Birthday wishes
Tree pollen
blows
Bicycle protest
Family of ducks
crosses the boulevard
Stadium concert
Gulls crowd
the sky
Her stare
The large
eyed lynx
Her approach
The long
legged lynx
Moss
covered rocks
Sore throat
Date night
on the Ferris wheel
Flat tire
Rushed footsteps
and rain
Cobblestone street
Movement
in the river valley
The sheep
With flying colors
Balloons ascend
over the desert
Spring flowers
The mother’s persistent
dry cough
Lighting
her cigarette
Cherry blossom
Stiff rope looped
over the post
A rowboat
Our conversation
The lighthouse
and the rolling sea
Gated hogs
on the farm
Tom Waits, softly
Fresh
coffee beans
Homesick
Birds circle
and land
The muskox
An old door
propped against a tree
In the woods
The house stands
A fallen
tree
The tree stands
A fallen
house
Banjo plays loud
My Sunday
morning drive
Wind over
the mountaintop
Piled stones
Wind over
the mountaintop
Wooden cross
Wind over
the mountaintop
Your silhouette
The final
drop
A garden hose
The final
drop
A flower petal
The final
drop
A soldier’s corpse
Shore birds
Before
the sunrise
Shore birds
Before
the wave breaks
Shore birds
Before
you smiled
Sunrise
over the mudflats
Old church stands
Sunrise
over the mudflats
Oak tree stands
Snow
squall
Pillow fight
Hundreds
of blackbirds
A snowy sky
Snow
covered hill
Red sled
Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A bird lands
Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A squirrel passes
Dry leaf
on the frozen snow
A boot steps
Debussy
Sounds plucked
from the wide blue sky
Bach
Notes rise
wide, blue, sky
The hanging tree
A rope
covered in snow
Stuck in traffic
Melting ice
falls off the truck
Speeding traffic
Melting ice
falls off the truck
Accident scene
Melting ice
falls off the truck
River thaws
Stepping across
the ice patches
Spring snow
The river
melts
Spring
Snow melts
on the river
Winter
seeds
Melting snow
Snow piles
on the jetty
Sea swells
Red berries
with snow
Winter chill
Holding my breath
Gaunt bear
in the campground
Tree buds
in ice
Winter chill
Heron stands
in the fog
Distant gunfire
Oak leaves
remain
Winter chill
Bombed
playground
Snow on the swing set
Bombed building
Snow covers
kitchens and beds
My dog and
his favorite tree
For the last time
After the snow
Sunlight on
the houseplant
Ice
The grass
leans
Red covered
bridge
Snowfall
Taking cover
under a red bridge
Soldiers fall
Soldier’s blood
in the snow
Beside the red barn
Soldiers move
Shadows against
the red barn
Winter wind
Soldiers pass
the snow ghosts
Soldiers pass
The snow
encrusted trees
Dry
snowfall
The rabbit listens
Dry
snow falls
The rabbit stirs
Fog
floats
Winter fishing
Fog
floats
Winter finishing
Cold night
A puffed sparrow
in the shadows
Cold night
A gaunt deer
in the moonlight
Cold night
Puffed sparrow and
a gaunt deer
We awake
Red embers
beneath the ash
Regrets
The winter
oak
Horses
in the snow
No saddles
Old stone
wall
Snow piled high
Ice flow
along the coast
The trees
Egret ascends
The frozen
salt marsh
Red
berries
Against the snow
Willow
bud
Against the snow
Cold inside
cold outside
Barn door
Still owl
Among the snowy
birch trees
Branches dip
in the stream
Summer departs
Fingers dip
in the stream
Summer arrives
Ice
covered trees
Brittle branches
Brown blowing
cattails
The setting sun
Empty house
Dry snow
on the gate
Empty house
Dry snow
on the door knocker
Ice
on the rose
Sunset
Ice
on the rose
Sunrise
Puddle
Fallen leaves
floating
Frozen
grass
Footsteps
Red robin
in the wet snow
Branches sag
Clear cold
stream
A stone
Branch hangs
low in the snow
Last leaf
Branch hangs
low in the snow
Another leaf
Reflections
on the frozen lake
Chimney smoke rises
Pond on the prairie
Geese descend
to the cold brown grass
Pond on the prairie
Geese ascend
from the cold brown grass
Leaf
hopped –
A frog!
Spider’s web
glistens in the morning sun
We step around
Bright red poppies
and a wide blue sky
Pass the beer
Sea
until the sky
Your gaze
Birds flock
on top of streetlights
People pass below
People talk
under the streetlights
Birds pass above
Colorful mural
Masked faces
on a city street
Monkey swings
in the jungle
Unfocused mind
Monkey swings
in the jungle
Focused mind
First drops
of rain
Kettle steams
Laundry hangs
in the alley
Fresh breeze
November sun
The warm press
of our bodies
Pliers in his
shirt pocket
Business casual
Sea rolls past
the pier
Our anniversary
Wedding day
Garlic and onions
on the kitchen counter
Wedding night
Garlic and onions
on the kitchen counter
African
violet
Mother’s Day
Dressed in black
Snapping her gum
at his funeral
Crabs
in the tidal pool
Seaside village
Fungi
on the forest floor
Redwoods
Double doors
opened wide
The coffin
Family boathouse
on the lake
Polishing the teak
Colored rocks
in the clear lake
Black flies swarm
Morning mist rises
over the estuary
Two men argue
House
on a salt marsh
Water lapping the stilts
The edge
of a salt marsh
Wet sunlit field
Marshland
The childhood smell
of muck
Bear
eats a fish
Fossil fuel
Only breath
The silent pause of
a string quartet
Learning to fly
Tom Petty
in dungarees
Learning to fly
John Coltrane
in reverie
Learning to fly
Johnny Rotten
in recovery
That Bird can fly
Charlie Parker
with mastery
Standing
still
In the suburbs
Still
standing
In the suburbs
Still
can’t stand
The suburbs
Journaling
The eagle stretches
its claw
Journaling
Toy blocks scattered across
the floor
Higher education
Monkeys
in a tree
The fence
and the car
Border guards
Hillside home’s
infinity pool
View that breeze
Lighthouse
Moonrise
over the bay
Wandering monks
Hounds sniff out
truffles in the forest
The line
between sea
and sand
The line
between sea
and sky
The lines
between the rolling
waves
A spray
of sea leaps
and falls
Peeling
hot peppers
The last time we cooked
Peeling
hot peppers
Rinsed our hands clean
Ladies quilting
Trading
stories
Ladies quilting
Repeating
patterns
Ladies quilting
Stitching together
history
Wooden boat
The breeze
on a cold lake
Muskrat stands
in the headlights
She lights a cigarette
Lover stands
in the porch light
She lights a cigarette
Foggy shoreline
Your profile
comes into view
Monarch butterfly
and the
Common milkweed
Family dinner
Slicing
red onions
Family dinner
frying
sliced onions
Early morning
The sweet smell
of burning sugar cane
Early morning
The sweet burning smell
of sugar cane
Early morning
The sweet smell of burning
sugar cane
Early morning
burning
Couple argues
Hot and cold pipes
beneath the sink
Crabs
on ice
The pot boils
Smoke and jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines
Smoky jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines
Smoking hot jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in those pines
Peeling wallpaper
End of
the argument
Flowered wallpaper
Peeling plaster
in the sunroom
Quick glances
Mountain roads bend
high above the sea
Parade route
Wildflowers line
the boulevard
Protesters march
Wildflowers line
the boulevard
Property lines
viewed from a drone
Marching in the streets
A basket
of potpourri
The public toilet
Rowing
toward shore
The wind
Rising
and falling waves
The sea
Old man
rakes the leaves
Remembering
House
with a gate
The visitor knocks
Tasting hors d’oeuvres
at La Belle Vie
Shrimp trawler at dawn
Nearly empty
Blackbirds splash
in the bird bath
Geese block
the moon
Coyote pass
Some houses
just rot and fall
Winter rose
Wet leaves
This town rose up
from a river
Silence
Wind blows
this flat land dry
Silence
Eel wrapped around
the eagle’s beak
Silence
The child
and a gobstopper
Hands pause
on the keyboard
Birdsong
Hands pause
on the keyboard
A footstep
Old friends
A piled and loose
stone wall
Flames rise
Autumn colors
surround the lake
The craze
these days
Potted succulents
The night hills
of Los Angeles
Each lit window
Harvest moon
Fall
to the ground
Harvest moon
Too big
to fall
Harvest moon
Too big
to fail
Harvest moon
Picking corn
from the ground
Western sky
Sun sets
behind the bison
Uncut grass
Bobcat
in the backyard
Painted
lady
Butterfly
Powdery
remains
The blue butterfly
End of summer
The sunflower
that never bloomed
Old dory
Lying still
on the shells and sand
Standing on a rocking
paddle board
Sky darkens
American
sparrowhawk
Sparrows
Beach grass
Tickles
from the breeze
Beach grass
Ticks
on my sleeves
Paddling the kayak
Waterline meets
sky
Lit church
Under the bright
Milky Way
Montana
open road
Red Mustang
Sky clears
Roasting
sunflower seeds
Strong flavors
Yellow onions
arise from the soil
Long walks
Rocks and sea and
windswept heathers
Canyon hike
Sounds of thunder
and rushing water
Rural signpost
Different roads
same big sky
September 11
Empty boots
by the door
Sea spray
The gull stands
in cold morning sand
Walking the mudflats
Bare feet
splashing on clay
Sandals left behind
Surf breaks
over the rocks
Paper boat
glides on the lake
The young boy wonders
Tugboat
pushes into harbor
The old man wishes
Camp fire
at night
As close as I can
Between us
The stars and
a camp fire
Open sky
Wire and post
cattle fence
Desert shade
Sparkling water
with lime
Branches dip
into the stream
Summer memories
Rooftop garden
Organic herbs grown
on the roof of a shack
Rooftop garden
Fair-skinned Herbert groans,
“The sunburn on my back!”Â
Rose blooms,
drops, dries, and blows
The bees
Flies flit
Dirt caked
on a bison’s back
Footprints
in the wet sand
Children splash in the sun
Footprints
in the wet cement
Teens scatter in the night
Horses bent
The prairie
grass blows
Into the sundown
U.S. Highway 1
The garden
Before the peonies
bloomed
After the flood
Ducks swim past
my mailbox
Climbing
the mast in the sun
The breeze
Climbing
the trail on the shore
The waves
Climbing
the trellis in the yard
The rose
Climbing
the wall in the dark
The thief
Hummingbird
Deep into the red
Dahlia
Tourists rising
Hot air balloons
over the desert
Still pond
Speak
Still pond
Spoken
Red
rock
Rising
Wine
cellar
Warm sunshine
Cliff rises
from the sea
Grandfather’s wristwatch
Our shadows
Shifting angles on a
rippled pond
Ant
on a flower
Lawn mower
I’m too close
Bees buzz louder
in the begonias
Mountain views
The floating
lakeside dock
Flowers stand
in a widemouthed jar
Visiting Mom
Birdsong
and plumage
Sending out selfies
The dead
branches cut and cleared
Summer breeze
Standing on the bow
of a rocking skiff
Father’s Day
Wet dog shakes
in the sun – A crescendo
of scattering children
A jar of ice
cold lemonade
The mortuary table
Ostriches and lions
lounge on the grassland
Too hot today to run
Hiker’s reward
Big sky, whisky, and a
highland cow
Brief colors
Summers on the
Alaskan lake
Butterfly rises
The smell
of lavender
We stood close
under your umbrella
The honeysuckle
Dive bar
Photos of bison, bulls, and a young
Johnny Rotten
Pigeons flutter
Each flash
of the fireworks
Chewing
and listening
Rabbits
Chewing
and sniffing
Bears
Chewing
and spitting
Uncle James
Elephants cluster
Crossing the dry
river bed
Spanish moss
in the darkening swamp
Water in my shoes
Spanish moss
Water in my shoes
in a darkening swamp
Moving shadows
Windsurfer leans over
the choppy bay
Bear in a tree
Nowhere to go
but down
Boughs that bend
A bear ascends
the young poplar tree
Travelers wait
A bear on the road
leaving town
Seaside
getaway – Empty
lifeguard stand
Fish bites
the bait
Again
Falcon descends
talons tilted
Movement below
Water flows
under the bridge
The fisherman waits
Sweat flows
under my shirt
The policeman waits
Ants flow
over the lawn
My ham sandwich waits
HummingBirdSong
Hummingbird
song
Humming
birdsong
Humming
bird
songs
Humming
Songbird
Humming
song –
Bird!
Chair
on a dock
The sea
A moose chews
wildflowers, antlers wide
in the sun
Rabbit hangs
from the labrador’s mouth
The children scatter
Sparrows dip and shake
evaporating
droplets
Summer bees
Inspecting
the colors
Field of red
poppies, our sandals warm
in the sun
Field of red
poppies, our faces warm
in the sun
Water lilies
float upon the pond
Gently tethered
Crowded pier
stands above the surf
Gently tethered
Steaming nostrils
sipping my tea
The submerged hippo
Highway traffic
Passing the wild
flowers
Moonlight through
the cypress branches
Fireflies
Two forks
and a spoon
Crime scene
One boy
and his pail
The ocean
One boy
and his kite
The sky
One man
and a shovel
His grave
Summer lightning
The smell of idling
boat engines
Summer lightning
Children running
to the ice cream truck
Summer lightning
Your fingers spreading
on my back
Boys casting lines
off the rocky seawall
Fish too small to keep
Large Sorrento
lemons – Americans boast while
crossing to Capri
Amalfi coast,
sipping limoncello
on the water
Amalfi coast,
smelling petrol fumes
on the water
Tending the garden
on Independence Day
The caw caw of crows
Tending the garden
on Bastille Day
The caw caw of crows
Tending the garden
A muffler backfires
in the distance
Brown heat on the
great plains – A faraway
church steeple
Sunflowers
then
a faraway rooftop
Wet sand
Seagull pecks
at a bag of chips
Summer heat
Hold me
close
Summer heat
Hold my
clothes
Beloved garden
stones, long before
the strawberries
The petunias
Mouse
and hawk
Birds atwitter
Evening rain
then a raging stream
Rain
droplets
The bluebells
Two lovers
Those crawling
petunias
Waves rush
and foam
Seabirds hover
Young buck vanished
in the morning light – Startled
to read my bathroom scale
Dilapidated
fence, even the cows
step over it
The warblers
pass over, the cows
stand still
Grandfather’s hands
Each stone in the wall
placed and piled
Abandoned
asylum, an empty
barber’s chair
A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
My back stiffens
A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
His tail swats gnats
A deer chews
The garden
flowers
Umbrella lifts
on the windy beach
Last breath
Spiraled staircase
Rising hotter
and hotter
Heat blasts glass
down the metal steps
Fire escape
Trampled fence
Deer cross
the property
Butterfly lands
on a blade of grass
Sunset
Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Empty building
Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Broken glass
Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Smoke is rising
Abandoned pier
Waves roll past
the remaining pilings
Morning walk
Sun glistens in the
spider’s web
Air Force
flyover
The crowd waves
Air Force
flyover
The crowd scatters
Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a vacant lot
Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a sunny field
Flickering light
Tiger painted
on a city wall
Flickering light
Tiger waiting
in a forest tree
Dreams
Sea nets
at dusk
Stormy night
Curtain blows from
the open bedroom window
Twister cuts
through the open field
The sparrows
Humpback breaks
through the swelling sea
The gulls
Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave breaks
Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave recedes
Ferns cross
the sunny patch
Children play
Hostas return
We can’t retrace
our steps
Turn out
all the lights
Night sky
Drive
until we can see
Night sky
Give me back
the stars
Night sky
Chess or
checkers
Two brothers
First kiss
Kettle steams
Salt marsh
Footprints
Overgrown yard
Charcoal and
the lighter fluid
Me and
the tall trees
Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony
Row
of roses
Six feet apart
Field
of garlic
Six feet apart
Still life
Warbler
on the hot tile roof
Still life
Sparrow
on the barbed wire fence
Family picnic
Cypress roots above
the water line
The seagulls
and the setting sun
Motorcar idles
Donkey stopped
in the rain
My birthday
Stone arches
Bent in prayer
Only air and gas
at the roadside station
We drive on
Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Deceptive politics
Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Obsessive hand washing
Bicycle leans
on the woodpile
Moonlight tryst
Tulips
peel open
Morning prayers
Cool water
Walking the beach
in our sneakers
Flowering field
The hog farm
processing plant
Empty church
Bent bluebells
blowing
Clear moon
A tremor on her
sleeping face
Birdsong
Four hatchling mouths
opened upward
Tiger emerges
from the darkness
The smell of hot cinnamon
Shining sun
Saplings shaded
beneath the oaks
The deluge
Empty church
in the valley
The deluge
Empty home
on the prairie
The suburbs
Springtime smell
of manure and mulch
Timing the market
Biking on wet
cobblestone
How we first met
Locomotive
smoke
Still mind
Sunrise through the
red rock arch
Until tomorrow
Matching masks
on the bedside table
School’s out
One bike
left in the row of racks
It was not a dream
Birdsong in the cold
April morning
Our last goodbye
Waning crescent
moon
SciFi everywhere
Everyday
Class of 2020
Waiting in the woodshed
for the rain to end
Each raindrop
returns again –
Labored breathing
Each raindrop –
Labored breathing
returns again
Tulips push
through the soil
Commerce returns
Spring rains
soften the soil
Exhale
Suicide hotline
Broken branches gather at the bend
in the creek
These years
Sparrows in the trees
at daybreak
Spray-talkers
Ants on a soggy
slice of bread
Antibodies
Robins peck
at the sunny grass
Starless night
Cold coffee
with milk
Heavy snow
Under the boughs
of the evergreen
Bronchial narrowing
Thick snow
on the branches
Vaccine
Greased up
for the big fight
Slipstream
Respiratory droplets
on the move
The economy
Sick patient
with comorbid risk
Spring stream
My blood flows
strong again
Spring stream
My breath flows
strong again
Respiratory
droplets – Soft
spring rain
Our eyes
rise and meet
Vista
Son
My fashionable face
mask
Father
My disposable face
mask
Grandfather
My hospital face
mask
All my teachers
Circadian
rhythms
Scattered stones
All the good friends
I’ve left behind
Scattered lilies
All the good friends
I’ve left behind
Missing socks
All the good friends
I’ve left behind
Fever spiked
Season’s first
forsythia bloom
Fever broke
Season’s first
forsythia bloom
Hard rain
A traveler holds open the door
for a stranger
Hello
Distant
bluebird
Homebound
Hummingbird hovers
sipping nectar
Penned panther
Can’t catch
my breath
A leaf rises and twirls
and falls with the breeze
That uncovered sneeze
A hermit
crab scuttles
The patient fish
Rabbit stirs
My mother’s
dry cough
Honeysuckle wrapped
throughout the hedge
Infection spreads
Still home
Board
games
Six feet apart
A stranger replaces
the old man’s car battery
Receding tide
Driftwood and the passing
piping plover
Vigilance
The birth of a
foal
Frivolous
The mirth of a
fool
Spring chill
Rinsing
my spoon and bowl
Daybreak
Raindrops on the metal
rooftop
Mother’s love
Folding warm
towels
Pandemic
This sunshine
Long winter
Sunning ourselves between
the snowfallsÂ
If this fever
doesn’t soon break
Social media
Bees
in the hot attic –
Scattered thinking
No paper
How will we pay
our bills?
No paper
How will we wipe
our bums?
No paper
How will we get
our news?
No paper
We will chart
our course by the stars
Compound interest
Virus rates grow
day after day
Your hands
Power lines cut across
the grassland
4 am on the clock
Train sounds slowly
in the distance
Cormorants
stand at attention
The ship’s mast
Parents
stand in the darkness
The school bus
After the fall
The gull drops a clam
onto the rocks below
Morning market
Shore birds crowd
the advancing tide
March madness
Gull floats on the rolling
foaming sea
No wind
on the lake
Samantha
Clickbait
The gator swallowed
a mourning dove
Mind the Furies
Three crows atop
the winter tree
Surpasseth understanding
Blowing sand, surf, and
that all-covering snow
Engines idling
Turtle paused
in morning sun
Dragon waits
Lit windows curled up
the darkened hill
Not alone
Rabbit in the brown
winter field
Deeper
the winter woods
Your gaze
Eyeliner brush
A dusting
of snow
Geese in formation
The rising smoke
of her cigarette
Rally for votes
The sounds of hounds
in the distance
Monster truck race
Honking geese
flight song
Power couple
Asphalt and
the shifting alluvium
Bats blot
the sky
Legalese
Wind rolls
and swells and swirls the sound
Sleep
You step carefully
across the oars
The rocking skiff
Hounds
on the scent
Casino
Under the sycamore
Many seasons of
lovers’ glances
Rain
The sandy ravine is now
a clear stream
Rain
The muddy ditch is now
a muddy stream
Under the sycamore
Many seasons of
dead leaves
Hawk skims
the tops of trees
New salesman grins
Hawk skims
the tops of trees
New mother frowns
The chimney still
puffs smoke
Grandfather’s cabin
Trucks speed
up and down the highway
Chakras
Trucks speed
up and down the highway
Kegel
Two trees fell
Into each other
across the creek
The thief paused
Motion-triggered
light
Moonlit pond
Brightened window on a
darkened street
Moonlit pond
Brightened window in a
darkened house
My city
Steel trees that stand
but never bend
My city
Glass eyes that stare
but never tear
Damp chill
Flag flutters
in the streetlight
Step by step
homeward in the blowing rain
Heartbeat
Knotted oaks
line the college quad
Racehorse
Gaps of light
in the cloudy sky; Listen
to the children
Winter crow
Ache in my
teeth
Gaunt deer
The empty church
in winter
Smokestack plumes
The lost
argument
Promises
Slow leak drips
beneath the kitchen sink
Your last words
ended with a question mark
Wolf tracks
No snow
or ice
Street sand
Behind that
fixed face
Windshield ice
Season’s greetings
Hot gas escapes
from the ocean floor
Breakfast
conversation – Icy
river rising
Face frozen cold
walking to school
Multiplication tables
Cold gloved
fingers ache
Piano lessons
Hard to speak
with cold numbing lips – A floorboard
creak downstairs
Shoveled walk
The blizzards
keep covering
Silent cold
An unexplained
dog bark
Freezing hands
on my morning walk – Your skin
beneath the covers
Night wind
Mare bucks
and blows
Snow
squall
Sneeze
Frozen
footprint
Another birthday
Vodka straight up
He slipped and froze between
curb and car
Lake ice
cracks underfoot
Decision time
Ivy spreads
Roots before
leaves
Red feather
Fresh white
snow
My steadfast companions
Moon, streetlight,
that lit window
His old coat
Heartbeat
gone
Lead collects
in the cold water pipes
Broken branches
We’ve got history
That damp skunk
smell again
Night’s frozen eye
Blue and white surround
a misty moon
That oak tree
by the creek
Look again
That creek
by the oak tree
Look again
Winter crow
Emptied
hospital
Warm winter day
All the birds
are chirping
Frozen branches
Low orange full moon
stares
Locomotive
pushes through fog
Daybreak
Locomotive
pauses in fog
Cigarette
Wolf missed
the deer and noticed me
Scent of your neck
Blue sky curves
over my city
Palms upward
Hands wrapped
around my warm coffee mug
Remembering
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The cold
on my face wakens and widens me
Sky
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Morning walk –
Streetlight, cold, distant sound
of a car
Morning walk –
Streetlight, cold, darkened
faces
Morning walk –
Streetlight, cold, no one
ever waves
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A year begins –
Cut stones line
my winter streets
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
That deep spring snow
ten years ago
We stumble and fall
pushing through
the deep snow
Two trees that bend
then descend
into white drifts
IÂ rise and push on
Slow thaw,
sunrise after sunrise,
snow on patches of grass
Spring sprouts here
sprouts there
Doorway swings
the shack; I’m gone
and yet I’m back
Offering
knock-knock jokes
to the thunder and sky
Waiting
for some reply
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Out of the office
Blackberries blaze
in the sun
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Coyote howl
The trees surround
this silence
She’s gone
For Tabatha
Ice melts
and spreads
These boots
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
walking the long
shadows under a warm winter’s
setting sun.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A kiss
Before the ice
thawed
A kiss
Before the wind
warmed
A kiss
before the
sun
a kiss
before the ice
thawed
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Cold surrounds
and presses
A sparrow’s egg
Swollen springtime
river, fluid
in her lungs
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Empty house –
A crow calls out
in the cold.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The vacuum cord
won’t retract – My dog won’t last
the winter.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Buddha –
Dry snow covers
ice.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Foggy dawn –
We held hot
cups of tea.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Slicing sweet
apples – Ten years
of marriage
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Kigo and Kireji
Lovers
quarrel
Wind
levels –
Hiccup
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Lightly
touch my face
The breeze
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Winds shift –
the corners
of her mouth
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Those stars.
No more fish
in the bay.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Iced
vodka, the fresh cut
flowers
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Fog
covers
Your blaze
Summer kiss,
beside that red
setting sun
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Just my breath
These silent
poplar trees
Green lawns
Dead beetles
line the curbs
The flowers
are gone from the garden –
Cherokee
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Dry stones
on the hard dirt – A cat
walks by.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A tin can
jiggles the soft
winter night.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The hummingbird –
My doorman reads
Nietzsche
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The old man
waits for his
daffodils.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Just me –
Blood
flows
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Her lips
play
trombone
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Morning snow
on wooded branches –
Deadlines loom.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Lemon’s
squeeze –
Poetry
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Tire tracks
curved and crossed on soft
wet snow
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Rock salt
on broken pavement –
Shotguns
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
winter
warm breath
dissipates
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Slow
economy – Time for
a walk
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Third eye
Half-white day-lit
moon
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I’ll sing
until the birdsong’s
done.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Night falls
onto black
ice.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Trees
sway
still
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The snow crunches –
It’s close amongst
these birches
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Wind waves
of powdered snow
Your entrance
Manicured –
Can’t touch her ’til the tips
are dry
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
My poodle
pushes on, smelling life
in frozen ground.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Shoveling
windy snow – The gulls
circle and call.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Everyone
someday
Sirens call
These old lungs
Plastic flapping on
wooded branches
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Le mot juste –
Raindrops on a dry
field.
I am
a flat field, receiving
raindrops.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A gray gull
soars then disappears
Gray clouds
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Dead birds
Inexpensive
Peruvian sweater
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Geese
descend again, then
again.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Inspired by the comment stream on Geese Rest
A hawk circles
Silently searching
for motion
Geese rest
in the green field until
tomorrow.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
My hope? To be an original. Derivative, to be sure, but a new combination, an impossible individual. Will you be an original, too?
Sparrows splash
in shallow sunny
puddles.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A gull’s call
answered by a passing
cloud.
A gull’s call
answered by a passing
bus.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I am once,
sprouted from this air,
that soil, growing.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
New moon –
Same chill wind through
the same bare trees
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Geese rise
in morning light . . . I step
onto wet sand.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Bring on
winter’s night, only spare me
the wind.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Rain melts
the snow to evening ice –
We’ve slipped so far.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
We chatted at lunch
Slush on a cold
sunny street
Snow floats
The silent soft
white floor
Gray geese cross
a frosty gray
damp sky.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Mussel shells
poke from the black bay marsh.
Seagulls scan.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
swimming dust
in the light that cracks
the window
Craig Peritz on Haiku Habits
This is a special guest post by my friend Craig Peritz. I haven’t seen him in 20 years, but we recently reconnected on Facebook.
I stop –
The rabbit stirs
alert
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The tractor sits still –
A frozen field
of wheat.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Plastic flutters
In the tree’s
quiet breeze
“Peanuts won’t sprout
in that patch of dirt”
The old man smiles
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
For Barack Obama. Today was my birthday, and I got a new president.
The moon’s low
open orange eye
waits
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Rain
drains down loud everywhere.
Family –
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Yellowstone needs snow.
Snow out there looks wondering.
That’s why I told you.
A special Guest Post by Russell, Age 7, on Haiku Habits
Headlights shine
on puddles, raindrops
bouncing.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
My poodle paws
at puddles. I rarely
get to play.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
(a snow series)
Fresh snow –
Footprints where they
don’t belong.
Fresh snow –
Unknown footprints
cross the yard.
Fresh snow –
A stranger walked through
my backyard.
Fresh snow –
Footprints under
the window.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Fresh snow –
Footprints where they
don’t belong
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A wave of wind
hits . . . I wait behind
my desk
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Slow night
drive, the passing smell
of steak.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Geese
call, I miss you –
away
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The cold sun
breaks through –
Sinus pain.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A blue still
night chill – The house
lights flicker.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I am so
trapped in my small
wet brain.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I chopped wood
all day. I missed seeing
the butterflies.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The hawk
circles back as the squirrels
bicker.
Hawks
do not care
for haiku.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Inspired by Coming From The Woods and commentary
His coat
is still winter thick – A bear
sniffing berries
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Snowflakes fall
from a sunny sky – We are
improbable.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A cold wind
so hard my eyes hurt –
Orphaned.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Also made me think of this post –
The wind whipped
Christmas trash down the street
A lobster shell
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Black poodle pup
poked his face in snow –
First giggle.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Part I of First Snow
Bulldozers left
behind an abandoned
squirrel’s nest
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Nosing bubblegum
with hints of leather –
Winter Scotch
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I can’t see
On frozen streets
the sun glares
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Starry street –
Covered in cardboard, he
shivers to sleep
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
In winter,
my dog’s poop steams
briefly.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Brown cattails
under a golden sun.
The hawk hovers.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Seagulls picked at
plastic bags. We belched
Christmas turkey.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Cut trees
in a vacant lot
drying out.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
White birches
stand in winter’s dusk –
Grandfather’s ghost.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Red barn planks
peel, then drop –
The grass grows fast.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Curved hills
covered in clouds
The small of her back
Frozen
sliver of moon
My breath
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Two dogs
calmly nosing the same
smelly spot.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Electric morning blue
over the tops of trees.
The road roars.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Night desert
sky stretches far
between us.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Fingers numb
from freezing rain –
Never learned guitar.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I squint into
cold, misty rain –
A sailor at sea.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Kennel dogs bark
and jump as a plane
whirls by.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Two planets
hang high in the dusk sky
Distant romance
A rabbit runs,
followed by the shadow
of a hawk.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Burnt wood
in the cold air – A car
door slams.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Dried leaves
tumbling and tapping down
the street.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The hawk spreads
its wings and lifts, mouse
dangling.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Bouncing pup
The master’s
sing-song voice
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Shopper’s market –
That girl has her mother’s
teeth.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Green energy
Algae bloom in the
warm bay
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Nature’s veil –
pond lilies on the water’s
surface.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Seagulls glide
Indifferent
wind
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Bare black
trees stand still against
a dimming dusk sky.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
My poodle delights,
pouncing on his first
sheet of ice.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Near collision –
drivers rage in a warm
winter sun.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Gray rains
mist, abundantly
dull.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Cicadas
patiently await
their day
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Revved motors
echo and swell. Those trees
are now gone.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Smoke rises
off gabled rooftop chimneys.
Winter is long.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
The frozen ground
only hints at cat
urine stink.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Young oak’s
straight shadow in cold light.
Dried leaves cling.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Road kill rabbit –
less shocking than a ripped
dollar bill.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Bright holiday
box store
Candle smells and Santa
A-frame roof
peaks against the
sliding snow.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Sunlight glistens
on frozen asphalt. I
shiver and squint.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
As you may have noticed, I have been experimenting with ways to make this site better as a community forum for the practice of writing haiku poems.
A couple argues
about their Christmas lights.
Rain begins to freeze.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Frozen dome
Standing beneath
the cold blue night
A cold breeze cuts
through my woolen cap . . .
I can’t go home.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Darren at TwiTip invited the Twitter community to post Top Ten Must Follow Twitter lists. Here are my suggestions if you want to follow All-Things-Haiku on Twitter.
Walmart shoppers
trampled a man to death
Jackals lick their chops
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
In memory of Jdimytai Damour, 34-year-old Walmart employee
Climate control
hum, colleagues argue or
doze
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
All-night cooking
Thanksgiving for all –
My feet are tired.
A special Guest Post by Christine on Haiku Habits
I remain stone
still – this river washes
my body clean.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Wind covered
the acorn a squirrel
left exposed.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A squirrel left
this acorn among
scattered leaves.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Rains fall.
Endless steps in soggy
cotton socks.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
I pause –
the heavy air on
wet leaves.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Key words and links bring
readers to blogs. They’ll linger
a bit if you bleed.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Poodle pushing through
wet forest leaves, the ground
settles back to rest.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
A warm breeze swirls.
My poodle lifts his nose,
inhaling sky.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
How can Haiku Habits change your life?
I am new to writing haiku poems. I don’t pretend to post great haiku. I want to get better at haiku and through haiku. I want to pay attention, capture the moment, and share. This seems a good remedy for my human condition.
Life in seventeen syllables (or less). At a time.
What do you haiku? Critique, reflect, trash, enjoy! We get better – together.
November wind
swirls through my neighborhood
These thoughts won’t still
Wake up
Where’s your
dog leash?
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Walking empty streets
under a full moon, even
Google can’t find me
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Dripped syrup on
my shirt when multitasking.
I should not wear clothes.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Piles on the ground;
too many leaves have fallen.
They rustle, then rot.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Cricket song
slipping into cold air.
I cannot save them.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits
Rising in silence
Turned and facing forward
in the elevator
Today
I breathe; tomorrow
I bellow.
Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits