Wednesday, April 17, 2024

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...

Saturday, April 13, 2024

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."

Saturday, April 6, 2024

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

Thursday, April 4, 2024

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



Tuesday, April 2, 2024

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