Crossposted to The Clade
The bottle is the message
the river sends to the sea:
Aquafina.
*
Since the leaves came out,
the tree’s shadow no longer
resembles a tree.
*
Sunrise catches
a rabbit in the tall grass,
the veins in its ears.
*
A second set of lines
in the palm I rested on:
more leaves in my future.
*
Bobbing in the wind,
the moccasin flower’s
red-threaded net.
*
Seventeen times sadder
than fallen cherry blossoms:
cicada wings.
*
Under the bark,
that locust log was wearing
white fishnet hose.
*
Tree-shaped print
in the sand where the tide went out —
its shining trunk.
Thank you.
What a beautiful string of beads!
Thanks!
Wow. These are wonderful: my favorites are the cicada wings and the fishnet hose.
Thanks, Dale! I was unsure how many people would know what I mean by fishnet hose, and I realize metaphors like that kind of disqualify something from being a real haiku, but I couldn’t think of a better way to describe fungal mycelia.
Lovely. I also like the cicada and the fishnet — and the rabbit’s glowing ears.
Hi, MB! Glad you liked.
I love the bow to Issa and the tree’s shadow.
Which one did you think was a bow to Issa? I’m afraid it would have to be an unconscious theft.
Brimful with treasures. Thank you Dave. I even went misty over the rabbit’s ears, even though the little beggars wreak havoc in our garden.
Thanks, Clive. Seeing that rabbit’s ears yesterday morning touched the whole sequence off. But yes, rabbits are one reason why I never got too serious about gardening here (though woodchucks and deer were always the bigger threats).
Very nice, Dave. I had a photo some time back of a rabbit’s ears caught in the light. Loved the tree shadow, too.
Thanks. You’re doing better than me — by the time I came back with a camera, that rabbit was nowhere to be found. So I had to write a haiku instead.
These are very fine indeed, Dave. Small and perfectly formed.
Thanks, Dick! I’m not sure all of them qualify as haiku, but I’m fine with that.