9 Haiku

A strand of dry grass 
clings to the bronze guitar strings—
music in the trees

White mist on the cliffs—

a dog chases his keeper
jogging on the beach

Scent of peach nectar

brings a tiny whirling blur—
a bird like a bee

*

Curled snake on the path
stops us and makes us silent—
hawk squawks and circles

Palm over the pool—

child tiger god face swaying
in the breezy sky

A tense painted face

tottering on her high heels—
blonde hair like a shield

*

Two women, a man

pass me laughing on the street—
he’s holding a lamp!

Apricot twilight—

slender silver strand of moon
over mellow seas

Seagulls fight for food—

a big dead crab in the surf
that gets swept away



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7 Haiku

Misty morning beach— 
a black boy in a blue hood
is walking backwards

Black crows and white gulls

stand on a white-streaked railing
and stare at the waves

Morning fishermen

ganged on a damp patch of sand—
shadows in the mist

*

An insistent bird

through the lush trees by the deck—
we sip black coffee

A lake of grey rocks—

copper pheasants and stone cats
gathered at its edge

Summer darkness falls—

fireflies rise over our heads
while we drink red wine

*

A mist in the east—

here a gang of hungry birds
stabbing at dry grass



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A Crack In You, A Crack In Me

God I know...that you don’t care 
Where I go...or how I fare
If I go broke...in your nightmare
Down below...what a man can bear

You put a price...on human dreams
Your sole advice...is to build a scheme
Like a light...for souls to seek
Until one night...you’ve got them beat

Oh you’ve got a foe to meet

He’s coming to cheat you
Yeah you know he might beat you

And so all your secrets and fears
Just grow

When you get blue...you can see

A crack in you...a crack in me
A crack in that...reality
Which isn’t what...it seemed to be

Which isn't what...it seemed to be



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Flashes 12

We
don’t lift
our garage doors

Yet another

crack
in the rational world

Watching the wind

through a window
in the mirror

*

He drank
himself
off course

Times when

we want
nothing

Her smile

you could smell:
powdery candy

*

These houses make you
dream of what
other lives are like

May the Spirit of Summer

linger long
in the Land of Lakes!

Dark trees

sparkling
with fireflies



.

10 Haiku

Bright orange poppies 
exploding out of a crack
in the paving stones

I don’t stop the cat

from swatting at a big fly
razzing through the house

Warm late spring night—

against a lavender sky
shadow people pass

*

New lemon blossoms—

the cat rolling in the dirt,
its coat shinier

The sun’s reflection

in a puddle of water—
soft rain is falling

The cat’s eyes widen

when a fire truck screams by—
fading summer dusk

*

Little black birds poised

on strands of telephone wires
in a huge blue sky

Jade and caramel

pebbles shining on the beach—
my pockets are full

Blinding silver waves

crash and tumble toward the shore—
a surfer rides them

*

Reading old haiku

in the early summer dusk,
cat curled on my lap

.

This Can't Be Wrong

Like a flash on the water 
I know this can’t be wrong
I catch a glimpse of the order
Man it’s been so long

Oh I know this can’t be wrong

Birds abound in the bushes

Singing swirling songs
I stop my rushing and hustling
And linger on the lawn
 
Oh I know this can’t be wrong

I found a friend in a dream one time

After she’d been dead
And through a sky of a smile
This is what she said

Set your feet down

In this deep ground
Right where they belong

Set your feet down

In this deep ground
Get yourself back home

I fell in love with the laughter

Glowing in your eyes
Now I know what I’m after
This is paradise
 
Oh I know this can’t be wrong

.

Another Fate

Hey there mister can’t you see 
Something’s burning down in me
It gets so hot I’ve got to scream!
I know you know just what I mean

When you’re not at home you’ve got to

Roam that lonesome road

I was schooled and I was ruled

With phony maps and broken tools
But when I knew that I was fooled
I knew I had to make my move

You see something flash through a crack

And you can’t turn back

So many things that I was told

Just empty noises dead and cold
There’s so much more than what is shown
I’ve got to find it on my own

Flee this emptiness you hate
And find another fate



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