Rural Haiku

the road
winding into fog
cattle sounds


sun above
grass tips; a rooster
cocking its head


tribal dance—
the scent of earth
after a shower


holding blossoms
close to her heart
her coy smile


playground
the glint in the eye
of a squirrel


distant flute
a sudden breeze
ruffles in


a plop
off the wooden bridge
ripples


a swan takes off
the slow run
of the evening train

Starry Night

Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”


#1.
starlight
the cathedral of
a sleeping village
---a lone cypress
---prays with me


#2.

the tumult
in the night sky
haunts me
wind carries the scent
from another world

Haiku

rain

filling up potholes

the ghost town

glittering dew--
the frog prince
croaks loud

a rainbow
outside the window
our song

Haiku

the yarn
she weaves...
moon halo

Tanka

she stands here
arms akimbo watching
leaves fall
the little red rooster
calls it a day

Melancholy rain

in melancholy rain
i think of you

the trees, in their sullen
subordination, make me recall

my stooping low to your
whirlwind whims

the patter on my roof
fades the words you had gifted

i hear vehemence in the voice
of a trapped bluejay

i dwell in my doldrums

as the drizzle fizzles out
and a cloud-gate tempts me
to escape this tangle of yours
I saunter along a path with wafts of wind
that brings the scent
of nascent earth

until the day frees itself
like enlivened birds

Tanka

she explains
the plus side of doing
business
at the picnic --
her husband eying egrets

Tanka

Tanka

#1)

a room scented 

with Christmas dinner--

hard to find

any trace of contempt

in your smile

#2)

the diver

continues to hunt

the  wrecked ship

---a swarm of silver fishes

---follow his trail 

#3)

puffy clouds

crowning blue mountains

makes me recall

the yogurt on your nose

the day it rained wild

#4)

the lady

in her red kimono

eyes his path—

rugged steps leading to

a stone built monastery

#5)

sixteen bearers

carrying a bride

in a palanquin--

red sorghum grasses

waving in gentle wind

#6)

two cottages

in the moonlight

one empty with ruin

the other full

of your memories

#7)

she stands here

arms akimbo  watching

leaves fall—

the little red rooster

calls it a day

Haiku

1.

had I been...

wind swirls in a field

of growing crops

2.

between

the drifting shadows

a chameleon

3.

your voice

a song sparrow

in the morning

4.

autumn again

a  mockingbird

on windowsill

It is May

it is May
the hungry eyes of a ragamuffin
inspects an afternoon

cobblestones gets dappled
with loosened red petals

sky empty as the paleness
of your lips in the photo
tainted with a hue of forgiveness

looking out the window
perhaps at the tree losing florets
your hair disheveled
by the warm hand of summer

i saunter along a path
in the iciness of
a bygone winter

Haiku

wave
after wave
.... filling my footsteps


not even a whisper...
an owl and I watching
the star plunge


the bird
becoming smaller . . .
twilight


your letter
pleading innocence--
slanted rain


a ripple
on the lap of a ripple
loosened leaf

the wheels tanka

the wheels 
of a cart rattling 
at dawn 
---a village boy and girl 
---slip into the fog 

2 tanka

#1) 

writing verses 
in the shelter 
of her memory... 
shadows lengthen 
behind rosemary bushes 

#2) 

my recent verse 
dimmed by your shadow 
mocks at me— 
i rummage through 
the word history of 'eclipse' 

thunder flashes

thunder flashes-- 
ghost of Caesar 
beside my bed

If you cannot win today

still no sign of clouds

at exactly fifteen past nine
a speck of sun filters its way through
an unclear pane
glorifying a minute portion
of the opposite wall

the umbra 
third eye of an unseen goddess
stays so for fifteen minutes more 
making the clown in the clock face smile
sardonic

then my door knob rattles
as a goods train passes by 

one naked lizard
the sole spectator of each episode
returns to its hunt 

finally the clown sermonizes
you cannot win your prize today

another day drops between
summer and monsoon