The Stillness Outside

The stillness outside;
This December Saturday; 
The humming inside.

Where are the cars now,
As I sit at my window?
They don't want to come.

Olivia's hay
Must be supremely gourmet
As she savors it.

Sun vies with dark clouds;
A chill wind blows up the road;
The streams are quiet.

Fallen shelf fungus
Lies next to moss covered rock;
Stream whispers nearby.

The wood pile has changed;
There's a sense my neighbor's gone;
New car in driveway.

Snow is not far off;
It waits in the thick dark clouds;
The earth takes a breath.

Everything is brown;
Fir trees are only background;
Sky is just lighting.

It's All Memory

Pine trees swirl and bend;
Suddenly the wind dies down;
It's all memory.


Sharp through the tree tops
A patch of sunlight breaks through--
Morning has risen.

Out of the clear blue
Two fungi on the tree trunk.
Where do they come from?

Leash does not matter
When there's a smell in the leaves.
Just ask these two guys.



Ready to be launched
Dead tree lies in sapling's arms,
Waiting for right time.

Cyclops of the woods
Stares with red eye at the road.
It will never blink.

Cars do drive faster
When the temperature is low;
Running from the cold.

Only evergreens
Can block the glaring sun's rays;
Still the wind is cold.

Still, the Rooster Crows

Cool morning sun;
Frost is on the porch again;
Still, the rooster crows.

Mirrors in kitchen
Stare into their reflections,
Yet they see nothing.

Sun spreads over field
Lighting up distant shack;
Rooster crows loudly.

Smoke from the chimney
Billows lazily upward
To be blown away.

Different ball this time;
Immobile on the side lawn,
Waiting for action.

Tall trees face the sun,
Half in darkness, half in light.
Lone turtledove coos.

My fuzzy friend, Belle
Comes down the path to greet me
Wiggling her behind.

On edge of freezing
Roadside stream still flows swiftly
Tinkling its presence.

Deluge While I Slept

Lawn covered with white;
Sun mixes with sprinkled snow
Then it disappears.

Drops of water fell;
Sparkled shine on my front porch
Freezing and melting.

he wood fence is down;
Will some farm creatures escape?
Beckoning freedom.

Sweeping up the road;
Now the wind has winter's chill;
The stream is roaring.

Rough tumbling water;
Raw wind gusting in the trees;
These, the only sounds.

Deluge while I slept
Brought river roars to the woods
Creating new lakes.

Since below the sea
Ancient rock disintegrates,
Small chip at a time.

Stream by the roadside
Makes shifting musical notes:
Liquid symphony.

Hiding All Distance

Mist surrounds the tree;
A mystical gauze of gray
Hiding all distance.

On the shiny porch
Mirror memories of rain;
Trees are tinged with gray.

I walk through moisture
Surrounded by a thick cloud
Absorbing all sounds.

Out of the gray mist
Three phantom forms emerging--
Laurie and the dogs.

There is No Distance

Mysterious Fog
Does not envelope the geese--
Silent silhouettes.

Drops of rainwater
Hanging from my porch's eaves
Magnify the light.

There is no distance
Beyond the trees, only mist
Shrouding the mountains.

On a wooden pole
Strange numbers are imprinted:
Roadside Kabbalah.

Forever leaning,
Ladder and barn together;
Both too old to work.

Thinking it's a cat
I call to a flower pot.
(It does not respond.)

An impromptu hut
Built of ferns, leaves and dried grass.
No human hands here.

Darkened tree stump lies
Charred by snow, rain and bright sun--
Seasonal blasting.