting as smoke

fire opal

I am wearing the beautiful fire opal earrings and necklace he gave me. This gem could be mistaken for turquoise except for its brilliance. Yet I am conflicted about wearing jewelry given to me by a man who presented them with such affection and who no longer returns my calls.

I didn't want to hurt him by returning his gifts, though I am unsure whether it is right for me to continue adorning myself with his love tokens.

fire opal
the spark
snuffed

earth day

a robin's beak
pierces its shell
earth day

Haiku Now! contest results

I love the word "apercu," so I'm happy Jim used it in his analysis of my poem. http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/contest/haiku-now-contest-2010/

dandelion seeds

dandelion seeds
of all my eggs
the three that took root

Curtis Dunlap's Three Questions

I am today's featured poet at Blogging Along Tobacco Road!

veil of spring rain

veil of spring rain
the anniversary
of my divorce

Snapshot Press Calendar 2011 Runner Up

Slightly disappointed about being "just" a runner-up in the Snapshot Press calendar contest for 2011, but the haiku will appear in the calendar nonetheless. I hate when the results are alphabetical,  because it looks like I'm waaaay down at the bottom of runner-up-hood.

the observer effect

Behavioral scientists have proven that people act more ethically when they believe they are being watched. In one study, students gave to an honor system kitty for coffee twice as often when a set of eyes was illustrated on the sign requesting a contribution.

cherry blossoms
the monk primes
his alms bowl

Understanding how to direct human behavior by perceived observation pre-dates psychology, as the author of Hebrews 4:13 knew: And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render account. The all-seeing eye is represented in religions as diverse as ancient Egyptian polytheism, Buddhism, and Christianity. It even appears on US currency.

if there were a god...
entering my full income
on the tax form

Most of us prefer to imagine the less Orwellian eye of a shepherd watching over his sheep or our very own guardian angel.

clear skies
my faithless prayers rise
unfettered

In quantum physics, the term observer effect means the act of observing influences the phenomenon being observed. The eye of the beholder, and even its perspective, directly affects the process.

the instant
of transubstantiation
paschal eucharist

vernal equinox

vernal equinox
as many questions
as answers

sakura buds

sakura buds
on the verge
her thirteenth birthday

last petal

the last petal
affirms what I knew:
he loves me not

spring pond

spring pond
blue heron and his shadow
skim the surface

garden planning

garden planning
weeding out the plants
that failed last year

light years

light years these rays
traveled to fall on my face
your long absence

knowing

cloudless sky
all the things
I don't know

this winding river
confluence of what I know
and what I don't

milky way
what I don't know
I don't know

nacreous sunset

nacreous sunset
the ocean
within this whelk

first crocus

first crocus
the oncologist says
no hope

terminal cancer
the contrails end
midair

*my former father-in-law has been diagnosed with carcinoma.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday
light rain
from the cloud-smudged sky

two views of V-Day

Valentine's Day
the first shoots
of tulips

Valentine's Day
thin ice covers
the pond

a valentine

Humbled and grateful: Heron's Nest Reader's Choice Awards

purple dawn

purple dawn
light slowly enters
the passion flower

tanka

the surf has washed
away our footprints
and with them
the only proof
we loved once

starless night

starless night
my daughter delivered home
by a policeman

from my window

from my window
a maple's lichened trunk
the only green

earthquake aftermath

earthquake aftermath
the child found alive
the child found dead

sunrise

sunrise
I smell
like you

first snow

first snow
all the shades
of white

long winter's day

travelogue marked
with an old ticket stub
long winter's day

firelight

biting the peel
a burst of orange mist
firelight

new year

new year
no cicadas fill the night
but oh, the fireworks