haiku competition submission

Entered a haiku competition today. Here’s the poems I submitted and one “un-numbered” one just for today!

 

Haiku for Mr. Cigelske

Tim and I, posting

our own special packages:

Tim, shirts;   me, haiku

 

 

Selected Haiku:  Day 700-1900 (2004-2009)

day 703e

floating in the lake,

clouds drifting by a half-moon,

dusk in Remate

day 740a

nearly one hundred

years have passed and he’s drawing

ballerinas still

day 825b

the groom’s father spoke

about his own father’s hands-

“Hands big as shovels…”

day 880

a blonde girl, wearing

a pink skirt on a blue bike,

willed the red-light green

day 964

a grey, turbid sky

was the backdrop against which

the capitol stood

it’s hard to describe,

but I couldn’t  help smiling

as I walked up those steps

day 972

classic daredevils

they tumbled off the rooftop-

a flock of pigeons

day 1059

at the dance’s end,

“you know, you’re a funny guy,”

the step-caller said

day 1185

he managed to talk

without the beaten-up cig

falling from his mouth

day 1234a

Loyal asked of us,

What have I done to earn this?”

with eyes and smile wide

day 1233

when I needed it,

KP TRING

on a car’s license

day 1291b

waiting for the bus,

a girl lifts steaming noodles

from a styro cup

day 1363

in the morning’s light

a petal fell silently

to the tabletop

day 1400

I stood on the curb,

tried to see the connections

and to know my place

day 1425

in the sun, a man

in a dark suit;  in his hands

flags marked “Funeral”

day 1454a

The short-order cook,

her hair up in a loose bun,

was wearing flip-flops

day 1503

I pulled her to me,

“Days start better with kisses,”

and started the day

day 1562

alongside Burleigh-

wheelchair, white horn-rim glasses-

I waved;  she waved back

day 1651a

I dropped two dollars

in the man’s saxophone case

and walked on my way

day 1659

boy at the corner,

sniffling, “He was actin’ like

he didn’t know me…”

day 1685b

old man’s shopping cart-

six-pack of Schlitz, mac-and-cheese

and chocolate milk

day 1799

I’m no zen archer,

but I can roll a ball straight

down the pine alley

day 1859

at the back door’s base,

two spring-time casualties,

fallen from their nest

day 1938

near the school’s front door,

a mom and daughter, hugging –

neither letting go

day 1994/1993

 

 

day 1994
looking at antiques,
wondering about them and
who used to own them

 

day 1993

I went through the days,

past haikus and saw some trends:

weather and waving

 

day 1992

day 1992
stood with my receipt
waiting to receive service
for fifteen minutes

day 1991

day 1991
though motivation
is sometimes hard to locate,
I can’t waste a day

day 1990 and a photo

Today I had breakfast with Mark Avery. As is his usual custom, Mark brought me a poem to hear. It was by Naomi Shihab Nye and was very, very nice. Look her up and find her poem entitled “Famous“–very good stuff.
I read to Mark from Tom Robbin’s “Skinny Legs and All“, a very funny and easy read.
Rock out,
Troy

day 1990
after we broke fast,
Mark read me a “Famous” poem;
I shared Robbins’ text

day 1989

 

day 1989

I stepped on the blade,

pushing the shovel deeper

into the soft dirt

day 1988

day 1988
twice in seven days,
a day that had been so swell
turned pear-shaped real quick

day 1987

day 1987
though I heard no gun –
no starter’s pistol – I raced
through the whole day’s course

day 1986 and an unrelated photo of brussel sprouts

day 1986
Tom leaned on the fence,
and told me how the valley
has changed through the years

Sunday, for supper, we made brussel sprouts with cheese, sunflower seeds, and and garlic, and stuffed acorn squash.  Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the sprouts, in progress.

 

day 1985

day 1985
a friend of a friend:
“Even a kick in the butt
is forward movement.”