winter coats and jackets
take up too much closet space
Miami condo

a startled field mouse
scurries in the thick grass
flash of talons

cemetary snow
hides nearly all the tombstones
those from 'just wars,' too

Thanksgiving ?
gratitude ends when sales start
black friday

Rabbit on the Moon
his feet keep getting wet
hopping on puddles

Mare L-CROSS
I sip some cool water
as the moon shines

so far no green cheese
but plenty of ice water
on the Moon, NASA

a minute past the Armistice, 1918

from the cold ground
a few green shoots poke out
November morning

(November 11, 1918, 11:01 am)

besides an old oak
a squirrel stops, bobs, skitters
I resume my walk

my morning coffee//spills all over the paper//early edition

Perpetua & Felicity, slaveowner and slave, martyrs both

Two young women pray
as a mad cow gores them
their blood on the sand

Nineteen too many
hanged by Salem witch hunters
Puritan justice.

Blackrobe Isaac Jogues
entered Heaven one fall day
ora pro nobis

behind a grill

they joyfully sing

cloistered Carmelites

Who discovered whom
when two worlds first meet
that October morn

Running of the Bulls

plus passing and great "D"

South Florida beats 'Noles!

seasons of the year
pre-season football, football
superbowl ads

Fall arrives ontime
but summer overstays
more time at the beach

her sister's hair
she braids into cornrows
row after row

Summer's end?

Summer's end?
on South Beach it's hard to tell
their sleek young bodies

she smiles at the sun
and moves her crutches forward
spina bifida

upon a hill
a flame resists the night
John, Bobby, and Ted

Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa --
thinks he's a big bug?
-- that's messed-up, Kafka!

St. Bernard's Question

Ad quid veniste?
a saint asked himself daily
so must we all

remembering Flight 255

Flight Two Five Five
for Cecelia alone
Heaven did wait

ready to wear in Paradise

A hedge of croton
serves Eve with ready to wear
their colorful leaves

rafters on the Florida Straits

on an inner tube
they float on faith and hope
on a sea of storms

in honor of those fleeing from tyranny and hunger in Cuba and Haiti.
for those who reach the promised shore
and especially for those who do not.

Abdur Razzaq
conquers Windies' batsmen
Jai Bangla!

things out of kilter
black clouds and portends abound
a shark on a train

that chocolate chip
is different from the rest
for one - it's moving

grainy images
as he came down the ladder
One small step for man

in a small room
they hold hands as bullets strike
The Romanovs

Bastille Day
they storm a patisserie
bored suburban wives

Vigo's waterfront
displaced workers huddle
afraid to go or stay

splash of raindrops// feels so good this morning// after a long walk

roadside neon

Live! Nude! Girls!
roadside neon sign proclaims
trucks rumble by

carefully they touch
and somehow find a way
porcupine lovers

Tranquility Base
he takes a small step
and man moves forward

freshly washed clothes
smell of lavender fills
the laundry room

armed with coolers, grills
beach chairs, they hit the sands
weekend warriors

Megan Fox

Megan a fox --
not a vixen some point out
her Adam's apple

Gettysburg

Gettysburg -- first day
some wearing blue, others gray
stain a field red

Little Round Top (second day)
a thin blue line holds
Brave Men of Maine

not quite 2 o'clock (third day -- Pickett's Charge)
that July afternoon
sabers drawn -- Charge !!

what they did there
from the North and the South
we'll long remember

Governor Sanford's Betrayal

hiking the Trail
may become a way to hide
cheating on a spouse

Pickett's Charge -- Gettysburg, day 3

not yet 2 o'clock
that July afternoon - charge!
when the "Lost Cause" lost

Gettysburg -- day two
on a small hill, great courage
Little Round Top

Gettysburg -- first day
some wearing blue, others gray
stain a field red

Lusty Orion
chasing seven sisters
may need blue pills

morning downpour
hardly noticed by those two
lovers at a beach

rain - sheets of iron
grays out the sky in an instant
morning downpour

urban tanka

sky so gray erases
luxury condos that block
waterfront view

stormy afternoon weather
does what zoning couldn't

he laddles some soup
into a chipped bowl
unsteady his hand

Orange Band: -- your song
tweee-wee -- could not be heard
over bulldozers' roar

co-Kee! co-Kee!
green frog on a leaf sings
evening, Mayaguez

your green eyes light up
a lovely summer's evening
memories of home

St. Joseph the Carpenter

hands strong and skilled
shaped wood into needful things
once held our Lord

death at the Holocaust Museum

mourning doves calling
flags at half staff slowly wave
some bow their heads

Summer Bird wins
soaring above the Belmont field
eagle among wrens

so many puddles
-- splaaaaash - he jumps in with both feet!
mom's new white dress

her Barbie's beach day
right at the start of summer
pass the play sunscreen

gray skies, gray buildings
rain as gray as sheetrock
downtown afternoon

jury pool haiku -5/28/09

"let justice be done"
even if a few snore
jury pool waiting

triangle park
across from the courthouse
pigeons eating lunch

a baby held
so tenderly by her
as both slumber

fresh blueberries
with each bite I taste summer
-- and stain my shirt

spring flowers in bloom
bright colors please the eyes
pollen makes them itch

flowers in bloom
beautiful colors, lovely scents
achoo -- pollen

a centipede
must take forever
to tie his shoestrings

strawberries takeover
produce shelves in Florida
early summer treats

jumbo red raisins
so plump and juicy
mid-morning snack

mango trees
heavy with yellow buds
summer fruit feast

Pigeons

Pigeons dive bomb
my aging Pontiac
with deadly aim - splat!

a gopher peeks out
from its hole near the live oak
and goes right back in

morning workouts
watched closely by railbirds
eyes on stopwatches

Swine flu scare
is spread from too much tv
practice prevention

Heart speaks to heart
and a miracle occurs
Newman Beato!

for Dylan Thomas

From his hand verse
would flow so easily
so too cups that felled him

gopher heads for his hole
every step taken slowly
Florida gopher turtle

soft cooing from doves

I hear as I walk

earth day morning

Massa candida
lives fused by hope
faithful unto death

Red wheelbarrow
an NJ doctor places
great store in them

No. 42

Spring day '47
Jackie takes the field - some 'boo'
America changes

morning star in the dawn sky
grass still wet from dew
the commute can wait

Easter Mass at dawn
folding chairs glisten with dew
we welcome Jesus

Chocolate bunnies
Easter eggs in pastel colors
Where is the cross?

caterpillar's fruit
with every bite I take
I risk finding half

Easter eggs aside
spring itself reminds us
"He is Risen"

kites catch the wind
in the late afternoon
paper birds in flight

African migrants
lost at sea, within sight of land
as G20 meet.

Catbird on a fence
from his perch -- the world
gray eminence

tiny red beads
move along green leaves
ladybugs are here!

dented cans - half price
some without labels
I reach for hidden treasures

another green leaf
serves as the salad course
hungry caterpillar munches

morning coffee
cools on a cluttered desk
damn all multi-taskers

Key West cats
some with extra digits
Hemingway house

yellow origami

yellow origami
flutters slowly towards her
she smiles -- a butterfly

stinger raised
it skitters across hot pavement
scorpion summer

a green river flows
slowly, lapping at the shore
hazy earth day morn

spring

mangoes with new fruit
yellow dust everywhere
I sneeze -- it's spring

A pale moon shining
on her growing belly
Sea of fecundity

Melting icicles
with every tiny drop
erasing winter

Rainbow, blue sky
Clouds drift by – slowly
How they changed my mo(u)rning

Cold morning
Too snug in bed
To think of breakfast

Moonless night --
cats move about silently
except for those two

tiny black feet
-- silently pattering on green leaves
ladybugs in spring

One small step --
like all journeys/ a start
Sea of Tranquility

A paper boat floats
on a still pond
Sea-That-We-Know

Waxing moon
your pale belly
Sea of Fecundity

Ocean of Storms
waves crash over
an open boat