Sonomabuzz

Category: Poems

  • Afternoon walk

    Walked around aging
    It’s better than just sitting
    Around getting old

  • Early July

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>
    For Van Morrison

    Radio static
    Wavelengths over many years
    Never lets you down
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/02/10
    About a pine tree

    It’s my tree now, Lord
    Towering example too
    Of longevity
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/02/10
    Forest calls echo
    Wren and jay can rejoice now
    In summer’s warm sun
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/02/10
    Day started in peace
    Then wry sense of gain or loss
    As the sunset wanes
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/02/10
    Shade versus shadows
    Some degrees of lack of light
    Like our certainty
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/04/10
    Gumption

    When one is quiet
    Long enough to see hear feel
    The real universe
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/06/10
    When did you want that?
    Now or sooner is okay
    Existentially
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>07/09/10

  • Haiku from the sky

    Orion fell out
    Of the sky and scorpion
    Usurped selfishly
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>06/14/10

    A white hawk glided.
    He moved his wings to hover.
    Dove to ground below.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>06/17/10

  • An emperor slowly walks

    Sitting by itself
    Something about lonely chairs
    A good place to think

    A Seat on the Edge of the World
    Photo by Alex Hailey http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexa27
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/25/10

    In eggshell garden
    An emperor slowly walks
    Anxiety stops
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/26/10

    Different glasses same effect
    Sauvignon blanc or Merlot
    Worth living in Sonoma County

    8-7-8 – Not a haiku
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/27/10

    People just don’t know
    that what they say matters
    Reflecting on them
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/27/10

    Lightening outside
    Chasing thunder in the sky
    Canine confusion
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/27/10

    Loose flying paper
    Important at some time, then
    Just random paper
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/28/10

    Now we work our best
    serving other peoples needs
    Then what happens next.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/28/10

    Creosote blessings
    Billowing across our time
    Like a desert breeze
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/28/10

  • Arctic fox eats Musk ox – A haiku emergence April 25, 2010

    Our nephew Kelly had a school assignment to write a haiku that involved a river. We reviewed the classics:

    • A Haiku Menagerie Living Creatures in Poems and Prints. By Stephen Addiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto. Weatherhill, Boston MA, 1992
    • The Sound of Water, Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa and Other Poets. Translated by Sam Hamill. Shambala Centaur Editions, Boston & London, 1995
    • Classic Haiku, The Greatest Japanese Poetry from Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki and Their Followers. Edited and Introduced by Tom Lowenstein. Duncan Baird Publishers. London, 2007

    Then the following emerged

    At the forest pond
    Leaping for the mosquitoes
    The dark fish catches

    By Kelly Carr inspired by Buson

    River in my mind
    The water is icy cold
    Can’t wait for summer.

    By Kelly Carr

    Art teacher’s regret
    Finger painting from hell is
    For tiny people

    Who would imagine
    The river flows through Ukiah
    Inspiring haiku

    Ukiah and haiku
    Like laughter and silly words
    Just goes together

    Nephew ponders things
    Of poetry of rivers
    Counts on his fingers

    Contemplating the
    Structured and the unstructured
    Of modern haiku

    Everybody dance now
    Make an entrance with style
    Just can’t stop myself

    I’m gonna die soon
    I swallowed five pounds of wax
    Who gets my legos
    (inspired by new braces)

    New moon in blue sky
    Chases light of setting sun
    Overlap of the day

    From the general
    Mirth and splendor there emerged
    Lighthearted phrases.

  • Cleaning out the notebooks

    A truck and a bus
    Near each other in traffic
    Pushing on the brakes
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/15/09

    The moments in life
    Beat down my heart in rhythm
    Chance and intention
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/15/09

    The geese are grazing
    In the sheep’s diminished field
    As sunlight streams down
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/15/09

    Fall’s crisp morning air
    Moving the season’s along
    Yellow stalks turn brown
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 09/21/09

    I’ve seen the thunder
    In the middle of the night
    Flashing in my ears
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/21/10

    When people explore
    Hidden counter narrative
    Is that which is there
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/03/10

    Have nothing to write
    Yet a new note book makes ink
    Come out of a pen
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 03/19/10

    The space between words
    No one knows silence like you
    Life’s meaning in breathe
    (triggered by nirvana)
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/15/10

    Lone white egret flies
    Solo across a dark sky
    Brilliant wings glimmer
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/20/10

    It is odd to know
    Experience teaches me
    That I know nothing
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/22/10

  • We encounter things

    Turkeys gobbling
    While crows are cawing nearby
    Morning at my house.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/13/10

    We encounter things
    So strange yet still so common
    Children’s services
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/14/10

    Haiku for you.
    petaluma river

    Sky in the water
    Clouds turn blue on a river
    like boats lingering.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/15/10

    I love the shadows
    They reach across my life and
    warm my weary bones

    Just Any Old Creosote
    Photo of creosote bush in Cathedral City, California by Orin Zebest

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/27/10

    Three shades of color
    Across an open landscape
    Depicting life’s blend

    Sun, Clouds and Creatures
    Photo taken in South Africa by Lynae Straw

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/07/10

    Idling bus riders
    Their time means less than schedules
    Here next to the road
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/01/10

    Ecological
    Translates to inconvenience
    For the bus rider
    020510 bus stop
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/01/10

    I’m not prolific
    Haiku just happens because
    I have a notebook
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/10/10

  • Haiku speed writing journey

    Winter overcast

    Walking with the dog briskly

    Exploring a place

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 12/27/09

    Winter in the woods

    Birds dancing on bare branches

    The last leaves falling

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><>  12/28/09

    My morning sunshine

    Showing brightly in her eyes

    This woman I love

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/05/10

    In the winter sky

    Beyond frigid wisps of clouds

    Orion passes

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/09/10

    Went on a sudden

    Haiku speed writing journey

    On a homebound bus

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Geese calling loudly

    Under a gray gloomy sky

    Piercing the quiet

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Warm fingers wiggle

    Coziest bicycle gloves

    Grasp the writer’s pen

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Twittering haiku

    Making one hundred forty

    Be five seven five

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Guess what I started

    Riding on the bus today

    Motion poetry

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Santa Rosa light

    Through trees and vineyards shining

    Even in the rain

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Light through distant clouds

    Reminders of the day’s end

    World spins round again

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    How fast can he write

    Entertain or occupy

    Amuse someone now

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

    Glowing orbs passing

    People driving sending smoke

    Illuminated

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/11/10

  • Timing life’s cadence

    How in the middle
    Of nowhere uncertainty
    Resolves in silence
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 09/25/07

    Learning to listen
    To the rhythm of breathing
    Timing life’s cadence
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 09/26/07

    Guidance comes when it
    Is given through listening
    To your direction
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 09/26/07

    The eyes cannot see
    What the soul reveals each time
    Breathe flows in and out
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 10/15/07

    I must be like you
    Listen to this whisper always
    A sound of thunder
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 12/25/07

    He too is some stream
    Thought in early trickle if
    Rain is like water
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 12/25/07

    Honor the present
    completely accepting now
    no then or future
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/26/08

    every day we find
    Spontaneous confusion.
    is there any other kind?
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/26/08
    12:50 p.m. based on page 26 of a General Theory of Love

    Play Saying one thing
    is physical poetry
    meaning another

    1:10 p.m.
    we earn our keep as
    trusty assistants ever
    watchful here and now.

    1:20 p.m.
    I’m gonna kiss it
    and make it better for you
    that’s what I should do

    1:34 page 30 of a General Theory of Love

    abstraction invents
    possibility of a
    mental future

    3:53 page 37 of a General Theory of Love
    feeling deeply is
    synonymous with being
    alive for humans

    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/30/08

    night thoughts drift past dreams
    or was it more likely that
    dreams drift past night thoughts
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/21/08

  • Haiku about people and such

    Life is imperfect
    People do what they think right
    Live patience calmly
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/13/04

    Those ones who observe
    Watching justice slide away
    Undone by process
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/11/04

    Memories come unbidden
    To the victims of Katrina and Bagdad
    Memories come unbidden

    NOT a HAIKU
    To the displaced
    the failures of the leaders is remembered
    Regretfully, sporadically
    Recovery wrestles with regret
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 03/29/06 (copied)

    Can you explain it,
    Intelligence, by the way
    Thoughts show on the face?
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 10/15/07

    I learn things really
    fast because days grow shorter
    patience reflected
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/25/08

    Neither here nor there
    Stones in time bend to nature
    Souls are gone from stones.

    Jay Cross’ graveyard photo on Flickr Sunday
    CIMG0270.JPG
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/03/08

    Aldous Huxley
    optimistic concurrence
    we want avoidance
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/06/08

    A freeway canyon
    Over Santa Rosa creek
    Is what we have now
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/16/08

    Traffic sputtering
    Around the old courthouse square
    Drive away instead
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/16/08

    Bicycles blazing
    Catch the imagination
    Of Santa Rosa
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/16/08

    Throughout my whole life
    I have made it a habit
    To give away things
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/20/08

    The budget process
    A mock might equal amuck
    Keep slogging anyway

    Today’s Haiku – inspired by Nick Honey’s budget description @ all staff meeting

    Mach six is money
    Running really fast in the
    Wrong direction, oy.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/21/08

    Things are what they are
    So pay close attention to
    Complicated things
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/27/08

    Teenager secret
    Affirmative denial
    Just keep them guessing
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 02/28/08

    A haiku for her.

    attitude and joy,
    such a great combination
    in a little girl.
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/11/08

    Keep your eyes open
    Keep your mouth shut, all the time
    Keep your hands moving

    Attributed to Cindy Wolf
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/12/08

    Reflected image
    Of love’s hidden light in dreams
    Revealed in you
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/15/08

    She is lost in thought
    The light of the future glows
    In her potential

    Haiku for you
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/allenowen/2547325334/
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 06/02/08

    The pervasiveness
    of fear – it’s like poison on
    anyone’s weary brain
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 06/23/08

    Q-tips kleenex bags
    plenty of paper products
    on a shopping list

    (don’t really need this – it was an old shopping list on the back of this morning’s haiku)
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 06/23/08

    Smiles flashing boldly
    Moments of pure joy in life
    Like a mockingbird
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 07/15/08

    Transfer behind a
    Temporary intention
    Lack of commitment
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 07/27/08

    Life and light
    More and less
    Talents and gifts
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 09/24/08

    Leadership level
    Categories spelled out
    Do they capture soul?
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/04/08

    Too tired to talk
    Life just keeps plugging along
    Now what will I do?
    (by Anne)
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/04/08

    Get your cute ass home
    Consider evening light and
    those ones who love you

    or

    Tell all those who grouse
    to be quiet like a mouse
    then close office door
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/04/08

    Barak Obama
    Hope embodied in a man
    A new president
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/06/08

    Pictures of a room
    Another classroom landscape
    Student space to learn
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/07/08

    Deliberate haste
    Is moving quickly slowly
    Barak Obama
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 11/07/08

    Our Acquisitions
    Are not Transformational
    Relationships are
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 04/24/09

    the blessed get to
    pay for the mistakes of the
    well off and the poor
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/08/09

    Friends in Sonoma
    Found a field of wine and grass
    Caballos blancos

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/althewop/3526195573/in/pool-33701253@N00/?addedcomment=1#comment72157618803046926
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 05/25/09

    I can suffer fools
    By listening carefully
    To their drip drip drip
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 07/09/09

    Suffer fools suffer
    You were born to it because
    You are so stupid
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 07/09/09

    Suffering all fools
    Is a way to leadership
    At times all are fools
    <><><><><><><><><><><><><> 07/09/09