Under the Bashō 2023
Haiku

loon calls
a long night
of remembering

city street
a starling calls
the universe

hedgerow
we pick black raspberries
no one planted

dandelion clock
the morning lasts
well into the night

river walk
the night moves slowly
to the ocean

longest day
cicadas
cicadas

tea restaurant
aroma of whispers
fills the space

coming storm
a tight-rope walker
halts midway

pension –
just a photo journey
through old albums

end of holiday —
I wish I could
ask for a refill

godhadi . . .
mother's warmth
lulls me to sleep

godhadi is a quilt made using old sarees in Maharashtrian tradition

thrissur pooram . . .
father’s shoulder still strong
to hold his grandson

Thrissur pooram is an annual festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. 50 elephants and around 200 artists play the panchavadhyam (orchestra with 5 different instruments) for the festival. It is said that millions of people attend this festival every year.

On each visit
mum renames me …
autumn glow

Spring cleaning…
memories of grandma
floating in the air

late summer song
a white-haired couple
kiss

moment of silence
the city
breathing between
the sirens

restless river ...
how carefully she rinses
those rice grains

no moonlight
a rusty latch clicks
at the flea market

an old dingo
snuffles about the campsite —
snoozing tourists

flooded streets the settled physics of poor planning

first frost
all the wildflowers
suddenly tame

falling leaves--
we learn to take
what comes

a leaky fountain pen
the river Nile
in his shirt pocket

first rain …
the scent of crushed greens
during anulom vilom

light from the east –
along the pale path
a poppy

bee dance
following the signs
to the local honey stand

cooper’s hawk
a divine shiver
runs round the meadow

sunrise through trees—
the craquelure
of a stained glass window

matryoshka dolls
all the people
I used to be

blue moon
the slow blink
of the siamese cat

rolling rain clouds
the last moon of winter
veiled, unveiled . . .