Blog Archives
Cloudless
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Southern Arizona
On a cloudless day
not even crows fill the void
with their raucous songs.
Haiku © 2018 and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Shadow Shot Sunday 2
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Uncommon Questions
What do night, an owl, and a rose
have in common?
Do the birds know what caused
the sun to rise this morning?
If you found the caws of crows
in an oak tree,
would you leave them there
or put them in your pocket?
Why are you perched in the oak,
ready to flee?
More Sunday’s Whirligig #133
More Poetry Pantry #375 at Poets United
Hush
Virgin of Guadalupe by artist Anado McLauchlin, La Cieneguita, Guanajuato, México
at the backyard shrine
even the crows hold their tongues—
hush of holiness
Haiku © 2016 and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Twelve Days of Mary at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Searching
Dried and battered wildflowers, Northern Arizona
As I shuffle through the arroyo, I keep dropping to my knees. An onlooker might mistake me for a pilgrim making my way to Lourdes. But the healing I seek cannot be found at some distant holy shrine. It is here in the dust at my feet: cedar twigs snapped off by storms; summer’s leftover flowers; small stones trying in vain to fatten themselves on wisps of winter sun.
I aim my camera at a clump of wasted wildflowers, remembering words from a letter written long ago: “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…” (1 Corinthians 1:28, RSV).
Low and despised is nature’s detritus in the arroyo, but it heals my battered spirit as I kneel in awe and wonder before it.
I kneel in the dust,
searching for underground streams—
three crows bear witness.
Revised haibun © 2016 and photo © 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #324 at Poets United
Rising
Brittlebush blossoms, late December, Sonoran Desert, Yuma County, Arizona
brittlebush blossoms
rising to greet the new year—
even crows join in
Haiku © 2015 and photo © 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Waiting
Small-town sunset, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
palm fronds at day’s end
waiting for crows to settle
along with the sun
Haiku and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Morning
September sunrise, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
An autumn morning—
even the crows fall silent
at the sun’s rising.
Haiku and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Our World Tuesday
More Haiku Horizons: “Silent”
More Carpe Diem: “Richard Wright’s ‘An Autumn Evening'”
Whirling with Marge
Each breath-of-a-poem begins with a phrase taken from “Maggid” by Marge Piercy.
~~ 1 ~~
Born of wanderers
following cracks in the earth—
this is her story.
~~ 2 ~~
under loads of straw
so heavy that they must crawl—
three peasant women
~~ 3 ~~
Who chose the desert
over fields of ripened grain?
What were they thinking?
~~ 4 ~~
wanderers with shoes
escaping Egypt by night
with untied laces
~~ 5 ~~
a child’s naughtiness—
the mother’s heart collapses
like an umbrella
~~ 6 ~~
bodies by the way
crows picking at putrid flesh—
immigrant children
~~ 7 ~~
small bones of children
wrapped in tattered white quilts
from the old country
~~ 8 ~~
abandoned treasures—
among them an old clay pot
filled with untold tales
~~ 9 ~~
Where their empty pots
are suddenly filled with bones—
tell me that story.
~~ 10 ~~
In the stinking hold
of a ship with splintered deck
they make for safety.
~~ 11 ~~
Under our pillows
a thousand new dreams open
as flowers in spring.
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 206
Witness
Wasted wildflowers, northern Arizona
As I shuffle through the arroyo, I keep dropping to my knees. An onlooker might mistake me for a pilgrim making my way to Lourdes. But the healing I seek cannot be found at some distant holy shrine. It is here in the dust at my feet: cedar twigs snapped off by storms; summer’s leftover flowers; small stones trying in vain to fatten themselves on wisps of winter sun.
I aim my camera at a clump of wasted wildflowers, remembering words from a letter written long ago: “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…” (1 Corinthians 1:28, RSV).
Low and despised is winter’s detritus in the arroyo, but it heals my battered spirit as I kneel in awe and wonder before it.
I search for underground streams—
three crows bear witness.
Text and photo © 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Carpe Diem: “Ghost Writer, Hamish Managua Gunn”
Morning
Subtle early morning shadows steal across agricultural land, Yuma County, Arizona
on little mice feet
morning skitters through the field
too early for crows
~~ ~~ ~~
Can a mouse move without skittering?
Text and photo © 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Six-Word Saturday
More Carpe Diem: “Crow”
More Shadow Shot Sunday 2
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