Blog Archives
It’s Winter, My Love
A desert family enjoys the cool December weather in this mosaic on a wall in Ajo, Arizona.
It’s winter, my love, keep playing the bones!
Stars o’er the valley are singing to stones.
Keep yourself limber, and shrug off the cold.
Summon your courage, and learn to be bold—
Bold in the barnyard, and bold in the dome,
Bold when you’re far, far away from your home.
I’ll end my song here, and hope that you find
That most folks are true, and loving, and kind.
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Three Haiku for Winter
Palo verde tree on a wintry afternoon, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona.
Winter afternoon—
a nearly empty sky fills
with sudden birdsong.
first winter shower—
milkweed fluff from shattered pods
flying everywhere
Our ancestors knew
how to use needle and thread
to patch a torn sky.
Haiku and photo © by Magical Mystical Teacher
Snow on the Pine Boughs
Pine boughs laden with snow in Apache County, Arizona.
Snow on the pine boughs, snow in the air!
Snow on the fox and raven and hare!
Snow in the valley, snow on the hill!
Snow on the rock, the ridge, and the rill!
Everywhere, everywhere snow is in sight!
Everything wears a blanket of white!
Nothing escapes the fingers of cold—
Winter is here, the world waxes old.
Poem © 2018 and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Winter Is Coming
Dead mullein stalks poke out of the snow in northern New Mexico.
Winter is coming with sleet, ice, and snow;
Herons will shiver and so will the crow.
Rivers of snot will run from kids’ noses—
They won’t be smelling bouquets of roses.
Slippery sidewalks will make old folks fall;
Traffic on freeways will slow to a crawl.
But there are some places winter won’t touch:
India, Panama, Guinea, and such.
To people who live there, southerly folk,
Winter’s privations are merely a joke.
It’s all in your viewpoint, how winter looks.
Remember: Broth spoils with too many cooks.
Poem © 2018 and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Though Summer Is Coming
Great horned owl, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
Though summer is coming, it isn’t quite here;
Orion and Hercules burn bright and clear
In skies that are frigid and velvet and deep,
While work-weary humans drift off into sleep.
An owl in the desert stands guard near her nest—
To keep her foes wary, she puffs out her chest.
When summertime finally comes with fierce heat,
Both winter and spring will go down in defeat.
Poem and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Summer”
Afternoon
Brilliant winter day, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Southern California
A few passing clouds
muffle a hawk’s piercing scream—
winter afternoon.
Haiku and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Scream”
First
Indigo bush on a winter afternoon, Yuma County, Arizona
Full moon or blackbird—
which will be the first to come
and chasten winter?
Haiku and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Moon”
Birdsong
Palo verde tree, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
winter afternoon—
a nearly empty sky fills
with sudden birdsong
Haiku and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Rail
Abandoned railroad tracks, Ajo, Arizona
Winter afternoon—
a dove lays down her last song
on a rusting rail.
Haiku and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Doves
A leafless indigo bush, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
How many doves leave
songs in the indigo bush
before winter ends?
Haiku and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
