Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

Posted on March 25, 2025 by B Gourley

under dusky skies,
 a temple emits droning chants 
  and golden light.

Posted on March 7, 2025 by B Gourley

rocking boat,
 splash heard behind --
  spin to see... ripples.

seeking cicada
 that drills my brain,
  I find only a shell.

hilltop temple
 comes into view
  to a crow CAW!

sunup:
 roosters crow, birds chirp -
  all unseen.

in the temple yard,
 a bell clangs three times, and
  vibrates beyond silence.

walking in rice stalk,
 grasshoppers ping forward, 
  plink - plink - CRUNCH - plink...

insects chirp
 under autumn skies; the
  river runs silent.

the temple bell clangs:
 heard from a distance,
  it does not fade.

Posted on July 21, 2024 by B Gourley

the stillness --
 soaking into stones
  cicada's cry

Translation from: Higginson, William J. 1985. The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku. Tokyo: Kodansha Int. p. 11