Breathing in Spring

Garden book in mail
starting to plan this year's space
with sprouting seedlings

Walking with Wallace Stevens...

in the mouth
of the litter bin
a wrecked umbrella


bread shop
doing a brisk trade
in ice cream

jazz parade -
daffodil trumpets
straining


(for Gwilym in advance of Saturday)

Coat-free for an afternoon

Dismal grey breaks up
Discard my coat, oh it's warm!
Sun-scent suddenly

Planting Season

Tired of swatting Yuki*
for feasting on pointsetta-
time to plant cat grass


* the new cat

Man's best friend?

embraced in the park
by sex mad
dog


(only my dignity was injured)

Winter Again

serenading
at bedroom window
frigid Canadian wind

morning routine-
starting sooner everyday
as sun pours in window

kites in the gale
dogs stare
old ladies stream out behind

haiga

end of tax year
fresh floral furniture
in the street

words & photograph © 2008 gerald england

----------

under bare wisteria vine
cool Sunday
brunch

old narrow courtyard
original bricks
floor of outdoor eatery

yummy
Eggs Benedict
now a luxury find

11:00 a.m. brunch
young ladies with hangovers
walk slowly

Love is in the air

With the coming of warm weather we are once again plagued by ladybugs in our house.

Internet sites tell me that Asian lady beetles (Harmonia axyridis) were introduced by the government to benefit agriculture as a "biological control" of other insect pests.

To me these ladybugs are simply another insect pest. They invade our house. They swarm around ceiling lights. They fall into our food. They emit a foul odor when touched, swatted, swept, or vacuumed up. The stench of these bugs is almost unbearable.

They seem in particular to love our bathroom. They feed on spilled toothpaste. They emerge in force anytime one of us takes a long, hot, steamy shower.

They also fly about my face when I'm shaving. I catch them with dampened toilet paper. Then I flush them down the toilet.

I feel no remorse.


lady killer
the stench of
after shave

aware

aware
after giving blood
plum blossom rain

start of the week
grass and weeds shoot up
through the melting snow

mourning dove
after the long winter a
Cooper's hawk kills it

DANCE

Swirling spiral
of her skirt spills tides of dream
and memory:
I breathe fire in the dance
forgetting bends and twists


--R.K.SINGH

NUDITY

The wind lifts
her curved nudity hidden
in the water curtain:
I touch the strings that whisper
love in each falling drop


--R.K.SINGH

LOVE MESSAGE

His message to meet
at moonrise among the flowers
sparkles a secret
on her smiling face passion
glows with charming fervour

--R.K.SINGH

NAKED TREE

From a naked tree
siberian cranes watch
mustard wave

--R.K.SINGH

BUTTERFLY

Fluttering around
a golden marigold
golden butterfly


--R.K.SINGH

SPRING ACHE

My old joints ache
and allergies recur--
spring's youthful smile


--R.K.SINGH

Narcissus

sick in a way
he won't understand...
first narcissus

lengthening days...
more hours to fill
with other thoughts



Image: "Mariana" by Henrietta Rae

First customer?

a bee
sees that the snowdrops
are open for business

their white petals
wide open
like 3-pointed stars

upside down
& thin legs clinging -
bee enters

basil sprig from plate
spring at my fingers
pocketed

sunny morning in the park...

in a brown overcoat
a man sits -
looking down at a motor insurance booklet

in a pink jacket
a woman strolls -
looking down at her pushchaired child

in a green t-shirt
a jogger jogs -
looking forward to the next haiku

It's a breeze!

eight crows
riding the invisble
roller coaster

I Need World History Lessons

Drawn on Canadian tour bus
neighbor's pictorial history -
no idea what it means

Mine, Mine, Mine...

in the evenings
wrestling with kitty
over plant seedlings

crows
drop into the field
carrying light on their wings

Wake-up call...

blackbird singing
in breaking light
entering my window



(for the record: 6.00am, 22nd February)

fishing
Utah out of
the tip jar

Starting in 1999, each state was allowed a design on a 25 cent coin (quarter).

5 coins are issued each year.

However, some state coins are hard to find and rarely come to my neck of the woods.

Utah's quarter was one of these.

P.S. I did replace the Utah quarter with another one.

cracked footpath -
crocuses
reach out to the sun

new tags
on the highway bridge -
days get longer

***

de nouveaux tags
sur le pont de l'autoroute -
les jours rallongent

...and they say it won't rhyme!

hovering midges
and an orange moon
rising

Blame it on the moon

lunar eclispe-
waking mid sleep
to see the corona

lunar eclipse

a week of clear skies
night of the lunar eclipse
clouds come to cover

videos of lunar eclipse 2008.

Spring wind -
bullying
lifting skirts

eclipsing moon

eclipsing moon

our youngest one's

long yawn

Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

look
the sun
is shining

Sophie Scholl Feb 22nd 1943 (on the way to the gallows)

-----
more information on the Poet-in-Residence blogspot

Break Forth

crisp afternoon-
first leaves on rosebush appear
wishing for spring

the snowdrops
shaking their heads
always shaking their heads

plum blossoms

plum blossoms
a gust of cool air
from the icebox

.

with a nod to William Carlos Williams and Bill Kenney

prancing king of
Bayou St. John
GOOSE

white cloth
moving as waves
flock of egrets

blooming today
Christmas cactus
a bit confused

It's been a while...

fitful sleep -
learning to share a bed
with the new cat

photo courtesy of KGT and Elon Weinstein

Weekend Class

gardening class-
trying to learn what mommy knows
but won't share

poet coughs nervously ...

on the ceiling
of the pissoir
a caterpillar

colors of spring
cover winter's carcass-
life after death
.
from Tangled in Wisteria

Clean Smell

the clean smell
of tulip bulbs
and turned earth...somewhere
I hope your shovel
is filled with snow





[Sweet revenge...:-)]

silver tulip shining
on the asphalt -
someone's lost ring

Waking up to bright sunshine and clear blue skies the gray dreariness of the past several days is now banished from my mind. Though the air is still cool and crisp the creamy Narcissists and hot pink Hyacinths remind me that spring is ready to show her beautiful face once again with all of her many colors.

spring sunshine
dresses up hyacinths
in hot pink colors

sun shining -
on the blue sky
moon's thumbprint

Indoor Spring

Indoors
Daffodils bud
early spring

the truck
fishtailing on back roads -
trout opener

Birdsong

birdsong...
all the coolness gone
from my pillow

welcoming spring -
crow punches the air
with his beak

At the Valentine's Day Dance

cheek to cheek
with happy ejaculations
of halitosis

(it was a very long time ago!)

early moning
bird watching at the window-
a furry tail flicks

February 15th

February 15th
a little less frost
on the path

Cold snap!

morning's snow flurry
leaves behind
black feathers of ice

.*.
*. *


grit and salt machine
arrives to
destroy the evidence

______
//////

It's Nice To Be Loved

Valentine's morning-
awaken by purring
and a kitty kiss

Bunch of Tulips
at the doorstep
my daughter’s admirer

on the neutral ground
joined for this lifetime
fern and palm tree

(Happy Valentine's Day, ya'll. A neutral ground is New Orleans-speak for a median.)

one red rose
its head
as big as a heart


(for Ann)

Rain Scent

rain scent...
lipstick stains
on the paino keys

I enjoyed being the Administrator for the Fall and Winter Haiku 2007 blogs!

Many thanks to Mandy for her invaluable advice.

I loved meeting new people (via email).

I am taking a little break so I can enjoy the nice weather (until the heat sets in!)

I would be willing to take another season in the near future.

Best wishes to Ashi for organizing this season. May you enjoy it as much as I did!

saying farewell
to one part of life
to enjoy more

Harbinger of Spring

cool morning
new batch of pansies popping
first crocus sprouting

CHERRIES

Seeking smell
in the cherries
yet to blossom


--R.K.SINGH

spring for sale

little shoots
forced in greenhouse pots
spring for sale


photo by lori bierly
words by mandy smith
© 2008

--

BLOOMING

Blooming
at the creeper's end
a flower


--R.K.SINGH

early blossoms

early blossoms
one more button

left undone