Summer Cicadas
When the sun rises, Summer cicadas are mechanical, persistent, inescapable, until the sun sets.
Like an alarm clock,
Try as I might, I can’t stop.
— Cicadas crying
To Matsuo Bashō the voice of a cicada is quite profound.
静けさや
岩にしみ入る
蝉の声
Shizukesa ya
Iwa ni shimiiru
Semi no koe
Ah, such stillness—
The sound of a cicada
sinks into the rocks.
I am in a funk
I thought I could — haiku
No I can’t, can you?
…
When Zen was new,
Who knew
— Haiku?
…
When Zen was new
A frog jumped
And made a Splash
…
An empty cup,
no bread, no wine,
you split
Morning has broken, five syllables, the beginning of a song by Cat Stevens. Inspiration for a series of haiku. For you. As I sit here at my window, facing east, gazing in the distance, as the sky turns black to blue, then to bright yellow and back to blue.
It’s a new dawn…
1
Quietly I sit
at my window facing east …
the world awakens.
2
A Carolina wren
sings briefly in the dark..
silence takes its place.
3
Night has lost its grip,
black dissolves into pale blue,
soft yellow, bright light.
4
Every color
coming between night and day
the day is becoming.
5
Sun rising slowly,
blinding white for a brief moment
again turning blue.
6
No doubt: I am here,
loving this tender moment
yet it will not last.
7
My dog comes running,
the peace and quiet is undone —
wanting to go out.
8
Yes, I am leaving,
I am forever leaving
but will I come back?
— Bashō no yōna, May 2026
Ignorance is bliss—
eyes closed, soon the storm passes
finally I sleep
.
March 2026
Told by my daughter that if one ignores reality, one stays in the dark. Me thinking, I am not one but many.
Legend says, Ernest Hemingway popularized the six word story with “For sale: Baby shoes, Never Worn.”
Haiku like
Not quite
Still amusing
For better or worse, here’s a few six word sequels.
Crackling fire
Cold sleet
No joke
.
Holding hands
Tender looks
Silent stars
.
Moonlight kissed
Warm breeze
Hearts stirred
.
Dawn’s coming
It’s Off
To Bed
Variations on a fart by a smart feller. things not said in polite company.
Somebody farted,
Was it wind or a whisper?
Friends soon departed
.
Somebody farted
Hearing a sigh feeling a breeze ,
The room held its breath
.
Somebody farted
A cloud of mystery lingered
As I departed
.
Matsuo Basho ate radishes both because they were plentiful and because he had stomach problems for most of his life. No doubt he passed gas in polite company, but it was never mentioned.
December 2025
Grand Cayman
tis pretty, pretty tis, ahh
tis fleeting too, tis too quick
— December sunset
Sunset Cove
Grand Cayman
December 2025
Sunset Cove on Seven Mile Beach, just north of George Town in the Grand Caymans, is beyond description. Sunrises and sunsets glow across gentle waves and warm breezes; white clouds wander slow beneath blue skies; tall palms lean over sandy beaches. Sea shells on the shore for children to gather.
Just another day in paradise.
Matsushima ya
Aa — Matsushima ya
Matsushima ya
松島や
ああ松島や
松島や
Matsushima!
Ah, Matsushima!
Matsushima!
Some modern blogs still present this as Bashō’s, but it isn’t.
The gentle waves—ah!
Endless rolling blue waves—ah,
Grand Cayman—ah!
Rocky Mountain High. From the fractured haiku collection.
I did,
I do every damn day.
Do you?
At St Mary’s Glacier, off I-70, past Idaho Springs, five miles or so up Fall River Road, at 10.000 feet and climbing. The doing is going somewhere new.
October 2025
August 2025
On the Flatirons Trail near Boulder, Colorado where one has time to wonder.
“There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs.”
— Thomas Sowell, economic, social and political theorist
Variations on Thomas Sowell’s quote as it relates to political and economic policy making and their unpleasant unintended consequences. The solution depends upon the problem and the problems are many.
No true solutions —
Each choice gives and takes back,
Balance in all things
.
No one solution —
The Way flows like a river
Unseen ever changing
.
A true solution
Depends upon the problem
And our problems are too many
Take energy policy for example, oil and gas, coal, wind and solar, uranium, each presents its own challenges.
Like a new car with lane assist:
In all things, balance —
Straight, curving, ever changing
Sticking to the way.
Composed on the trail to the Flatirons outside Boulder, Colorado and far from the madding crowds, where one has time to think and ponder how one keeps on the path.
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