haiku 60

poems are out there

waiting

to be collected

in my case written 

and numbered

in little blue books

59 haiku poems so far

the tired monk wanders

to the forest edge

past a little patch

of crocus flowers

haiku 60...

Ditching School in '88

got to school early

started looking for my buddy French

the smoking area?    empty

only Cliff...there as usual

selling loose American cigarettes

from a zip lock bag

he hadn't seen him

he wasn't in math

one of his best girl friends 

said he might be ditching

so I ditched too

I found him at home

out by the shed

sitting on a discarded kitchen chair

he'd found last garbage day

nursing a tumbler of Canadian Club

his cassette player was on

a low hum of Pink Floyd the Wall

filled the air

mingling with cigarette smoke

he looked up from his book

a beautiful hardcover edition:

Catcher in the Rye 

French poured me a glass of whisky

passed me his beat up school copy

the white cover torn and battered

he handed me a smoke 

lit it and said:

"this fuckin' Salinger guy...

man...he knows what's up."

date night

work ran a bit late

the "urgent" email said: "water emergency"

not such a big deal

ever heard of a shut-off valve? lol

quick stop for gas station bouquet

she just loves flowers

box of wine from the cooler

couple six-packs of pilsner

medium pizza from her favourite place

it is a warm April back deck night

a blanket over her legs

to ward off a slight cool breeze

sun sets in oranges...pinks

a refill of her glass

she says "to the brim" and laughs

one more slice

one more beer

as the first stars appear

 

soup poem

the maples fell two years ago in twisted splinters

today they are dry and gathered

chopped up neat with a camp hatchet

fed into the wood stove

heat grows

early spring snow flies

hambone, water, yellow peas simmer

remnants of an Easter feast

a good man

no one stopped

to ask this guy

why he was standing

unmoving

looking up into the grey sky

every now and then a tear

spilled

rippling down 

staining his light blue shirt

you okay? you okay man?

he kept his gaze to the sky

answered 

slow and measured:

I'm good

real good

blessed

full of gratitude

I lost someone

a friend of 60 years

almost a surrogate father

a good man

he stepped in

with love

yeah I'm good

I'm just taking it in

taking in the beauty

thank you

two pauses

i)

pausing 

on the way to work

a few steps off the path

into a clearing

looking up

into beauty

seeing

trees

their branches

embracing the buildings

embracing the sky

ii)

pausing

soaking in an outdoor ofuro tub

a crow flies past

a junco lands on the fence

spring snow falls

melts in the hot cedar bath

evening breeze

shifting evening breeze

sugar bush smoke blows in

curling through pine

followed by

backyard barbeque steak

car drives by slow

leaving a faint waft

of marijuana and KFC