Haiku 151

(for the Wild Swans at Coole)

Dirty pigeons gyre
From puddles in the pavement --
But if they were swans. . . .

Haiku 150

(an excess of the picturesque)

Taqueria talk:
One man shrugs to his neighbor,
"El chupacabra. . . "

Haiku 149

Molasses clockhands
Dripping despair down onto
My frozen desktop

*******

(after seeing the Georgia O'Keefe/Ansel Adams exhibit at SF MOMA)

The necessary
Beauty of the harsh and spare:
Adobe churches

Haiku 148

Once you dreamt of me
And now I lie here lost in
Sleepless dreams of you

Haiku 147

Dreaming of orchards
As pink blossoms give way to
Hard green little fruits.

Haiku 146

Low sunlight shafts shoot
Hallucinatory green
Through the jumpy leaves

Haiku 145

Hierophantic
Days yearning for nights filled with
Luminosity

*******

(Memorial Day)

The waves do not know
What righteous cause or quarrel
Drowned the young sailors

Haiku 144

(for Beato Angelico)

Stately delicate
Dance of angels and saints bright
Joy in rose and gold

Haiku 143

Let us speak lightly
Of all the serious things,
But let us speak them.

Haiku 142

Where does money go?
Bright butterflies flutter off
Where does it come from?

Haiku 141

Stunned under the sun's
Indifferent energy,
Waiting for night's rest

Haiku 140

You left your free-trade
Sugar packets torn and tossed
All over the place

Haiku 139

Sweet geometry:
A triangle of pie on
A circular dish

Haiku 138

Cool breeze of today,
Where did you hide yesterday
While I dreamt of you?

Haiku 137

Daily, dead leaves drop:
The autumn underlying
Bright springtime flowers

*******

Heat waves kill roses
Yet those dried petals release
Headier perfumes

Haiku 136

Kitchen sink dripping,
Tub gurgling, toilet flushing:
Fountains of Versailles

Haiku 135

(contemplating concert-going)

Noises you pay for
Against noises that intrude:
Lotus, rise from mud!

Haiku 134

Stubbly sparkling grass
Brown curve of a dew-drenched bench
Unseen birds singing

Haiku 133

Undistinguished and
Indistinguishable days --
Where did they all go?

Haiku 132

Why sweep up the mess?
We are the fragmented world.
We are broken glass.

Haiku 131

(for sfmike)

A Tosca super!
It's an opera fan's dream:
Shooting the tenor!

Haiku 130

Sweeter than music,
Sweeter than birdsong or brook,
Sweetest is silence

Haiku 129

Rain-ragged flyers
Stapled rust-streaked to a board;
Palimpset of loss

Haiku 128

3 Haiku for Balanchine's Jewels

1. Emeralds
Verdant the river
Flowing shaded, soft and sad;
(Why did you leave me?)

2. Rubies
Jump up like a flame!
Jazzy jaunty pelvises!
That's romance! Grab it!

3. Diamonds
Snow-white swan's down, glide
Down to cape and crown the head
Of my beloved

Haiku 127

Sparkle on the green
Waters of the dancing waves;
Soft and sweet, sail on

Haiku 126

Away from windows
Under waxy light reading
About green nature

Haiku 125

They need some dusting,
Your sad little romances,
Up there on that shelf

Haiku 124

While black umbrellas
Open, the golden poppies
Remain curled up tight

*******

Glum Winter squats down
On flighty silly Springtime;
Both have their beauties

Haiku 123

Office eyelids drop
Late afternoons, like snowflakes
In early winter

*******

A passing shadow,
And quick intimation of
Some obscurer dread

*******

Sudden rush of rain
Splashing swiftly through the leaves,
The tender green leaves

*******

Luminosity
Of the single silver drop
Gathered in cupped leaves

Haiku 122

Tiger-striped shadows
Rustling through the underbrush
With each passing breeze

Haiku 121

The winds are easy
The soft clouds curl overhead
The rain falls gently