Spring

Thunder of peepers*
welcomes me home -
spring night.

You can read about peepers here. Be sure to scroll down to the sound files on the right.

The back story: our yard backs up to wetlands, and at this time of year the night is filled with the sound of peepers.

One Single Impression: Listening

sitting in silence
listening for the spirit
worshipping Quakers

Colors

cardinal red
against forsythia yellow
visual feast

See more color haiku here

For Abe

commonplace object
by photographer's eye

transformed

This haiku (an explanation of the syllable structure follows) was inspired by the photograph you will find here. The photographer, Abelardo Morell, is an old colleague and friend from my days as the registrar at an art college. It hangs in the lobby of my current employer's main building. Abe is also the subject of a documentary film, Shadow of the House, which gives a glimpse into not only his work but his life. If you have a chance go see the film.

As for the haiku, as mentioned in a previous post, I am participating in a year long haiku writing project. The moderator's theory on haiku, which you can read here, is that the strict syllable structure is in part a mis-translation to syllable of a Japanese word. His critique of my first haiku was in part that it was too wordy. So, I'm working on making my haiku fit the spirit of haiku rather than fitting a strict syllable stucture.

You can read more submissions to the haiku project here.

Haiku Project, Week 3

web dances on wall

revealing winter antics

of sunlight and wind

See more haiku project here.

Haiku Project Week 2

low spots collect fog
overhead squirrels frolic
January thaw

You can see all of the week 1 submissions here. My favorite is Norma Dunlop's (about 1/2 way down in the right column). It paints a lovely picture.

Photo Inspired Poetry

high in the mountains
amidst the boulders and stones
flower shouts hello
-------
stubborn alpine bloom
vibrant mountain top surprise
delighting the eye
-------
Is it lonely I wonder,
there on the mountain top
with only the rocks and stones
for playmates?

Miss Rumphius prompted us this week to compose poetry inspired by this image, taken on a mountain top in Tibet (not by me). Click the photo to see the other responses.

Steam Shadows

outside the window
steam shadows dancing on brick
winter afternoon

Poetry is Work

she shuffles the post-it notes
dictionary solitaire
seeking the perfect flow
wrestling with "beleaguring"
orphan words in search of new family


Last night Amy was hard at work on a poem in response to the prompt at Read Write Poem. Her method in this instance was to write each of the words she was working with on a post-it note, and shuffle them trying out different arrangements until it was just right. This poem was inspired by her working out that poem.

Bonus Road Sign Haiku

Five letter road sign
merge or yield too complex for
Boston drivers' minds

I couldn't resist this bonus poetry for Totally Optional Prompts "road sign" prompt.
My original road sign haiku are here.

Adventure Haiku

small boy joins father

climbing small mountain
giant adventure

The picture was taken by my brother at the top of Baker Mountain near Saranac Lake, New York last July. This was N's first mountain. He's already done another.
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paddle propels me
toward adventure ahead
around rivers bend

These haiku were inspired by this week's prompt, adventure, at One Deep Breath.

Monday Morning Haiku

grey morning, breeze brings
scent of snow to my nostrils
winter approaches

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single snowflake falls
panicking driver ahead
traffic slows to crawl

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washing instructions
on reversible fleece jacket
turn inside out. Huh?

Haiku Smackdown

Here is my response to the haiku smackdown challenge from Xinher. The challenge was to write haiku's inspired by 6 pictures she posted. The pictures are hers not mine.

it’s all in a name
snail transformed to escargot
garden pest to treat


around the corner
google-eyed creature lurks
red wall leads the way


light waves in tunnel
barely acknowledged by the
travelers who pass


chew toy distraction
leaves slippers unscathed
dog owner finds bliss


light designs enchant
intentional patterns or
tripod less shooter


no inspiration
for pigs feet haiku today
perhaps tomorrow

Morning Vision

bloodhound goes one way
beagle heads in the other
dog walker arms strain

Inspired by the view outside by bathroom window one morning last week.

Balance Haiku

On the brink of six
bicycle proves difficult
balance eludes him


frustration finds him
overwhelming confidence
the training wheels stay

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river flows past me
paddle splashes quietly
soul achieves balance

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For an update on the bike riding click here.
Find more haiku here.

I missed the deadline for ODB on this, but decided to post it anyway.

One Deep Breath: Grandparents

grandparents day falls

on my grandfather's birthday
ninety-eight years back

I hadn't come up with anything for this prompt and then I looked up at the calendar at my desk and realized that Sunday is Grandparents Day. It would have been my GBill's 98th birthday, he's the dapper young man pictured above. He's been gone for seven years and I miss him.

More One Deep Breath: here

Poetry Thursday: An Open Window

As summer slips toward fall,
through an open window the river beckons
promising the pleasure that comes from
dipping paddle into water,
pulling toward sights and sounds
new and familiar.

More Poetry Thursday here.

Poetry Thursday is going away. This is it's last Thursday. Thanks Liz and Dana for providing this inspiration!

Haiku - derailed train

Stars shine upon me
sparkling off still lake water
perfect summer night

This week's prompt over at One Deep Breath is Haiku Train. It's a collaborative multi stanza haiku started by host Susan. Each subsequent participant uses the last line of the preceding haiku as the first line of theirs. I added to the poem earlier today (you can read all of the entries here). When I stopped by to see the subsequent progress I was struck by the line above from Pixiedust. Since I'm not sure about making multiple entries in the group effort I decided to post this here instead.

One of these years we're going to schedule our time in the Adirondacks so that we're there during the Perseid Meteor showers. I love gazing at the stars from the dock or from my kayak. We've seen shooting stars there, Amy saw her first there, and I think it would be a real happening to watch the meteor shower where you can see so many stars.

Evening Haiku

softball hit sharply
scattering soccer players
fine summer evening

Dedicated to all the players and umpires of the MIT Community Summer Softball league.

I realize haiku should stand on it's own, but I think an explanation is in order for this one, particularly since I couldn't find an appropriate picture. Our softball league, MITCSS, plays on multi-purpose fields at MIT. At other times of the year the fields accomodate soccer, rugby, football, frisbee, baseball and softball. Most nights we have 6 or 7 games being played simultaneously and we use all of the available field space. Every night we must contend with soccer players who show up and decide that left field looks like a great place for a game.

I'll try to add a more serene take on the prompt tomorrow.

More One Deep Breath: here

Body of Water Haiku

Waves crashing, toss boat
arms strain to control paddle
mighty Atlantic

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Rainbow Lake visions
promising relaxation
vacation beckons

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rainy day splashing
little boy stomping puddle
temporary lake