swamphens strut
at water’s edge, and
i’m a farmboy again.
Swamphens [Haiku]
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Category Archives: poem
Last Hurrah [Haiku]
late afternoon sun
catches yellow bloom clusters:
the day’s last hurrah.
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“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
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Lakeside Leaves [Haiku]
lakeside leaves are
turning and dropping, but
no floaters remain.
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Yielding to the Flow [Free Verse]
A slender leaf
floats downstream.
Its tip touches
a stouter leaf,
sending the
slender leaf
spinning.
The leaf continues to
twist as it drifts,
Making it seem spastic,
but it neither rushes
nor dawdles.
It matches the flow,
letting gravity &
currents do all the work.
It races only when it
plunges through
a narrow channel,
But it downshifts just as
effortlessly as the
stream widens.
The leaf's action is
unforced, yielding to
energy imparted upon it.
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Killing Bliss [Free Verse]
I found bliss.
And cooked it on the
simmer setting
of my soul --
That vacant hole that
I let swell with color
and light.
My only worry was that
it would flash fry all
that I am.
But one worry is enough
to kill the joy,
to kill everything vibrant
& reckless within.
The bliss was quenched,
and it steamed & sizzled,
and all I could hear was its
deafening sound.
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“Barter” by Sara Teasdale [w/ Audio]
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
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Water Lilies [Haiku]
water lilies,
in the early morning sun,
stand tall & proud.
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Four Seasonal Haiku of Masaoka Shiki [w/ Audio]
SPRING
on wet feet,
the sparrows hop
down the hall.
SUMMER
the owl naps,
and dreams of a
summer grove.
AUTUMN
sunny autumn day:
smoke from something burning
rises skyward.
WINTER
a snowy night;
the sound of bamboo
rustling.
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Autumn Gold [Haiku]
gold-sash Buddha
sits under Fall colors,
watching leaves drop.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 