Haiku – Summer Season
in rickety chairs
nearly over the hill –distant fireworks cornerboy living off the street light –little brown bat thistle down swerves on the wind away from the hoe maple keys let go of the tree taking hold of the wind fireworks over the crowd gone home –crickets sing again fish the worm heron the fish me the heron – glancing behind toad pees in the snake’s mouth –all he can do motionless beneath the stone dragon –salamander summer snail silvering the lettuce –saucer of beer raspberry –bumpy on the tongue won't keep in search of something living on the notebook page – this insect speck starlings taking over City Hall from pigeons platter moon and the owl’s voice – busy shadows one zig one zag blinking and missing – lightning bugs cedar water –re-swallows a sunfish a quick hail of keys moves the typewriter carriage – desk-full of daisies wind – its way through tall corn stirs the scarecrow by inches eating an oak –gypsy moth wonderful music the words mean so little – rock crickets catalpa worm grown long and fat by the trout stream grand-kids-- four thousand shots of gulls at the shore birds sing beautifully-- so beautifully that no one attends to the words this time of year a flock of rusty hinges swings in our bare wood last blue chicory briefly meets first blue asters-- picked by grandchildren chestnut oak acorns where steep slopes don’t hold water and streams used to run a long clouded week pray for rain then pray for sun-- century plant blooms thistles still tender but a family history keeps lovers away a blurry photo that sparks such sharp memory-- once when peaches bloomed some summery lane behind a manure-spreader-- my spirit wanders |