Apple Blossoms
Apple Blossoms, Old Town, Portland, April 2012
Clusters of petals
Hang from thin stems, fluttering.
Spring's dancing clouds.
Clocks
Clock Tower, UC Berkley, May 2010
My Father's
Clock sits
On the table.
Still and
Silent.
A reminder
Of both
Time
And
Loss.
Waiting to
Become useful
Again.
Morning Dove
Denver international Airport, May 2011
Morning dove calling.
For a moment I am caught,
Standing, listening.
Water Dreams
Lincoln City, Oregon, September 2011
Dreaming of water.
Waves moving, lapping, smoothing.
Calming fluctuations.
Unfolding Beauty (and Practice)
I had acupuncture today, a long session to discharge all the chaotic energy I've been running on for weeks now. Mostly the only poem I could come up with is:
Too tired
To make
Poetry.
So here's a great opportunity to practice with the side of me that stokes up that chaotic energy to just tough it out, get through. The side that prods the voice that's tired and small into producing anyway. Here's a chance to practice a gentleness that encourages that a haiku "counts" and isn't slacking off on the 30-poems-in-30-days goal.
New Butterflies, Westminster, Colorado, May 2011
And here it is, a haiku about new butterflies.
Emerging slowly.
Wings wet and still unfurling.
Unfolding beauty.
Thinking of CK in Early April
Eggplant from October 2011, NOT early April in Portland!
I miss her when she goes.
I cultivate small
Rituals of comfort--
Spicy food.
Fennel and eggplant.
British television.
Loud music by
Bands she just
Tolerates for
The love of me.
It gets easier,
This practice
Of absence.
But never easy.
I'm merely
Whiling away
These moments
Of longing for
Her safe return.
White Cloud Blossoms
CK is in Arizona until Wednesday evening attending a conference. I decided last week I'd work from home today so I could take the car in for an oil change and check up. After the rain we'd had today was warm, bright and sunny. It was really nice to be home with all our companions, enjoying the sun coming in through the windows while I worked.
Being at home today also gave me time to stop by the bank and get a new debit card since mine had expired Saturday. That stop at our credit union let me take a moment to enjoy all the flowering apple trees in the courtyard, with one tree still rather bare and not yet flowering.
This evening a friend came by and had dinner with me. I made spicier grilled tofu than I normally would and we compared the merits of his Tabasco vs. a small bottle of hot sauce that had been given to us during the Road Food Festival in the French Quarter while we were on vacation. Having a friend stop by for excellent conversation really helps combat the blues I feel when CK's on a trip -- seems obvious, need to try that more often!
The sunshine, the flowering trees and the pleasant company yield forth another haiku for my poetry month!
Like a warm promise:
Day of sunlight after rain.
Dazzling brightness.
White Cloud-Blossoms, Portland, April 2, 2012
Poetry for April
I really enjoyed the times I participated in a 30-poems-in-30-days challenge. I was thinking about it last month and decided to just do it for the enjoyment and challenge of it this year. Since April has 30 days, today starts the effort with a haiku about month endings.
As I drifted off.
March ending in cold, hard rain.
Water sounds above.
Central Oregon Coast Forest Columbine, May 2011