Blog Archives
Haibun: Imagine
Imagine that you can go back in time to when you first loved the sound of rain in the night, or when you first identified the singing of the thrush. I know what you’re thinking: I’ll always be stuck in the here-and-now. But you don’t have to be. Imagine!
In the autumn woods
a tree stump becomes a throne
for an aging queen.
More The Whirligig #289
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
More Writers’ Pantry #43 at Poets and Storytellers United
Field of Strange Surprises
In a field of strange surprises, one chipped cup appears;
Yellow roses near the lip have faded with the years.
A clothesline pinned with tables, along with rusty tools,
Earns heaps of raw derision from mouths of Sunday fools.
They say the world is flooding and seas are black with ink.
But who knows what the truth is, and who knows what to think?
The end of time’s upon us, and dust coats every shelf.
But what’s the use of cleaning? Just leave that to the elf.
More The Whirligig #260
More Writers’ Pantry #14 at Poets and Storytellers United
Three Utterly Weird Poems
I.
Before the mountains were born,
Or there were stains in the sea,
God put his mouth to a horn
And blasted out notes with glee!
II.
I’m tired of drinking coffee, tired of drinking tea;
Give me chicken breasts and thighs for eternity!
III.
I heard three tigers breathing, I thought my time had come,
But then the fiercest tiger was turned into a plum
By the surging murmur of a wizened wizard’s breath,
And now I can’t help singing how I escaped from death!
Poems © 2019 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #213
More Poetry Pantry #479 at Poets United
There’s Wisdom
There’s wisdom in what’s dulcet,
And wisdom in what’s tart.
The old grow ripe with longing
For youth’s resilient heart.
Time proves our ground of being
To be both false and stale.
Come, my friend, let’s toast the dead
With green and bitter ale.
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #184
More Poetry Pantry #425 at Poets United
Wind
A stone-lined pathway at Wupatki National Monument, Northern Arizona
power of the wind—
reducing stones to rubble
one grain at a time
Haiku © 2016 and photo © 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Wind Power”
Seeking
Plaza de Armas, Zacatecas, México
in time of trouble
seeking the soothing waters—
seven miles to go
Haiku © 2016 and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Haiku Horizons: “Time”
Plainsong
August sunset, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
seven worlds away
Andromeda’s old plainsong
keeping desert time
Text and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Our World Tuesday
More Carpe Diem: “Andromeda”
Nap
A deep depression near The Citadel, Wupatki National Monument, Northern Arizona
last days of summer
settling in an earthen bowl
for an ursine nap—
about the dreams to follow
not even stars know the time
Text and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Carpe Diem: “Nap”
More Haiku Horizons: “Follow”
Sweeping
A variety of aloe in bloom, Yuma Conservation Garden, Yuma, Arizona
Sweeping the garden
of debris from last night’s storm,
I’ve time to ponder
these golden aloe blossoms
near the Buddha at the well.
Text and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Haiku Horizons: “Sweep”
More A Prompt Each Day: “Time”
Whirling with Basho
Each haiku or senryu begins with a phrase gleaned from Basho: The Complete Haiku.
~~ 1 ~~
gazing at buckwheat
seven crows collaborate
on a thieving plan
~~ 2 ~~
a singing skylark—
I listen without breathing
to the joyful sound
~~ 3 ~~
the melon flower
after the children throw stones
who will care for it
~~ 4 ~~
a year of troubles
lived without compromising
her integrity
~~ 5 ~~
Are you the butterfly
that will serve to guide my steps
on the long journey?
~~ 6 ~~
the source of sadness
in their small community—
receding river
~~ 7 ~~
a white azalea
blooming in a state of grace—
my neighbor’s garden
~~ 8 ~~
the muddy melon
they chat about its sweetness
in the market stall
~~ 9 ~~
to admire the wind
she must have had no contact
with it since childhood
~~ 10 ~~
by winter showers
decades of matrimony
washing down the street
~~ 11 ~~
a vendor of greens—
concerns about the collards
make for sleepless nights
~~ 12 ~~
souvenir paintings
no time to buy one before
the next train departs
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #216
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 176
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