| Two of my favorite poetic forms are
the Japanese HAIKU and TANKA. I have always liked non-rhyming verse,
and the simplicity of these forms can be deceptive. Marvelously
complex ideas have been laid forth in these fashions by some of the
world's most talented poets. Here are a few of my efforts along
those lines... |
golden slants the sun
Autumn soon turns to Winter
good time to snuggle |
|
Cold wind is sighing;
sky is shrouded in grey clouds.
Harvest your pumpkins |
Children back in school,
traffic backed up on freeway.
Summer got away. |
Autumn has arrived:
trees wear red and golden tones
the apples are ripe |
nothing says summer
like that rash of poison oak
and laughing children |
Old friends once again
still close, despite many miles,
seize every minute |
summer, suddenly
we had so much wintertime
I thought it was lost |
Nuclear meltdown,
Too late to stop it. I want
A No Fission Rule |
breeze carries laughter
neighborhood kids all playing
here comes the summer |
new year now begun
new resolutions to keep
and new friends to meet |
winter, not yet here
already cold and rainy
-- but you warm my heart |
purring, a rumble
whiskers twitching as he sleeps--
pussycat, dreaming |
light the fire of love
with a smile meant just for me
shining from your eyes |
thundering squirrels
race across the branches
first to acorn, wins |
I knew Spring was near
Had to set the clock ahead
sleepy, lost an hour |
Hear the froggies sing
ribbet ribbet ribbet croak
music in the pond |
Squirrel took a drink
--It's more than just a birdbath
and all creatures thirst |
clear and crisp and dry
no winter's raindrops falling
no overfull streams |
Drip, droppy, sloppy
Muddy roads happy for rain
Winter’s gift falling |
hills gone gold, trees bare
a hawk circles overhead
shrill cries rend crisp air |
Integrity too
Sometimes seen in humankind
More often in beasts |
Do not mistake me
My kindness is not weakness
My love is not lust |
If you would love me
You must also take my heart
Lest it be undone |
Sartorially
I don't give a fig for that
What does your soul wear? |
My thoughts stray in
lines
Stretching to infinity
I go no farther |
Hawk soaring on wind
Circling far above the trees
You look for your lunch |
Butterfly fairy
Silken and gossamer wings
Your flight brings me joy |
Kind and tender one
Dreaming only of sweet things
Doing only gentle deeds |
Complicated man
Simple at your very core
And ever changing |
Joyous things are small
True it is that brevity
Can bring happiness |
The wind blows the sand
Every day a new story
Written on the beach |
The moon is not seen
If we do not look upward
So it is with dreams |
A man you are grown
Yet your love more innocent
Than any small child |
Tenderness can yet
Be found among the heartstrings
Anchored to your soul |
Do greet tomorrow
With a smile upon your face
And hope in your heart |
The air holds promise
I breathe deeply and then blink
Refreshing my mind |
I plant the garden
God lets me think I’m helping
He does the real work |
There is music here
Let it out from deep inside
See my soul listen |
Fireflies in summer
Small stars that flitter on earth
Are the joys of June |
Tantalize my heart
Dancing on the barren moor
And you are laughing |
Logic must needs wait
I need emotion just now
Else all will be lost |
Only in daydreams
Is everything so perfect
As it is today |
Rain-washed cistern
stone
The well is filled with laughter
Echoed from the past |
Thought flies
higher still
When all thought has been vanquished
And silence does reign |
dark wings fluttering
the blackbirds flock at sunset
trilling in rushes |
Something about you
always seems to make me smile
maybe it's just love |
candy for senses:
rainbow dragonfly aloft
summer-scented breeze |
among the rushes
bullfrog chants his evening song
bringing blackbirds home |
Temperature dips,
Harvest moon is rising:
Autumn has come home. |
I walk not alone;
friends season delicately
this journey called life |
Listen. Hear the snow,
a gently laid white mantle
announcing Winter. |
chilly autumn night—
cup of cocoa by the fire
ah yes, contentment |
so this is winter?
the brook is busy thawing
and the geese fly north... |
green velvet hillside
here and there wildflowers
bloom beside the brook |
"Is
that you?",
he asked,
and I said, "no,
'tis not I;
maybe I am you?" |
squirrel in rainstorm
his tail is his umbrella;
my peanuts his lunch |
sing, little froggie
your ribbet joins the chirping
of our cricket friend |
no heart is so pure
as that starlight shining down
none, more innocent |
river flows slowly
in summertime meanders
dragonfly haven |
Winter still lingers
but the crocus, defiant
pokes green through the snow |
Morning light spills
Into my springtime garden
Wakens the flowers |
our breaths make contrails
so cold they solidify
ice shards fall to earth |
