Nature's Wonders

Global Haiku Traditions
Millikin University
April 8, 2014

Nature's Wonders

Cool summer morning
I open the tent
the sound of rushing water

stirring ashes to find
a smoldering coal

golden flakes like
fireflies
dance in the night

deep in the woods
the robin catches breakfast

wolves howl
at the moon . . .
I hold my pee

stars shine
lighting my path

•

the flashlight . . .
drops onto
his foot

he murmurs
some unpleasant words

forgetting the child's
impressionable mind
four letter words

slip out of his mouth
oops

innocent son
mimicks his father's
words

the old lady
reaching for her cane

•

the child's mother
convincing her to
opt for the soap

weighing out her options
she decides on nothing

gnawing finger bones
the zombie
at peace

dead world
renewed in the rain

exhaling carbon dioxide
the lily feeds the soul
of the traveler

out of the water
alligator eyes

•

The fishermen pray
in dance form—
  moon rays upon them

in the forest
the marmot stalks his prey

nose crinkles
at the scent
of the sewage waste

cloudy day—
not natural causes

Hiroshima's
dark
day of peril

ends in sadness
death

•

winter
to spring
cherry blossoms

new life arises
as old ones are remembered

pelting rain
washes away the names
of the forgotten

freshly painted train car
becomes a canvas

the southern moon
high above the trees
the whippoorwills

blowing in the wind
fluttering memories

•

in the pasture
moving color
butterflies

bright and beautiful
playing

til the last
one by one
gone

spring time—
we see the flowers

blossoming . . .
beauty
shaping into form

opening . . .
the remaining time of life

• • •