Calendar Ended Prematurely

Haiku be no more

Initiative played out

And days slip on by

June 1

Haunting frosty air

Skirling of distant bagpipes

Dance the Highland Fling

May 31

French roast in mug

Biscotti in cookie jar

I don't miss Starbucks

May 30

Traffic needs straight roads

Straight lines are not natural

We domesticate

May 29

His face has known wind

Old cowboy, tall boots and spurs

Sits in Dairy Queen

May 28

On a bombed out road

I'm constantly shifting gears

Riding out the storms

May 27

Young ewes with twin lambs

Spotted sow with nine piglets

Springtime on the farm

May 26

When the mouth opens

Our speech reveals who we are

To those who can hear

May 25

A few crowd around

Clarinet singing the blues

Tuba underneath

May 24

Roses amid thorns

Muscadines hanging from tree

In sweet summertime

May 23

Clouds drifting above

Light moves 'cross bamboo shadows

Water pot is full

May 22

Blond two-year old girl

In yellow cowboy boots

She was a dancer

May 21

Strawberry shortcake

Is dessert something deserved

At the end of meals?

May 19

Gardens must be worked

Weeds are plants in the wrong place

Can people be weeds?

May 18

He is tall and slim

Cowboy boots with green tops

Shame he's not handsome

May 17

Dusky dark at noon

Thunder rolling from the west

Maybe seeds will sprout

May 16

Under a green sky

A blue horse came walking by

Storm is blowing up

May 15

Circumstance gives shape

Genetics sets boundaries

Still we have choice

May 14

Morals are like art

Both must draw the line somewhere

Where have they both gone?

May 13

At worship they hear

Mockingbird on church steeple

Singing hymns of praise

May 12

Traffic rushes by

Mockingbird nest in the vines

Ignore each other

May 11

Ugly on the ground

Magnificent in the sky

Buzzards clean road kill

May 10

Small blue damselfly

Alights on buffalo grass

Beautiful silence

May 9

Bluegrass festival

Rooster crowing out of tune

And banjo off-key

May 8

Old shoes are the best

I like old age most of all

Old shirts and old hats

May 7

Robin in the birdbath

Shower sparkling in the sun

Cows knee deep in pond

May 6

Old bus sits on blocks

Interior filled with junk

Once it carried life

May 5

Green bark sticker tree

Palo Verde blooms golden

Never gets thirsty

May 4

Thorny barrier

Wild roses and blackberries

We'll walk around them

May 3

Eating clementine

Warm day; Walmart parking lot

Reading P. D. James

May 2

He is a quiddler

Never gets anything done

Some say he's lazy

May 1

On wild mountainside

Fiddling in a minor key

Old man with white hair

April 30

The hard winds will blow

Marriage needs to be bamboo

Bends but does not break

April 29

White cranes in the creek

Cottonwood fallen across

This in big city

April 28

Voice of the cello

Resonant to my soul's deep

Or baritone sax

April 27

Ripe Inland Sea Oats

Heads waving in the soft breeze

Such fluid beauty

April 26

Briars underfoot

Vines dangle over our heads

All is overgrown

April 25

Why do I do it?

Inhale and exhale words

Sometimes I get choked

April 24

Different is hard

To fit in social circle

But I'm used to it

April 23

After days of work

Sabbath for recovery

Rhythm of days

April 23

Where the river forked

North Fork, Deep Fork, and Salt Fork

Which one should we take?

April 22

A group of students

Books and four cups of coffee

Starbucks study hall

April 21

We heard them last night

Two owls hooting each other

They ate my chickens

April 20

Glassy wide river

Funnels into narrow force

Niagara Falls

April 19

White sand like sugar

Beach shining under the moon

Tired soldiers lie there

April 18

Caught without paper

I'm writing on old bamboo

Can always make do

April 17

After days of work

Sabbath for recovery

A rhythm of days

April 16

Wherever you go

Carry pencil and paper

Easy to forget

April 15

Under pergola

A swarm of carpenter bees

But not dangerous

April 14

Pushing a handcart

Hot tamales, door to door

First I ever ate

April 13

WalMart Superstore

Our "community center"

Human cross-section

April 12

Memories live on

Old folks photos on the wall

We'll join them soon

April 11

A sharp pocket-knife

Was what he always carried

Also pen and pad

April 10

Sunday afternoon

Playing cards with my daughter

Fine mist veils oak trees

April 9

Long-term will work out

But some must live in short-term

With hope unfulfilled

April 8

Predators have won

My chickens all disappeared

But one white rooster

April 7

Crossing the meadow

To the wedding in the church

Ladies in pastels

April 6

Black cat with white throat

So we call him "Tuxedo"

He adopted us

April 5

He's a Starbucks snob

Won't set foot in Red Wagon

Pastor to elite

April 4

From our of nowhere

Helicopters flying low

Looks like it might rain

April 3

Under the willow

Along the rusty-red road

Two horses rode by

April 2

Demi-tasse coffee

Squirrel in the live-oak tree

Sunday tomorrow

April 1

Pecan trees leaf out

Time to plant the spring garden

Danger of freeze gone

March 31

Bluetick hound baying

Back and forth two roosters crow

Inside he's writing

March 30

Walking, saw a finch

Perching on a barbed-wire fence

Small rose-colored bird

March 29

Fragrant as lilacs

Violet wisteria

Covers an elm tree

March 28

Wobbles when he walks

Skinny old man, suit and tie

Dressed for--Dairy Queen

March 27

Old is decaying

The world is in constant change

New is being born

March 26

Goldfish in the pond

Dragonfly hovers above

Sunrise paints the sky

March 25

Cigarette dangling

Old man sits on street corner

Nothing else to do

March 24

Sunday afternoon
Walking under overcast sky
Helpful breeze blowing

March 23

We cannot get in
Without the key we're locked out
Language is one key

March 22

Live oaks shed in spring
Spanish oaks shed in autumn
My hair is long gone

March 21

Middle of July
Family reunion
Now we're the old folks

March 20

When you are thirsty
Water is more than H2O
Jump in a cool pool

March 19

Building all around
Bewick's wren building again
Been here twenty years

March 18

In back of pickup
The bloodhound snuffles the air
Checking surroundings

March 17

A pile of twelve stones
After he had been dismissed
To return no more

March 16

Excess energy
Little boy with a stick
Beating on a tree

March 15

Ten story building
Home to rats, bats, and old ghosts
Once was fine hotel

March 14

He flunked retirement
No point to a jobless life?
Many flunk old age

March 13

I own many things
And many of them own me
What is in control?

March 12

Smiles trump cosmetics
She was ugly 'til she smiled
Then beauty shone through

March 11

French Roast in mug
Biscotti in cookie jar
I don't miss Starbucks

March 10

At the grocery store
Grackles clean up parking lot
Useful scavengers

March 9

As in a mirror
Your house portrays who you are
Visitors notice

March 8

An airborne wonder
Soaring grace of black buzzards
Surprising beauty

March 7

Age is not magic
Some old folks become wiser
Some become old fools

March 6

White cranes down the creek

Cottonwood fallen across

This in big city

March 5

Bright emerald green

Wheat field down in the valley

Red cattle grazing

March 4

Seeds, bugs, and green leaves
Chickens will eat anything
We eat fried chicken

March 3

Blue-green turquoise
Distinctly Navajo stone
But they don't own it

March 2

In the rose garden
Writing a dissertation
Sunny April day

March 1

Back when men wore hats
And women wore hats and gloves
We were young back then

February 28

Baptismal waters
Born into new family
He got his mind straight

February 27

Birkenstock sandals
Cowboy boots when I was young
Comfort in old age

February 26

You can tell their age
Rock music or rocking chair
I enjoy my chair

February 25

Once useful to me
Much I'll never use again
Make good use of now

February 24

My first teaching job
Two story house on Rock Hill
First home that we owned

February 23

Scotch-Irish farmers
North Carolina hill folk
Those were my people

February 22

Out walking one day
Encountered a pit bull dog
We declared a truce

February 21

August afternoon
In silent shade of horse barn
Place to meditate

February 20

Red-headed woman
Calls her hair her burning bush
But not holy hair

February 19

Take it from the shelf
Books are to be read and used
Books marked, underlined

February 18

Hungry in Hong Kong
I ate Vietnamese eggs
in "Burma Cafe"

February 17

Sisters on the beach
Dressed in heavy coats and gloves
San Francisco Bay

February 16

I read books
to expand my living room
And, write books

February 15

In my opinion
It is a sin to be bored
Midst God's creation

February 14

Lacy winter trees
Clear blue sky with silver moon
I go for a walk

February 13

Cows in the meadow
Wild turkeys on the hillside
House in the distance

February 12

Cornbread for dinner
Red beans bubbling on the stove
Peace in the valley

February 11

Family is here
Bonnie plays ukulele
Like breeze through bamboo

February 10

He wore green sweater
And wrote with a green pencil
Not a green writer

February 9

Low muddy-gray sky
Whining wind surrounds the house
Huddle by the fire

February 8

Ninety-year-old crone
Rattlesnake at her mailbox
Her hoe did it in

February 7

Long-term will work out
But some must live in short-term
With hope unfulfilled

February 6

Sunday morning solo
Mockingbird on church steeple
One person noticed

February 5

Be wary of they
Who always know the answers
But not the questions

February 4

Dirty black slouch hat
Gray whiskers, blue overalls
He was a good friend

February 3

Local alley cat
Feral Siamese beauty
Keeps having kittens

February 2

Hens huddle up
Snow illuminates the night
We're under five quilts

February 1

Laboriously
All morning getting ready
To shop after noon

January 31

Waited all morning
Some wait an entire lifetime
And he never comes

January 30

Rain-soaked broad-brim hat
Rubber boots, ankle-deep mud
Hot coffee waiting

January 29

Old car, parts wear out
But it gets me back and forth
Old man, parts wear out

January 28

Old friends on Facebook
Technological haiku
Mutability

January 27

The quotidian
We may endure it or live it
Cannot ignore it

January 26

Blue cloth, de Nimes, France
Levi Strauss with copper brads
Made jeans for miners

January 25

Harry’s wife is dead
20 tractors plow his field
He’s a good neighbor

January 24

How much is enough?
Why do we always want more?
How much is too much?

January 23

He asked me one night
"Say, what do you do for fun?"
"Hey, I play with words"

January 22

Shriveled and shrunken
Ninety-eight-years old and deaf
Still she comes to church

January 21

At the piano
Hymnal open before me
Morning devotions

January 20

Flames never hold still
A fire changes ceaselessly
As also our lives

January 19

Ancient cedar posts
Rusty, twisted barbed wire sags
I built that fence new

January 18

Sisters on the beach
Wearing heavy coats and gloves
San Francisco Bay

January 17

Old friends on Facebook
Technological haiku
Mutability

January 16

Rose on piano
Mandolin on the wall
Beauty in the home

Januaray 15

In the chicken yard
One hawk came; one black hen gone
We all have to eat

January 14

Cold in the sheep barn
Dorset ewes pay it no heed
Bachelor lives here

January 13

Don't take all the space
Do not use up all the time
Leave room for margins

January 12

Give me things aslant
Please give me no symmetry
Fair nature knows none

January 11

Bad teachers and schools
Surprising how much is learned
Not from lesson plans

January 10

I like haiku form
And I like to play with words
And, at times, meaning

January 9

Life's dance will require
Long-term strength, agility
Dancers have to be tough

January 8

Resting in deep mulch
White cat curled under rose bush
Bright, cold and quiet

January 7

Sheep manure is best
But to fertilize the mind?
To read and converse

January 6

I use haiku form
But know I'm not a poet
I write anyway

January 5

Old philosopher
Sophisticated redneck
Barns smell good to me

January 4

Without maintenance
Relationships fall apart
Grow rusty and die

January 3

In front of courthouse
Two gold teeth and french-toed shoes
That was long ago

January 2

My whiskers are white
When I shave the skin stretches
Facing a deadline

January 1, 2011

Eyes can't taste ice cream
Nose does not know what eyes know

Wind speaks to the ear