Haiku 2013

Sunlight splits the earth
Our piñata is smiling
Spilling spring flowers




Sun rays warm the earth
Greeting every garden seed
Stirring their courage




Sleeping through winter
Holding dreams of bright colors
Watching them come true




Springtime’s bright passion
Greets every dreaming flower
Drawing them to life




Spring’s soul of passion
Will awaken ready seeds
Sleeping in warm earth




Winter moss growing
Softly glowing with green light
Graces my garden




Winter dreams of spring
Under a blanket of snow
Keeping gardens warm




Autumn flowers sing
Then they sleep with winter dreams
Till the spring arrives




Deep within the sea
Brightly colored fish glide by
Joyful in my peace




Fish within the sea
Bodies gliding close to me
Show me how to swim




Fish within the sea
Playing with my bubbles free
Leaving me to be




Calling loud and clear
Bouncing bright across the street
Robin by her nest




Hammering and shrieks
Piliated woodpecker
Living in the trees




Robin sings a song
Waiting for the sun to rise
Then she hunts for worms




Oregon juncos
Searching seeds in my front lawn
Flock among their friends




Noisy Stellar Jay
Chasing other birds away
Acting brash today




Eagle soaring high
Far above the other birds
Silent in its space




Crickets in the field
Chirping like they own the place
Stop when I walk by




Bare stems of yarrow
Rooted by the riverside
Know that birds pass by




Leaving the forest
Deer graze upon a hillside
Unafraid of me




Geese are flying by
Calling from the night time sky
Heading toward fall rye




Black cap chickadee
Shoulders in on robin's song
Perching by her nest




Many springtime birds
Joining in on nature’s dance
Sweetly call their mate




Buses, cars and trucks
Must drive right through the bird songs
As the sun comes up




We rest so happy
Lying here so warm in bed
Winter birds outside




If you see a rose
Take the time to smell that rose
It can't be described




I like watching birds
You like egrets and herons
long necks and long legs




Snow falls on the ground
Hiding all the flowers we know
In bare ground below




Snow falls in the grove
Hiding all the flowers that grow
Bare brown ground below


Ducks swim in the sea
Calling to themselves and me
Standing by this tree




Wishing for the sun
To warm my heart openly
Through a winter snow

Nature’s rich grass shirt
Sun shine through its open weave
Stirs my waking soul




Wanting-for-nothing
Resting by a flowing stream
Hum the river's song




Longing to be full
Vessel gifting everything
Making room for more




What is left behind
When our vessel decants life
And we're carried on





Dry Brown with crisp sound
Bracken in the winter wind
Saving space for more




Your dreams can hold you
As stars are always shining
Even in full sun




Midnight’s darkened sky
Listens for the wind to blow
Louder than my breath




Standing still in time
Filtered from the winter sky
Broken through spring ground




Written in water
Settled from a winter sky
Flowers break spring ground




Rain dimpled water
Droplets bubble under trees
Dreaming of a lake




Soft raindrops falling
Give themselves entirely
To the summer sky




Feeling the tide's pull
Draw us in and push us on
Through life's mystery




Footsteps leading through
The landscape of my life
Precious as my breath




Walking in nature
Silent through a forest grove
Toward the other side





Unexplainable
A light that shows the way home
Followed by my heart




Distilled from these tears
Love plays its pure melody
Through a joyous heart




Only a true heart
In the dark night of a soul
Will guide us toward home




Bursting into sky
With freedom and awareness
Life's candle burns bright




Bright blue dragonfly
Restful as a match unlit
Dancing on life's flame




Grass seeds on tall stalks
Woven through the Nootka Rose
Pink with fragrant blooms




Sparks of sunlight flash
Riding backs of ocean waves
Laugh to sand's delight




A flower of love
Is subtle and deep seeded
Washed in warm colors




The flowers of fear
Shadow bright sun and dark rain
From our true feelings




Delicate lotus
Floating lightly on the lake
Softly holds our breath




My heart has written
The song of its love for you
In music I play




Listening to you
Breathing with the world today
Brings me joyful tears




Love has found me here
Playing on the magic strings
Of my own guitar




Opening the door
Life’s wry tingled feelings
Lead us all toward home




Mottled yellow leaf
Clinging to your tree so bare
Why do you hold on?




Waves wash through the sand
A gentle rhythm draws us
Deep through shadowed woods




Water finds the sand
It left high up on the beach
Spring tide long ago




Listening to the waves
I could hear the shadowed place
That we all came from




Waiting for the frost
To etch a crystal question
On my open mind




The snow crust is broken
The moon haze plays on my cheeks
I warm from inside




Her eyes stir feelings
Looking at her distant world
Yes, I can feel it

Standing in water
Feeling a new wave arrive
Bare feet on firm sand





A beaver Swims by
Seeming to notice nothing
Just his endless work





The crow in the tree
Seems to never work at all
He is here to play





Morning widgeon land
Softly on dark water
Where the River sleeps





Two ducks landing
As one together on the pond
Stir the soft water




Closed and saddened heart
An anchor on life's seabed
Keeps us in this place





Early morning lake
Rippled by a loon's call
Reflecting the sun





Fall tree filtered light
An everchanging wind chime
Flickers on the wall





Watching a sunset
Its bright evening memory
A trace in our mind





A blessing from the sun
So many weightless sparkles
Laugh on dark water





Grateful every day
Love sings inside a rain dance
Flowing through our life





Two white butterflies
Flutter tightly together
High above the path





Anticipation
Early rays of spring sunshine
Stirs the sleeping earth





Kneeling on moist ground
Beside an ancient river
Spawning red salmon





Out on the ocean
Floating in a wooden boat
Whales just passing by





Tinder dry forest
Fragrant scent of pine
Stirred with quiet footsteps





Summer sun shining
Its heat unable to hide
Under broken rocks





Brightly colored leaf
Standing on a forest branch
Singing summer's song





Standing in the stream
Listening to the river flow
Laughing toward its home





Smiling at flowers
An unforgotten language
Spoken from the heart





Waking to the truth
Dust is blowing off the stone
Where we drew our dreams





Snow from the plum trees
Tumbles down the sidewalk
Playing with the breeze





We are a shiver
On the surface of life's pond
Just a whispered breeze





Driven by longing
Finding life's single promise
So easy to keep





Last night's crescent moon
Must have spilled upon the stars
Sparkled morning dew





The rain and the wind
Have been searching everywhere
No place left to hide





Storm cast ocean waves
Shattered on the rocky shore
Mix in with the rain




Dry whistle of wind
Rushing with the ocean breeze
Finds a broken wave





Willingness aside
I have no other interest
Bonding with your soul





Waiting for the sky
As the wind is blowing by
Over these mountains





Voices in the hall
Sense a joyful arrival
Children from their youth





Yesterday has passed
Tomorrow has not arrived
Plum tree is in bloom





Finding my wonder
I’ve always known this place
Love lives in my heart




Ocean waves calling
On their back or their bellies
White froth over blue





Listening to you
I find a truth in my heart
Breathing in sweet air





Feeling my footsteps
Sealing soft mud with sweet earth
Beautifully blind





Wine in its bottle
Such a confident secret
Colored so deeply





Loosing your body
Running with the summer wind
Heart broken open





Haikus speak softly
Inner and outer journeys
Are walked together





Its always that way
Inner and outer journeys
Travel together





Haikus build rainbows
Bridging two worlds together
Inner and outer





A conversation
Between inside and outside
Bright sparkles of light





In quiet water
Silver fish in the river
Flash bright in the sun





Outer and inner
Moving their feet and their words
Travel together





Objects and shadows
Like our thoughts and our visions
Seeking each other





Our experience
On the inside or outside
Makes its own shadow





The moon in darkness
Still sweeps across the sky
Reflecting the truth





The moon in darkness
Still sweeps across the sky
Truth in clear silence





The moon in darkness
Still sweeps across the sky
Smiling on plum trees





Waiting for nothing
Just delivers it sooner
Than anything else





Silence stills my breath
Knowing I am fully whole
In this quiet nest






Whispers from the past
Can not take us far from here
Holding with our heart






Cool summer morning
Just before the sun heats up
Swimming in the lake





If you only knew
Just how close beneath my feet
I felt heaven shift





If you only knew
How often I thought of you
In my wishing mind





Awash in white surf
Herring have found their purpose
Spawning on brown kelp






Seething ocean mass
Boiling in the darkened sea
Herring’s silver sides





Drawn together
Tightly in a herring ball
Fear rolls inside out





Seething ocean mass
Boiling in the darkened sea
Herring flash below





Drawn together
Herring in a living ball
Fear rolls inside out





These unblinking eyes
Seem urgent with excitement
In their spawning sea





Seagulls call with glee
Stiff and empty herring swirl
In a broken sea





So wet and lovely
Your saturated vision
Of this precious life





Winter's precious soul
Rests along the path we walk
Under autumn leaves





Our deepest purpose
Unwavering in the wind
So firmly rooted





How many lifetimes
Have we felt our purpose stand
Still in the spring breeze





How many lifetimes
Weathered in the winter rain
Will our purpose stand





Sweet winter wood smoke
Sleeping with the forest trees
Drifts into our dreams





Such sweet memories
Wood smoke tangled in tall trees
Changing the landscape





Dark ribbons of wave
Silently lift winter birds
Near the morning's beach





Dark and then silver
Twirling ribbons of ocean
Gather round our feet





Approaching the beach
Twisting ribbons of water
Know me where I stand





I am a blind man
Finding freedom in my breath
Standing here with you





Distant geese calling
Chasing spring across the sky
Draw me from my sleep





Large paper thin moon
Still bright in the morning sky
Watching restless clouds




Thin shaving of truth
High up in the morning sky
Round and still and bright




Noticing nature
Glint below an ocean wave
Like an autumn's leaf




Fallen autumn leaves
Helping all their trees to rest
Through the winter’s night

Haiku Poems

A wave meets the shore
Spilling water up the beach
Sinking through the sand




Running one by one
Reflecting off wet sandstone
Waves head out again




Marsh grass summer breeze
Woven with the ocean’s scent
My favorite shirt




A rusty old pump
Meters its play with our song
Crystal clear water




Life’s real adventure
Is stirred at every foot-fall
Breathed with every breath




Of red and purple flowers
Wash among the trees




Deeply rooted tree
Steady on a grassy field
Floating on flowers




Rain only feels wet
When it falls onto our skin
Our mind remembers




Low clouds move slowly
Against the backdrop of gray
Changing as they go




That tree has a name
Tree Too Tall To See The Top
Is how we know it




Broken uprooted
Violently taken from life
Wishing differently




Finding my window open
Offers a greeting




Full red open rose
Perfumed on your plant’s green sleeve
Fine summer fashion




Dusty residue
Raindrops on my window pane
Obscurring the view




We stopped going
But grass and trees kept growing
Since we last were here




Out shone by the sun
Chalk white moon in morning light
Shines full of passion




Summer fish struggles
Body broken by a bird
What will you do now




Feeding salmon fry
Sew a sweet scented blanket
To their summer pond




Round granite boulders
Polished by a mountain stream
Beautiful unique




Music meets the light
Excitement charges the air
At your open door




Native summer rose
Riding with the ocean breeze
Greets my open heart




A memory stirred
Then a feeling is set free
It remembers me




Crisp golden apple
Ripened by the summer sun
Just tugged from its branch




Sunshine catches rain
In an endless game of chase
Calling out - Rainbow!




A double rainbow
Holds hope for two survivors
Lost in last nights storm




Just for an instant
Reflection's veil withdrew
Letting me see through




Plain gray winter moth
Unnoticed in the closet
Wearing my best suit




My path leads me here
It seems clear that I must go
Just my weightless soul




Lifeless winter bark
Breaks with buds that blush with spring
Bursting with new dreams




Footprints cast in mud
Set and dry in broken ground
Buried by the sand

Our sense of purpose
Defines much of life’s journey
Its treasures as well




Sun seasoned with warmth
Urges the ground to divide
Spilling spring flowers





Running down the beach
Chester charts a broken path
Scattering the birds





Family photograph
So many smiling faces
Sometimes are they sad?





Rising at greeting
Waves pass straight through at meeting
Their own reflection





Log bleaching in sun
Your body broken branchless
Lost from your forest





Diamonds dance lightly
Brightly reflecting the sun
Stream takes no notice





The flowers and leaves
Buds that will burst on their trees
Move toward their moment





Awakening heart
In a world that surrounds me
Now touching my soul





Brown skin and bright eyes
With a warm smile that’s so wide
You are beautiful





I love my children
They fold meaning into life
Beyond good teachers





Wind stole the bird song
Rain silenced the summer grass
Winter shadows stretch





Sand is everywhere
That is how a rock wanders
In tiny pieces





Life is just as real
Inside a salty tide pool
As the open sea





The moss and the tree
Growing together as one
Balanced in their need





Sea anemone
Unfolded in its tide pool
Unafraid of fish





Starfish under rock
Fashoning your travel plans
For the tide’s return





Senses awaken
To the the fragrant Ocean breeze
Rustling dry grass





Gentle disturbance
Disconnects parts from the whole
That slowly float back





Mirror images
Hard mountain /\ soft mountain
Both touching the pond





Doing as she must
Patience is a morning dove
Tending to her nest





Patient drum of life
Your ever-present heart beat
I play back to you





Real life adventure
Lies under every foot-fall
Inside every breath





I must keep it bright
As I walk along this path
Fragile little flame





The oak tree stands strong
Steady in its grassy field
Washed in spring flowers





Old memories wake
As I walk through this place
Where I slept a child





Bright yet so serene
The tide of colored flowers
Under gentle cows




We leave our children
What we give to them right now
When we touch their soul





Then I realized
If I free a butterfly
So must I a soul





Grinding up the beans
Putting water in the pot
Smell the coffee brew





Love is not wasted
Wherever it springs to life
It changes our world





Wise medicine man
Help our hearts open to feel
The life around us





Let me feel and see
The truth that belongs to me
Hidden in this mist





There are many paths
That can lead to the same place
Where we are set free





An eagle’s feather
Circles down toward the ground
Captured by a wave





Rock in the water
Did you choose this place to rest
Silent for so long





Where did it come from
Does boulder ever wonder
Where is it going





So very ancient
You were here before the ice
Can you remember





Combing through the mist
You stood here before the ice
So far before time





The life force in you
Is the same as is in me
We just look different





A steady heart beat
Deep in an ancient forest
Is it yours or mine





I am so happy
Just to be here with you now
Walking together





Rock earth water tree
Voices from the landscape Call
Through the morning mist





My clumsy presence
Unnoticed out of water
To fish as they spawn





Hold your hands right here
Can you feel the tree straining
Dancing with the wind





Yes they all have names
But they won’t come when they’re called
These trees are stubborn





Alive in this place
One drum among so many
That play the same song





Steelhead returning
Already paired with a mate
Preparing to spawn





My heart is beating
Yet I find nothing to say
Struck down like these trees





Eagle must take it
But salmon needs to be free
Fragmenting to eggs





Web spun by spider
Its sagging catch of diamonds
Sun on autumn dew





Hiding in the world
On the trunk of a huge fir
A small moth is still





Past history takes flight
Like a raven from its branch
Leaving no shadow





Watching silently
Smoke rising from the embers
Dancing with my thoughts





Rising cloud of mist
Magic song of silver breath
Whale returns below





Your breath and my breath
Merging over the water
A silent embrace





Your scent lingers here
Tangled in moonlit branches
Of flowering plum





Two dancing flames touch
Combining then withdrawing
Each changed forever





Breathe old flames to life
The passionate reunion
Of separate souls





Crooked legged crow
Broken gait so hard to watch
Beautiful in flight





I wait and wonder
Is this friendship meant to be
Hoping and wishing





Sleeping mountain air
Curling round my feather bed
Hiding from the frost





Songs so beautiful
What would ever make them fight
Three birds on a branch





When I walk with you
I feel your love for this land
And share that with you





Finding small treasures
Simple unexpected gifts
Enriching our life





Sometimes a problem
Expected as an outcome
Just fails to arrive





Trees don't get confused
If it is an apple tree
Then it grows apples





When I was a child
A yellow climbing rose grew
Up past my window





Autumn Orange Rose
Spring Bloom with Summer Perfume
Better than Ever





Try to smell the rose
Just for what it is and not
For what we wish it were





Daisies and clover
Days after the lawn is cut
Return like a tide





Uncomfortable
Fractured ground between good friends
How deep this fissure





Evaporating
Pure water from a raindrop
Leaves its dust behind





It has burst open
A great gray cloud of sadness
I feel it deeply





The rustle of leaves
Rises and falls with the breeze
That seals my eyes shut





Messenger of rain
Sweet wind outrunning the storm
Spill a stolen drop





Once first needs are met
I can hear and see and feel
New and gentle things





Warm scent of dry pine
Over the splash of rainbow
Under call of hawk





Crystals in a cloud
Looking down from far above
Know their winding stream





This force that draws us
Like a raindrop to its stream
Irresistible





Wider and deeper
Flows the stream that we follow
On our path through life





The paper thin moon
A chalky white reflection
Above morning sky





Frog bounces his call
Across a glassy calm pond
Hidden in the trees





Moment to moment
Feeling love and compassion
Sunshine and raindrops





Sweet warm blackberries
Weighing down their summer canes
Stained with summer's height





Life needs us to choose
With each footstep that we make
The sun or the moon





Teaming with Life
Brewing in a summer pond
Bright new beginnings





Bright star draws my eye
Bringing light to the moment
Round-belly moon laughs





Sweet Cottonwood scent
Heavy in the morning mist
Sleeps on the red marsh





Found by morning's light
Marble statue warms to life
Air like silk on skin





Butterfly in flight
Vulnerable with beauty
Finds an open door





A gentle knowing
It has been there all the time
The warmth and the light





Missing your warm touch
I opened the seaside door
To a summer sun





Ask the garden sun
What adventures might be there
Where the breeze comes from





Knowing you are there
I float thistle-down on breeze
Bringing you this rose





Butterfly emerged
From a tattered chrysalis
Freedom in her heart





Unable to sleep
I let shadows play for me
On my moonlit wall





Your scent still lingers
Even though the shadow’s changed
Where I lay my head





Summer adventure
My magic oar stirs the clouds
Round my wooden boat





Floating on water
Flat shimmering images
scatter at my touch





My ship rules this pond
And all things that live here
In my adventure





Just for a second
I saw through the reflection
To another world





I need to return
And float my boat on that pond
Where I knew the truth





Seeking to retrieve
Something that was left behind
In that other world





Resting on the shore
At a perfectly shaped beach
Sitting beside you





Colors on fall leaves
Even in the autumn rain
Will not wash away





This ancient forest
Lives in a deeper silence
Can you feel its truth





Mountain’s hem of cloud
Is dragging through its forest
Misting every tree





Forest and the fish
Together changing color
Bright in autumn’s rise





Autumn excitement
Spending all its energy
Celebrating life





Golden Autumn Leaf
Did you see me standing here
Watching as you fell





My path leads me here
It seems clear that I must go
Just my weightless soul





Cold and still drowsy
A timeless land slowly stirs
To winter's morning





A young woman's breath
Arrested for one moment
Longing for her life





Fashioning new dreams
To float out onto the lake
Settle where they will





Young tree standing still
At the foot of family
Listening to birds





Late Autumn guardian
Standing with our family
Over fallen leaves







Young forest master
stands in a circle of friends
learning of their ways





Emperor of kings
This tree among the forest
Unaware of time





Forest guardian
Standing on a mossy floor
Makes a careful step





On this wooden bench
I sit among spring daisies
All facing the sun





See the western sky
The sun sizzles in the sea
While clouds burn orange





Peaceful night river
Lightly floats the reflection
Of my silver moon





In yesterday’s sun
I never did imagine
Snow would fall today





Dreamless winter bark
Cracked by buds that blush with spring
Full of new life





Goodnight and sleep well
Peaceful dreams in neverland
Wrapped in violet light





Autumn's bright colors
Richer in the day's last light
Pale before the moon





Wet and winter blue
Ancient island washed by sea
Draped in evening sky





Your garden fountain
Splashes a joyful welcome
Greeting all who come






Old Friends together
Excitedly share new things
In the sun's warm light





Passion reflecting
The colored trees of autumn
Surrounding the pond





Surrender yourself
To the winds of your seasons
Delight the moon's tide





Like a symphony
The world is full of movement
Bathing us in change





On winter’s white breath
The soft whistles of widgeon
Scatter fallen leaves





White sound of water
Rushing over river rocks
Steals the forest’s voice





Cold river water
Smoothing ancient river rock
Glistens in the sun





Waving in winter
The golden dry river grass
Rustles to the sun