Haiku - August 31, 2023
Haiku - August 31, 2023 What? End of August! How did that happen so fast? Fall is coming soon
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Showing posts from August, 2023
Crocs and Gators
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Crocs and Gators Ever paddle with an alligator? Ever do so with a crocodile? Patti and I did the gator paddle in Florida. Steve and I did the croc paddle in Nepal. A few years back, Patti and I paddled our canoe on the Suwanee River in North Florida. We had already paddled with manatees further south on the Gulf Coast. That was amazing, but we had another encounter, this time with a not so docile reptile. On the river we came upon a dead tree hanging low over the water. On the tree was a small turtle. Behind him and perched on the tree was a crane staring intently at the turtle. Behind the crane and also on the tree lay an alligator, smiling his crooked smile, his beady eyes boring on the crane. For a moment we were a few feet away, until we power paddled downstream, not wishing to see the conclusion of this drama. In the fall of 2022, on a lowland Nepali river near the Indian border, were Steve and I on safari in a dugout canoe. As we coursed down the river, we noticed many crocodil
Deer in the Garden
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Deer in the Garden Head down, eating the greens Eating the greens, but ears alert Her eyes, as well, as I open wide the curtains And her eyes apprise me Apprise, but not surprised For she’s wise to us in our human houses We're so conspicuous in her forested home Her forested guise of green She and I both know that all on Earth is her garden A garden to share
A Walk with a Fox
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A Walk with a Fox Not my wife, though she’s pretty foxy. She and I walked with another one, the Fox River. On the trail, saw… Pelicans soaring, Goldfinches flitting, Baby rabbits hopping, Geese feeding, The river coursing. The Fox was higher since the drought ended, Running swiftly just like its namesake
Luna
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Luna Muted night light Sun’s mirror of stone Candle in the sky for the night traveler Reflection in the eyes of those in love’s embrace Beacon of dreams Closest rock to Earth Wheel of cheese, s liced each month but always grows back Master of tides Our fellow traveler in the ocean of space Luna, the Moon
A Hoppy Day
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A Hoppy Day What’s the haps with the hops? We’re not hoppin’ mad, we’re hoppin’ hoppy. We, like, hop to pick the hops. We’re so hoppy that we’ll hop ‘til we drop. What hoppens to the hops? They hop into the pot and cook a lot, Until what you've got is a hot pot of hops. To flavor the pot of brew, hey what! Enough of this wordy rot! Think I’ll sop a drop.
The Journey
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The Journey Over the ages, trillions and trillions of humans have trod Earth’s path. Some searched for life’s meaning, and gave us the world’s great religions. They understood that there is a Divine Presence, a loving presence in our lives to which we need to aspire. Others chose not to follow this path, but, instead, followed their ego wherever it led them. Most, of course, do so as children, perhaps as a survival mechanism in a land of giants. It is a stage of development, because how can you love another without first loving yourself. However, as children grow and are rewarded for sharing, they learn that everyone in a situation needs to have their needs met, everyone needs love. Some, though, continue to follow the god of ego into adulthood, the god of me. But, if one stops seeking the real reason for existence, ego is a wall that only gets in the way of a larger love, a larger love that is all about service to others. Ego obscures the seeing of the other’s needs, and puts one’s
As the Sun Rises
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As the Sun Rises The maple out back shivers and quivers in the northerly breeze. It’s only mid-August, but the chill wind reminds of what is to come. Rising sunlight flickers through the lively branches. A tiny rabbit bolts across the grass, perhaps spooked by all the movement of leaves. He enters his safe space under our deck. Others, older and bolder, graze the grass, ears still alert for danger. The recent rains have washed away the dry month of drought. All is green again, the greenest it’s been all summer. Tiny rabbit reappears; his hunger for clover beats his fears. Rays from the heavens now stream through more openings in the green. My eyes light on seeming faces in the green wall… One a huge face with openings in the leaves for smiling eyes, nose, and mouth; And another, a giant frog with bulging eyes and a mouth that opens and closes in the wind. You can almost hear him croak.
Out Our Wall of Windows
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Out Our Wall of Windows A rabbit eyes me standing at the window, returns to his clover. The rising sun lights maple leaves a translucent green. As the tree’s boughs bow in the breeze, last night’s raindrops shower down. In the woods, rain-laden leaves, shining with sun, seem to wink in the wind. Orioles flicker at the feeder, little suns themselves. Our lawn, more of a meadow, welcomes grazing deer to its diversity of green. It is a surround of green suffused by sunlight.
A House One Foot High
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A House One Foot High Twenty feet wide by twenty feet long by one foot high A house one foot high? Well, really a deck But also a house A house for a mouse We’re watching TV in the back sun room And, outside the patio door, a mouse pops out from under the deck An industrious little fellow Pops out to chew and gnaw on slender flower stems Then pulls them under the deck To make edible walls in his kitchen down there A kitchen for the Wisconsin winter
A Plant Who Smiles
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A Plant Who Smiles The big flowering plant outside my window smiles at me The curve of his three-leaf clusters, one vertical, smiling, The other two like arms upraised in embrace Repeated, oh, a 100 or two times on the large bush And one big red blossom like a heart aglow And all for me right now Thanks
Fleeing the Scene
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Fleeing the Scene The wind’s not blowing But someone is making it seem so Someone flittering in the flowers The greens jittering in their pot Right outside my wall of windows I stand in the window to see who that someone is Though I have a suspicion That same someone, never before seen, Who digs in our front flower pot, uprooting them Who is that mischievous one? He pops his head out of the greenery A chipmunk finally caught in the act He sees me towering over him He scoots
What is Great about this Great Lake
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What is Great about this Great Lake A vast water world seemingly endless in its length and breadth Even powerful flyers like eagles don’t cross it, but migrate along its shores Mysterious in its depths, ships sail eternally there, ghost ships wrecked in savage storms A place of danger even today, where a rip tide can carry the unwary swimmer out from shore Though, too, on sunny days, on-shore breezes cool the coast, bringing in frothy waves like galloping horses breaking on the beach A herd, relentless over millennia, their hoofs trampling rock into sand A place where the land ends and the seemingly limitless waters begin, where, contemplating it, the mind expands A place of danger, yes, but a place irresistible A place of greatness
Only 30% Chance of Rain...Let's Go to the Beach!
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Only 30% Chance of Rain…Let’s Go to the Beach! At first the sky was blue, the water like glass Then the wind arose, the waves crashed The day turned black, thunder cracked Us beach goers retreated as rain threatened to splash We beat the downpour to the car Our bare feet burned on the hot tar After we pulled out, we hadn’t gone far When the deluge came down like a broken jar Trees bent over the road like so many sticks We emerged from the woods, bur continued to take licks From the massive cloud, hail pelted like bricks It was a brief beach outing with stormy risks