Winter Wind
Exposed - November 17, 2013 - Portland, Oregon
Outside wind howling.
Chimes sound a cacophony.
My heart is heavy.
August Stroll
CK is in Toronto this week for a team meeting. It feels like she barely returned from Hong Kong.
As the weather warmed in our new neighborhood CK finally found a Good Walk. Suitable for both dogs and humans wanting a good bit of exercise. We've been trying to walk together with the dogs as many evenings as possible. Trying to wedge some time in the Busyness to get some time together, a bonus because it is doing something for our good health together.
When she's away I try to keep up the walks for the dogs and I. Tonight we even spied a dead bird along the way. I had to laugh at this find making me think of CK, but we're definitely the type to be curious about such a thing. Were she here tonight we could have taken turns holding the dogs at bay while the other got a closer look. Having a supportive partner makes all the difference in life.
I wanted to share this walk for my Love, who I am hoping is well asleep. A poem for a late evening in mid-August is the result of that desire to share.
August Evening Walk
We walk to the park.
Really, the dogs
Walk me.
Pulling toward the
Steep hill
Covered in grass.
We arrive at the
Time when the
Last orange of
Sunset fades
To the pale
Blue-grey of
Twilight.
When the sparrows
Give over the
Hunt to the bats
And the frogs
Begin their songs.
We rise,
Cross,
Descend.
As we return it
is I who cajoles the
Dogs along toward home.
Pausing here and there
To watch them press
Warm bellies
Against cool grass.
Iris Miracles
Native Irises - May 13, 2013 - Wilsonville, OR
Spring brings irises.
Each rising from the water.
Golden miracles.
Fish Watching
Swirls of Pollen - April 29, 2013 - Portland, OR
Heron still, watching.
Hoping to glimpse hiding fish.
Pollen swirls, ripples.
Spring Colors
Rusty Heron - April 29, 2013 - Portland, OR
Spring comes in with
Small bursts of color.
Snowdrops give way
To crocus, which greet
The sweetness of the daphne.
Days grow longer,
Warmer and soon
The world is bursting
In colors from the camellias,
The blaze of azalea, and bright
Torches of rhododendron.
Not to be out done, the
Leaves put on new, bright
Green and ferns uncoil
From the moist earth.
Frog Return
Frog Swimming - April 26, 2013 - Wilsonville, OR
With a plop
I turn to see
A frog surface,
Then glide.
All around the
Shallows there
Are great numbers
Of tiny fish
And tadpoles,
Frogs-to-be,
Rushing from my
Great shadow.
Other poets have
Described it better,
Yet still, that "plop"
Of a the frog surfacing,
Inspired poets anew
Each spring.
**Here's BashÅ's haiku about ponds and frogs, as translated by Alan Watts:
The old pond,
A frog jumps in:
Plop!
Along the Way
Advice I - April 14, 2013 - Portland, OR
Here we find one another.
Still breathing in
And laughter still
Rising to the surface.
Yes, there remain
Sharp, narrow places
Between many of
The breaths.
(most of the breaths)
Exhalations expressing
Out in sighs.
There is also the
Sense of having
Arrived.
Not where, exactly.
Just the feeling
Of having made
It through.
Reminded
That the Buddha
Assures us
There is a way,
But reminds that
The going can
Be hard.
Sakura Clouds
Sakura Clouds - April 25, 2013 - Wilsonville, OR
Clouds of sakura.
Delicate petals drifting.
Softest, sweetest snow.
April Moon
Yesterday I forgot my personal laptop on my desk at my office. I'd had it with me while taking Mom to her labwork and forgot to drop it off at the house when I took Mom home. Yes, I could have borrowed one of CK's laptops or I could have typed something up on my tablet, but instead I just wrote down a haiku inspired by the gorgeous April full moon.
Old School - April 25, 2013 - Portland, OR
Not sure why there aren't moon-viewing gatherings in the spring, perhaps the weather is less likely to be lovely as it is in autumn. Our new deck is perfect for watching the moon rise and track across the sky. Clearly an autumn party will need to be planned for.
April Moon - April 25, 2013 - Portland, OR
The text of the haiku, if it is too hard to read the tiny picture of it:
Bunny hopping up.
Golden Spring moonrise above.
I gaze in delight.
Flurry of Change
Heart Seeds - April 23, 2013 - Portland, OR
Even as
New flowers turn
Bright, petal faces
Toward the sun
Seeds are falling
Along with the
Faded cherry blossoms.
A kind of flurry
Of change that
Flutters by me
As I stroll past.