Riding the river of goodbye
nights alone
taking songs to bed
instead of you
Heart resigned
to half the life we had
until we dance again
arms yes arms
wrapped soft and tight
I see you there downriver
waiting for my dreams
to float the river shoals
Less of forever to go
around each bend
And we will hear
our voices say hello
and dance outside
the time of sleep
Category Archives: nature
A Haiku for Sunday morning
A fresh morning breeze
black dog waits by the screen door
heat will claim the day
Words
My words flow over the rocks
smooth and gentle things
when what I want them to do
is shout out loud
avoid the boulders by a hair
laughing hard
and coax some stones to spin
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The last line included at the suggestion of fellow poet Kort Fisher.
Things I didn’t know I loved
I didn’t know I loved the spirit in soil
deep under reed marshes
connected to it through my bones
a vision of roiling life
I didn’t know I loved to sing
that song could make me cry
joy a quick moment on the backs of notes
voices together light to dark
I didn’t know that I loved sense of place
color memories until they were gone
layered goodbyes in dim sunlight
dusty motes on gray air
I didn’t know I still loved touch
thought it dried and done but not forgotten
only to find a fire so ready lit my blood sang
even as I would cry aloud
I didn’t know that I loved words
that they would fill every empty place
pull me with them words from my eyes
words from unheard thought
I didn’t know how much I loved my life
sweet along with sharp and hard
rushing in over tidal flats escaping just as fast
that I could cherish it not just live it
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This list poem came out of a short poetry workshop taught in 2015 by the poet Doug Anderson. We read Things I Didn’t Know I Loved by the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, and were prompted to write our own list poem by the same title. This is the revised version.
Treescape
The wolf throws her head back to howl
rising out of crystal spikes and mimic trees
a night when even lynx furred feet
will freeze on snow
glass visited in the dark by shapes the woods hurl
quick half life images for the next morning
with one of them shouting at the sky
First look
A morning pink comet
streaks the sky from left to right
the sun still floating up
the mountain’s eastern ridge
reaches up to slit the tail
its beam sharp enough
to cut through falling silk
Haiku for today
Late afternoon light
golden beech leaves almost turned
lantern lights the woods
Insistent messenger
A mourning dove in my apple tree
looks through the window
its message meant to prod
sun shrinks as the cold returns
woods maple tops spike leafless now
bronze oaks and candle beech stand guard
water lilies sink into the pond again
a scooped out moon brings frost
bears already denned up the hill
not quite past time for seeds but hurry
or jays will bring their beaks
Haiku for a Nor’easter Tuesday
Storm winds come in waves
bear gong singing fast and loose
there are still some leaves
Haiku for a Friday morning
Summer birds have flown
cold weather sleep calls to bears
almost feeder time
A kiss when it’s clear
I was convinced she would never leave
even though the truth of it
ran alongside faster
as she slowed
in the end a quiet moment
took the comfort of her large dog self
and tucked it in the sky
now her gaze is a soft kiss on clear nights
when the stars are watching
Haiku for a fall night
Hummingbirds are gone
morning doves wait in the wings
gratitude for friends
Life With Horace 