POEM: Waking Mind Haiku

I
a brass bell clangs
in the old temple yard,
tuning my mind

 

II
at river’s edge,
entranced by water’s flow —
roused by a chirp

 

III
noisy forest —
a sudden silence,
roused by a hush

Three Animal Haiku

I
treed monkeys —
each set of roving eyes
finds its own mark


II
a squirrel sniffs,
smelling the plump acorn
beneath damp leaves


III
a housecat
stalks prey, tiger-like,
no-mind / tail-mind

Three River Haiku

I
from a tree’s shade,
i admire bright, blue skies —
sunlight shimmers


II
washer-woman,
sitting at the river’s edge,
envying flow


III
foggy river
its far bank hazy,
a duck quacks

Floral Haiku

I
bougainvillea
wall of many colors
flames in sunlight


II
carpenter bee
submerges in a flower,
falling to earth


III
frangipani
blossom sits on sidewalk
courting glances

Three Lost Mind Haiku

I 
lost in thought —
a bird chitters nearby,
or did it?


II
tripping on a root,
falling awake, landing,
what happened?


III
Kingfisher
sits on a bobbing limb
just watching

Sunrise on the Mountain Haiku

I
jagged ridges
fade to obscurity,
and so do I

 

II
one mountaintop
shines in the morning sun,
the rest in shade

 

III
sunrays slant
from clouds to mountains —
morning rips through

A Few Indian City Senryū

I
crossing the street
in Bangalore traffic —
never more alive

 

II
even in wee hours,
if I hear only silence,
I know I’m asleep

 

III
random backstreet:
yet, more color than a
carnival midway

Rewilding Haiku

under jungle

creepers, trees, and moss

lost cities wait

one clean edge

of rough chiseled stone

peeks from mound

when we’re gone

something will remain

of us, and not…

Five Hampi Haiku

I
flat waters
glide wide at the bend,
their might mute


II
boulders stacked
in precarious piles —
yet they stand


III
the palm trees
stand over stone ruins —
upright sentries


IV
a leaning tree
reaches its gnarled, bent trunk
to shade pilgrims


V
strange landscape —
rubble swept into piles
by what hand?

Windy Day Haiku

I
two tall pines —
one bends more in the wind,
lean-in for kiss


II
the tall grass
lunges and retreats
with wind gusts


III
in springtime,
breezes, gusts, and gales
affirm flower’s view