At The Zoo (written 2009-09-26)

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• wrinkled dusty eyes ~ giant legs chained to the ground ~ statues eating hay

• in too small jungles ~ cheetahs pace along the fence, ~ eyes closed, sleepwalking...

• an eagle dreaming ~ trapped behind chain-link fences ~ flight feathers twitching

• like lifeless paintings, ~ motionless reptiles freeze... ~ children tap on glass

• the fence divides them ~ giraffes stretch their neck and tongues ~ eat each other's trees

• penguins in plastic ~ glide in circular oceans ~ one way, then the next... 

• forlorn pack of wolves ~ sleeping out in the open ~ flies buzz 'round their heads

• across cement floors ~ chipmunks scurry past lions, ~ unafraid of them

• chimpanzee and boy ~ with plexiglass in between ~ trying to touch hands

• begging grizzly bears, ~ having forgotten salmon, ~ prefer stale donuts

• with wing feathers cut ~ conures, banded with numbers ~ screaming with boredom

• ancient tortoises ~ hiding from indignity ~ blend in with the rocks

• gates locked, stars above ~ all the captured innocents ~ dream with uncaged souls

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haiku (archived 2009-09-24)

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• rosebloom theater ~ taking one last curtain call ~ outside my window

• origami swan ~ pristine folds faded yellow ~ love note sits inside...

• painter, so intense ~ thinking colors, brushes, light.. ~ vase got up and left 

• no wings in heaven ~ when asking for mine, God said ~ "Believe you can fly..."

• twitter haiku stream ~ a three shift assembly line ~ I feel like Lucy

• framed by leaveless trees ~ mountainside falls stop white-blue ~ winter bites the gorge

• a painting of fall ~ bound with paper on the floor ~ a rat gnaws the string

• ripped them up, she did ~ poems my heart bled in pencil ~ thirty long years gone

• fall takes a deep breath ~ holds it till noon, then exhales ~ warming its cold hands

• down in dark basements ~ the furnace dragons hiss ~ breathing small blue flames

• roasting marshmallows ~ hungry kid with no patience ~ sugar flames on sticks

• no wisdom in this... ~ stiff back, knee pain, and the mind ~ a rusted steel trap /

• empty-lot jungles ~ the weeds disturbed by movement ~ wind stalking its prey

• through diesel horn blasts, ~ and cars linking on steel tracks ~ bums sleep like the dead

• my proud young lion, ~ I know you're tired from hunting - ~ come dream in my lap...

• overbloomed roses, ~ their pink petals edged in brown ~ matching the foxtail

• how she sees herself ~ as His cricket, one last song ~ before the winter (to @HIScricket )

• to pray upon hope, ~ to prey upon hopelessness ~ two different Korans

• I care not for stars... ~ infinite space between them, ~ hidden by daylight

• radiant diamond ~ faceted glint of promise ~ blinding clarity

• the furious moon... ~ sweeping oceans side to side, ~ blotting out the sun

• in the race for krill ~ gliding underneath ice floes ~ penguins drubbed the seals

 ~ #BashingBashōhaiku ~

• frog hops out of pond ~ eats Bashō's lunch, Bashō mad - writes "to hell with frogs." // #BashingBashōhaiku

• wife on vacation ~ Bashō sits in jacuzzi ~ blond girl jumps in - SPLASH! ;) // #BashingBashōhaiku

• Bashō drinking wine ~ can't find pond, passes out cold ~ raccoon steals sandals // #BashingBashōhaiku

• quiet ancient pond ~ no frogs yet, just small tadpoles ~ Bashō twiddles thumbs... // #BashingBashōhaiku

• at the ancient pond ~ young frog dives, hits a rock - SPLAT! ~ Bashō shakes his head... // #BashingBashōhaiku

• @NotOneNotTwo smirks... ~ but sneaking up behind him - ~ Bashō holding club. // #BashingBashōhaiku

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haiku (archived 2009-09-18)

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• afraid of the dark ~ little girl asleep, the moon ~ holding her night light

• pads sore, mistreated ~ thirsty and tired, dodging cars ~ tags jingling freedom

• black morphs into blue ~ gradients of clouds appear ~ night fades into sky

• heartfelt, lovesick poems ~ once sent by perfumed letters ~ now love at first tweet

• love is a specter ~ a penny floating in air ~ always there... always (r.i.p. Patrick Swayze)

• cataract windows ~ paint cracking, screen door askew ~ roof crying with rain
  
• green breaking away ~ white snubs red, black cheats on blue ~ rainbow's falling out..

• only rules in life... ~ experience everything ~ change without harming 

• sitting by the pond ~ Bashō falls sound asleep - Splash! ~ all frogs heard laughing

• old pond, frog jumps in ~ Bashō, suddenly inspired.. ~ Splash! drops his pencil

• near the ancient pond ~ drinking his sake - "Bashō!" ~ wife calling loudly

• to be or not to ~ Shakespeare never considered ~ there might be choice three

• "where were you that day?" ~ "it don't matter, my brother ~ all of us were there..." (for 911)


• on dirty sidewalks ~ awkward pigeons take to flight ~ startled into grace
  

~

 

haiku (archived 2009-09-10)

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• a mouse in shadows ~ hiding from a nescient world ~ wide-eyed soul trembling..

• on dirty sidewalks ~ awkward pigeons take to flight ~ startled into grace

• spread out on clotheslines ~ split-tail wooden birds perching ~ swaying with the breeze

• sometimes late at night ~ I doze off watching TV... ~ then it watches me

• in silent shallows, ~ underneath swirling currents ~ oysters hide their pearls

• my soul, rain snow streams ~ streams into rivers, rivers ~ to the sea of you (inspired by @urbancrafter)

• the moon holds the light ~ while the sun sneaks off to flirt... ~ twinkling stars giggle

• gargoyles of strong words ~ crouched fiercely on my shoulders ~ guarding my silence

• you have it, don't you? ~ the tail of my kite-shaped heart ~ infatuation

• pencil upside-down ~ endlessly erasing lines ~ between you and I

• wheelchairs, canes, wrinkles ~ enclosed in their exhibits ~ unliving in zoos

• eggs wait, late for work ~ expensive TV too loud ~ reading about monks...

• mysteriously ~ bees disappearing worldwide ~ no bonnets missing..

• his heart and a rose ~ fell from his hand, bewildered ~ watching them kissing..

• kings in palaces, ~ beggars, drinking the same tea ~ from different cups

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haiku (archived 2009-09-06)

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• front paws down, tongues out ~ canine jesters for no one ~ kings of the dog park

  

• the falling of rain.. ~ droplets becoming prisms ~ crash-diving in mud

• towels on the clothesline ~ colorful banners streaming ~ announcing the day

• night shift moon waiting ~ sunrise yawning and stretching ~ day shift birds punch in

• noisy birds flitting ~ impatiently, branch to branch ~ feeder hangs empty

• in the dark he reads ~ a book that only he knows ~ mind turning pages

• french quarter street lamp ~ old man plays a beat-up sax ~ "da notes, dey jess shiine.."

• only those knights armed ~ with soft words and open hands ~ slay angry dragons

• hummingbird darting ~ sees his mirrored reflection ~ a heartbeat too late

• a small tree, stunted, ~ sun-scorched; pale green buds hoping ~ for the sweat of clouds

• trajectory off ~ staring carcass, plumage singed ~ grid loses power

• at the zoo, first date ~ holding her for the first time ~ animals cheering

• standing in your heart, ~ I step in the hole he left ~ ...feel myself falling

• the reeds long decayed, ~ saxophones in museums.. ~ John Coltrane lives on

• they're searching for peace ~ using bombs, as if buried ~ underneath rubble...

• unnoticed, struggling ~ a writhing ant slowly dies... ~ thoughtlessly placed steps

• monk facing the wall ~ body practicing zazen ~ while his mind dances...

• so suspiciously, ~ questioning all the answers... ~ never the questions

• a forgotten book ~ yellowed, in a box waiting ~ laptop recharges

• frayed wires touching ~ positive to negative ~ tripping love's breaker

• very hard to tell.. ~ either crickets or the music ~ are off their rhythm

• ((A + B) * 2) ~ * 10³ ~ solution: quit math

• solar flare kicks up ~ rise and decay of the sun ~ dying giant spits

• I'm not the first one ~ to have this difficulty, ~ just first time this life

• angry, desperate ~ proud and ashamed ~ withdrawing, reaching...

• just like evening stars... ~ all the same, all different ~ voices of crickets

• in the daylight sky ~ invisible stars shimmer ~ behind the cloudbanks

• black and white jumping ~ two old men playing checkers ~ two kids twirling rope

• beautiful bare feet ~ pretty lady with a cane ~ wears pain on her face

• zen is very much ~ like noticing the slash mark ~ in between two/words

• thoughtless wind frees them ~ twirling ghosts pass ancient eyes ~ he and leaves are one

• and if I wouldn't die ~ would I still sit near the sun ~ like I dare today?


• each tweet, a ripple ~ butterflies above the pond ~ causing hurricanes

• traffic lights changing ~ the wind swings them back and forth ~ flipping plastic cups

• each of us living ~ intrepid and cowardly ~ like fat men dancing

• the cracks in my heart ~ repaired by time's arteries ~ drop, by drop, by drop..

• never expecting ~ changes in your stagnant life ~ does not hinder them

• sleeping through my life ~ warm and safe, caught up in dreams ~ God yanks the covers

• lights, slow sensor beeps ~ the room clock synchronizes ~ with my traitor heart

• singed fur, lifeless eyes ~ subhuman evil giggles ~ tiny voices mewl

• seventh-story glass ~ stares out for a hundred miles ~ and whispers to stars

• squealing rubber burns ~ subwoofers rattle windows ~ drowned-out crickets sing

• without a pink slip ~ mountainous old-growth forest ~ is given the axe

• just one little me ~ looking at the world so big, ~ wondering so wide.. 

• after the rain stops ~ trees blow-dry their soaking leaves ~ with solar power

• human saline drips ~ in the cracks between the keys ~ circuit board encroached

• whirring, clicking buzz ~ electromechanical ~ lights blink "One Free Play"

• phone to satellite ~ thousand mile round trip to say ~ "hold on a minute..."

• who needed it more? ~ the starlet with sultry eyes ~ or dead chinchillas..

• "made in His image" ~ photoshopped, resized and cropped ~ malformed artifacts

• our purpose in life ~ taken so seriously ~ God's television

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