insomnia

anticipated
fun time is cancelled; no fun
due to lack of sleep

lightning

bright pink flashes burn
inside a cloud with tummy ache
heat lightning reflux

pink yellow white green
christmas lights swallowed by a cloud
brighten july night

bad dreams and broken furniture

wake with head swirling
dream water pours from ceiling
while i punch out creep

trying to get dressed
drawer pull breaks grandma's dresser
boding ill for day

haiku

one two three four five
find myself needing to count
losing haiku steam

laser cat goes to the office

pinioned with a glance
caught in the dangerous glare
of mad laser cat

aftermath

branches piled on curbs
in the courtyard sways
small tree split in twain

tornado pants

urgent reaction
to emergency broadcast:
"I should put on pants."

query via text:
"help! help! are tornado pants
same as earthquake pants?"

bird chat

perched on the railing
sparrows twitter and gossip
singing me homeward

thursday

mare's tails scamper,
prancing across evening sky,
recalling a storm

persistent

constantly in frame
the moon follows me about
all day and all night

farewell

a totem pole forms
for camera's benefit
farewell to Cori

thunder and hail

like a hungry mouse
nibbling at night's edges
with growling stomach

peeling wallpaper
lighting tears the sky, showing
night's hidden color

captain kangaroo
assaulted by mr moose
ping pongs bounce on hood

laundry day

laundry all sorted:
towels segregated from clothes
darks kept separate from whites

ansty for action
dirty clothes clamor and clash
ready to tumble

wedding

quietly moving
not a dry eye in the house
as they exchange vows

tiny groomsmen with
rosy cheeks over rouged
perched in butter cream

earthquake

5 am wake up
beneath me foundation growls
and mattress shimmies

a surprise earthquake
Old Bay tumbles in kitchen;
cat raises an ear

selky

floating suspended
pretend the tub is salt sea
kelp entwined in hair

hard rain

concentric circles
materialize and dodge
my flailing wipers

as the rain slackens
circles stretch to oblong rings
but are still pinging

argh

not content with tub
the ants have found the kitchen
and sup on toast crumbs

(most likely supping on butter...)

monday

row by row we seek
vintage treasures, funny art,
and usable gadgets

massive thunderstorm
flickers the lights, but shoppers
browse without pausing

7/11

alas, today's date
makes me crave cherry slurpees
and aged devil dogs

ellicott city

manically smiling
mustachioed elephant
offers to pour cream

a key to his heart
but otherwise naked astride
a leaping dolphin

fruitful hat perches
upon my noggin, alas
too dear to take home

tastee

mix neon and chrome
with midnight cheese fries and eggs
recipe for fun

late night diner chats,
where the company is good,
even if food ain't

Books piled here and there!
A bibliophibian
lives inside this house.

Oranges vary
in the sweetness of their pulp,
but they're all orange.

hmmmmmmmmmmm

low cicada hum
persistent through the night
invoke memories

tired

after six months done,
a chance comment by a friend
tapped will for haiku

104

104—
pleased to be back at work with
cool basement AC

heat wave

100 degrees—
bleah! yet forecast is calling
for 1oo plus

july 4

heat wavers the sky
but no fireworks for me
staying cool inside

a late night recap
fireworks on pbs
streak the tv set

hot

despite the heat wave
no mercury is rising
as phone now tells temp

eye apt.

after dilation
paper doilies encircle
every light's margin

a walk inthe park

beneath leafy trees
a surprise cool evening walk
stretches mind and limbs

wednesday

more days between rains
stones stand out like hungry ribs
from drying creek bed

gone home

mewling, grey cat searches
from room to room looking for
a departed guest

thunder

after a dry spell
the skies open and thunder booms
feast after famine

reduced to color
like vaseline on the lens
water blurs the world

Ze Moon

"O, ze moon! Ze June!
ah, ze spoon! C'est l'amour!"
as a skunk might say...

moon

lemon lollipop
just waiting to be licked
dangles out of reach

air

messages received
mere minutes before midnight
mom at calvert mem

mad dash down route four
amused by my appearance
mom is doing fine

air

air leaves my body
breathe slow, focus on your breath
and hear of lung clot

thursday

the minutes tick by
with the storm clouds gathering
your plane landing soon

moon

piece of juicy fruit
fill up my half-empty glass
just give it a squeeze

clouds

thunderheads taunting
grumbles tease from the distance
sadly no rain falls

solstice

No egg balancing—
such tricks are for equinox.
'Sides, heat would cook egg.

Minutes finally stacked,
the building stands completed,
as longest day closes.

because eye said so

a nightmare vision
inappropriate eyeball
horror unspoken

platter

like an oak, enringed,
each craze a year or decade
great-grandma's platter

luciferin

at twilight, knees skimm'd
by glowing motes, mating dance
swirls amid grasses

treetops sway bedecked
with captured, living jewels
dancing atop leaves

midnight, trees ensnare
earthbound stars, where twinkling,
bugs best the big bear

living torches quench'd
deprived of their oxygen
lit bellies go dark

moon

a fresh slice of lemon
swirling around a huge glass
of cosmic iced tea

tentaclely

Colenterata*
full belly dragging deathstrings
floats in inky night

medusoid glowing
pale in dark aquarium
suspended in time

a tension of forms—
arcs echo, spirals tangle—
balance against void

*yes, I know this is outdated.

pax

individual,
always eyeing fruit and veg,
grey cat chews a pea

grey fur still lush, but
the old man's getting bony
under stroking hand

bright eyes half closed
madly purring ball of fur
leans against my thigh

weeds

behind the railing
tall weeds lean in reggae sway
caught in breeze's rhythm

big mouth

part parade float
part terrifying beast, your
skeleton enthralls

Ah, megalodon,
or, as I prefer to think:
Schnozosaurus rex.

I don't care a whit—
Carcharodon? Carcharocles?
O, megalodon!

at the end of night,
often i feel as my mouth
were as large as yours

all staff

the morning fills me
up with swirling motes of dread
yet leaves me drained

somehow—and i thot
it wasn't possible—now
less motivated

working outside

WANTED: one worker.
Must provide own computer,
sunblock, and structure.

perhaps poet's perch?
or inventory control
for clover and bees

fresh air and sunshine—
forget a corner office—
these are perquisites

commute

with slight sway metro
sings an unconvincing song
to rock me awake

moon

fingernail clipping
with just a hint of polish
hanging in the sky

cloud

stealing at edges
effects by mother nature
crepuscular rays

thrift art

unicorn and kittens
snooze, while velvet matador
wrestles in the back

wistful rocking horse
dreams of green meadows, fresh air
and cool glass of tab

curb cafe

loud traffic passes
mingling car exhaust with
hungry kitchen smells

thursday

one job back from shop
one print job sent off to press
one circulating

no comment

oddly, i've noticed
the post comments only appear
when poems tardy

sick day

outside, sunlight calls,
temperate breezes buffet;
inside, the couch wins

summer builds

each day lengthens
stacking minute on minute
to construct daylight

Guinnii

kate and matt and i
between us seven pints split
'mid happy chatter

kohlrabi

green satellites from
a vegetable planet
take in farm data

silvery green leaves
stream like comet tails behind
spoked bulbous orb

crabcake express

into the desert
comes a taste of Chesapeake
in blue and red box

room number 5

cubby no. 5
filled with hope and anxiety
before surgery

ow

bleeding freely red
against the rich, dark compost
stitches not needed

cloudburst

bright mid afternoon
into which comes a cloudburst
and washes the sky

defrosting

slowly, the puddle
grows, signaling the sudden
need to defrost fridge

crabby

golden french fries sit
beside two large lumps of lump
crabcakes for summer

Sharpsburg

from different eras
three soldiers walk out of past
and down empty street

ginger

bite of ginger orange
balances against the sour tang
of creamy yoghurt

4 am

beyond, a rumble
on the map green and yellow
push through the area

thunderstorm

promised since weekend
but never manifested
cooling thunderstorms

alas

from balmer the call
surgery again, next week
more ret'na torture

tuesday

the sun emerges
bringing a pounding headache
time for a nice nap

bok choi and broccoli

a medley of greens,
tasty bok choi and broccoli
dark green on jadite

greens

overwhelmed by green
i prepare waffle iron for
chard experiment

pick-ups

turnips, carrots, chard
parade for us at Clagett
a beauty contest

dutifully, i
fill my cooler with crisp greens
and tick off my share

tangy mustards snap
tastebuds awake, no longer snoozing
from dry morning toast


a round, green eye stares
annoyed cat behind grey mesh
on his way to home

evening commute

leaving the office
two birds tussle in ginko
squalling for supper

at the bridge, two deer—
please don't leap at my fender,
i like it complete.

halfway home, small shape,
tail straight up, chipmunk scurries
rushing home itself

a mile or so left,
brown feathers swoop across road,
the young eagle perches

oil slick

listen to npr
tears gather at bp story
coastal destruction

soul slicked with oil, as
hard to breathe, as for oysters
and smothered shore life

twang

grumbling and tense
i check messages and find
a google-y guitar

despite frustrations
serial google-y creations
always make me smile

home again home again

all day, mad running
deep in one conversation
then run to the next

home empty, bed bare,
without cat or companion,
home and self echo

homeward bound

An overcast sky
echoes my grey reflections:
I am homeward bound.

X marks the spot, with
abstract heiroglyphs, contrails,
man scratches the sky

restless

Beside me you snore,
a gentle growl as i toss
and watch you sleep on.

red rock

starkly in contrast
chartreuse lichens wiggle, blotch
fiercely red sandstone

a riot of color
blue sky wisps with marestail clouds
o'er bright sandstone walls

At night, nude girls leer
behind the stage. Smoke haze blurs
the musicians' songs.

two friends and some thread

Baguette and nunchucks

Mr. Frenchie and Ninja

Our alter egos.

UGH

so stressed; need to get
three thousand miles away
for some perspective

like a bunch of twigs
my spine, my soul, feels brittle
so ready to snap

office politics

grace under pressure
i wonder what that's like as
i shoot off my mouth

5.30 am

a cardboard box lid
resembles cat vomit seen
without my glasses

cannot sleep again.
is it my new lot to awaken
with hurting stomach?

is it my body
keeping me from a sound sleep,
or the stress of work?

starting to wonder
if it might not be so bad
to not have a job

long day

another long day,
at last mile home I spy
red fox crossing road

From zero to many

So confused: days passed

and I saw no new haiku.

Now they are here. Huh?

staff cuts

more cuts of colleagues,
yet money for execs. sooooo,
who will do the work?

flux

through office window
the sun shines brightly, while in
the office storms toss

mother's day

mom makes for family
cream of crab soup and crab cakes
but can't make peace

17 more

Oui, oui, I'll add one.

Here in France thinking: we must

keep writing haiku.

wind!

idle tresses lift
the wind plays havoc with hair
and with dancing trees

MVA

Friday, MVA
is it third circle of Hell
or just the lobby?

piratz party

chatting with Yermo;
while he waxes on bike trip,
'ratz party on deck

no walking the plank
rather, tequila dixie
cup offering made

Tame pirates party.
We chat in dark corner on
Yermo at Deale's Gap.

lost id

carded at the brick
my lost ID discovered
but not regained