I See You

I see you, but wish I did not;
Your presence is like a dark blot
That can’t be scrubbed out.
(Of that there’s no doubt.)
I’m stuck with you—that is my lot.
 
 

Limerick © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher

Joyful Path

Tibetan prayer flags flutter near a labyrinth at a church in Phoenix, Arizona.
 

A circular path
where prayer flags and birdsong meet—
my joy is complete.

Photo and haiku © by Magical Mystical Teacher

Fair Time!

1.
I think I’ll go down to the fair;
I know I’ll find tasty treats there.
Ice cream would be nice,
Topped off with brown mice
And maybe some platypus hair!
 
2.
The Ferris wheel goes round and round;
It’s quiet, not making a sound.
But all those aboard
Are screaming, “Dear Lord,
We want to get back to the ground!”
 
3.
That panda without any hair,
The one on the shelf over there?
I’ll win it for you,
Yes, that’s what I’ll do,
By tossing a ring fair and square.
 

Limericks © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher

An Overflowing Cup of Couplets

1.
Choice is good, and so is bliss.
(Someone wiser told me this.)
 
2.
In the margin of a book
Someone counted commas—look!
 
3.
If the final stretch is wide,
You might weave from side to side.
 
4.
Does your chest hurt? Doesn’t matter.
What’s that on your hand—blood spatter?
 
5.
Pull the lever, pull it hard,
And then play your wildest card.
 
6.
Lone, not lonely, is the house
Without cricket, fly, or mouse.

© 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
 
More The Whirligig #334
 
More Writers’ Pantry #86 at Poets and Storytellers United

 

Self-care

lighting a candle—
self-care for body and soul
on the journey home

 
 
 
Haiku © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher

Vignettes

1.
Standing in the sand,
we argued with the seagulls
and railed at the wind.
 
2.
A loud cry at dusk—
strange that you’re so far away
with danger so near.
 
3.
a disturbing sound
not unlike the whir of wings
or the soughing wind
 
4.
I lift the fence wire,
avoiding the rusty barbs—
my path lies ahead.
 
5.
Talking to the dead
is like going to the beach
without a towel.
 
6.
We fill summer’s cup,
sucking sap from willow trees,
calling it our wine.

Haiku © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
 
More The Whirligig #333
 
More Writers’ Pantry #85 at Poets and Storytellers United

 

On a Summer’s Day

1.
The musty carpet
coughs up some dirty secrets
on a summer’s day.
 
2.
The hated curtains
end up in a garbage can
on a summer’s day.
 
3.
flashback to thin things
found on a summer’s day
when drought squeezed the land
 
4.
rust on a gate hinge
glittering dew on cobwebs—
summer’s day delights
 
5.
Birds, bees, bright blossoms—
if only this summer day
would last forever!

Haiku © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
 
More The Whirligig #332
 
More Writers’ Pantry #84 at Poets and Storytellers United

 

Wonder

Seaside flora can be seen at Border Field State Park, Southern California.
 

One crimson blossom—
I stop to kneel in wonder,
lost in love and praise.

 
Haiku and photo © by Magical Mystical Teacher

Haibun: Simple Pleasures

As a humble person, I fill my mornings with simple pleasures: writing haiku on clean white paper; straightening bent nails with a hammer; watching a sparrow build a new nest; or touching—gingerly—cactus needles. Evenings, I enjoy watching the current swirl where the river bends on its way to Mexico. I need no more medicines for my soul than these.
 

Deepening summer—
I long to wash the field dust
from my hands and face.

Haibun © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher 

 
 
More The Whirligig #331
 
More Writers’ Pantry #83 at Poets and Storytellers United

Shape-Shifters

Clouds over the University of Arizona campus at a Tucson Festival of Books event before COVID-19.
 

watching clouds change shape—
first a witch, then a dragon,
then a gleaming sword

 
Haiku and photo by Magical Mystical Teacher