All day long, clouds hung low
(pretending rains would come)
but never did winds blow --
and no rain came, therefrom.
"Oh, duplicitous sky,
why have you lied to me?"
It offered its reply,
"What grand audacity!
"You left your umbrella home.
So, what else could I do?
But close the azure dome,
and some respect accrue!"
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry --
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll --
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul --
cormorant heads
drift over the water:
fishing in formation.
muddy clogs
beside each gate;
Spring is here.
"don't swat!"
the fly rubs its hands,
then rubs its feet.
autumn rain,
a small sumo wrestler
pushes through.
sleeping in a row,
the Shinano mountains:
under snow blanket.
In Japanese:
門門の下駄の泥より春立ちぬ
やれ打つな蠅が手を摺り足をする
秋の雨小さき角力通りけり
寝ならぶやしなのの山も夜の雪
From: Wilson, William Scott. 2023. A Beginners Guide to Japanese Haiku. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 224pp.
banyan roots
form cathedral columns
for the inner sanctum.
I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
riverside willows
viewed through the reeds --
voyeuristically.
in late summer,
thistles flower brightly --
then fluff & cede to wind.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 