daily haiku 30 JUl 22

abandoned court

the strings of the net

catch the moon

summer heat

the back and forth of

a red Solo cup

all these dead stars

their hailing frequencies open

the night sky

a gospel haiku

seventeen ways

to Sunday

29 JUl daily haiku

in the photo

on fire

her eyes

crossing over

to the other side

basketball court

breakbeat

backspin backspin

breakbeat

riding hard

for the record 

disk jockey

daily haiku

July heat

the degrees between pleasure

and erasure

new poems 26 Jul 22

HER UNHEARD THIRD VERSE

Seeks to explain why a raven

and a writing desk are so alike

or the heart may still haiku

what it hasn’t counted and

as best I can now recollect

the verbs sometimes dervished

into an irrational anthem where

waves lap before a key change

and I am wandering some beach—

which we all know I would never do—

at first it’s mostly aromatic

and then almost an intuition

like a penecostal saxophone

coasting into the unseen.

 THE DELTA BETWEEN A AND E

No matter how much

one may scrub each day

to belie the twin scarlet

prints of the Beloved,

don’t you sometimes kneel

to renounce birdsong 

for the tinkle of earrings

and the sway of bracelets

or deny first flush Darjeeling 

for a slim jagged glimpse 

of the jaguar’s overbite 

as it crouches to prey?

Is the sky blue because

that isn’t its true color?

daily haiku

All In

I turn my cards over

to the ATM 

holding her hand

held by it

the trembling leaves 

stingray

beyond the sea wall

the ebbing tide

broken car window

all the books stolen

except mine

weather forecast

a 99% chance

of no milk or bread

marriage

the rhyme of fawn

and yawn

always reading

beyond the text

poet’s wife

the belt

beats and beats and stops

but the heart 

daily haiku 21 Jul 22

up and down 

the beach umbrellas

breaking news

one stall over

someone rolls the R

in mierda

her recipe

of non-legible lines

grandma’s hand

daily haiku 22 JUL 22

under these clouds

speckling the water

coolness of pebbles

dear god

a mantis on the window

preying

Seven Songs of the Sparrow

 First draft and the sequencing may change.

The Seven Songs of the Sparrow

(a Blues in haiku for Yusef)

one fingerprint

on the side of a pail

blackberry moon 

the Frosty Twins

bleeding Bogalusa blues

red bird on a branch 

running from it

a boy finds his name

in smoky water 

the missing keys

somehow opening a door

Longhair’s lesson 

a Bloomington fog’s

idea of ancestry

ether on a ridge 

burning beyond

the bonewheel factory

the Southern Cross

fifty-eight thousand

grunts in black granite

blood moon

This is where I ended up—

daily haiku 19 Jul 22

 missed yesterday, both reading or writing any haiku. will try to be more diligent especially on the days I’m traveling or really tired.

not coming

through that open window

haiku draft

my weak end

of lactose intolerance

strawberry sundae

first bench press

hoping she doesn’t

spot me

deviled eggs

at the family cookout

the side eyes

family BBQ

savoring the taste

grandpa’s sandals

family reunion

our first bonfire

still raging 

these side dishes

at our family cookout

all the smoke

17 Jun 22 daily haiku

remembering

only half the numbers

senior discount

teaching 

my son cursive

the size of his eyes

my barber 

and I disagree 

hairline fracture

making notes

on a lily pad

water frog

is the piano

missing any keys

melodious thunk

serpent rouge

the birthmark

up her back

the volume

of her pout

Quiet Car

15 Jun 22 daily haiku

at the playground

a breeze ruffles her fro

dandelion

piece by piece

cleaning his old Remington

cowboy poet

roses

wrapped in newspaper 

my Submittable

rustled feathers

in the group chat

crows on a wire

14 Jul22

almost sixty months

after Dad’s burial

peace lily blossom

headed home

from a beach casino

cry of a gull

Meeting of Friends

the only movement

a flycatcher

wild cherries

the smile of a woman

at a slot machine

could’ve been a text

instead of a phone call

afternoon cloudburst

she’s an 8

but on the Richter scale

Labrador pup

Another day another holler

swimming

in a baseball cap

baby smile

on the casino floor

another day

another holler

poker table

the new dealer cuts

me off 

ducking the cameras

to check his phone

security guard

Jackpot

the slot attendant’s

new hair style

down escalator

a text message from

the doctor’s office

the doubled space

after a period

Our Lady of Sorrows

after the beach

the long e

in her motion

on the Boardwalk

going both ways

flirty eyes

hydrangeas

in each hand

she says bye

a lifetime

of remembrance

forget-me-nots

New haiku 11 JUL 22

the truest art lies

across half the sky

apricot sunset

Happy Hour

the sax man

moistens his reed

tulip buds

just six more syllables

to go

Quaker meeting

I hold my missing sister 

in the light

a wisp

on the horizon

her bikini bottom

these wrinkled seas

a discarded globe

in a cardboard box

welp