Wednesday, September 30, 2015

September 30: Downpour

Together again
we linger late in bed
listening to the rain.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

September 29: Leaving Monhegan

Was it a dream?
Island recedes behind me,
vanishes in the fog.

Monday, September 28, 2015

September 28: Lunar Eclipse

lunar eclipse: on island
shooting the red moon
drunk on autumn stars
 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

September 27: Blame it on the moon

Is it the full moon
making me so restless?
The sea too stirs and sighs.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

September 26: Full

under this full moon
apples ripen
birds dream of the jungle

September 25: Sunset celebration

cannon fired at sunset
scares up all the harbor gulls
their wings glowing
 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

September 24: Maiden flight

With maternal feeling
we watch for hours
until the new Monarch flies.
 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

September 23: Goddess worship

Venus still shines brightly
above the morning mist--
love remains with us.
Bonus poem for the equinox:
Autumnal equinox--
hiking trail #6
finding balance.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

September 22: The sea's a metronome

Despite the chill
I keep my window open
so waves lull me to sleep.

Monday, September 21, 2015

September 21: Morning Star

bright goddess Venus
Orion bows before her
my faith is renewed
 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

September 20: Monarch chrysalis

Small green chrysalis
hanging off the window frame--
there's hope for us yet.
Monarch caterpillar
 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

September 19: Night bells

Buoy bell ringing
in the heavenly temple
of ocean and stars.
 

Friday, September 18, 2015

September 18: Monhegan: Butterflies

Butterflies lift off
of every patch of flowers--
yes, I remember.
 

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

September 16: Early morning, sound of feathers

I hear wings flapping
but fall back asleep
too tired yet for the divine.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

September 15: Just before dawn

Just before dawn
a single crow caws--
I'm not the only one awake.

Monday, September 14, 2015

September 14: On the trail

That feeling of freedom
and ferns for toilet paper--
peeing in the woods.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

September 13: Translation

I spent this rainy afternoon working through a book I bought in Quebec City: a French translation of Japanese haiku by contemporary poet Mayuzumi Madoka. The book is arranged in four seasonal sections, with each haiku and its explication by the author on facing pages. I read through Spring and into Summer, fascinated by the nexus of several languages: the original Japanese, the French translation, my attempt to piece it together in English, and the universal poetic sensibility, which renders a good poem timeless in any language. It feels like a good exercise to play with words, image, and feelings in this way; I found myself longing for a retreat to submerge myself in this world for several days to see what might come out of it for my own poetry.
 
Here is my halting translation of one of her spring haiku:
 
Amplified
by the toll of the temple bell--
this spring twilight.
__
 
Rainy afternoon--
I can almost hear the fog horn
or a temple bell.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

September 12: The world is new

I awake to crows
telling loud eagle stories--
first light on the ash.

Friday, September 11, 2015

September 11: Night light

This is a small town, but even here, living as we do across from a street light, we rarely get to fully appreciate the night sky in all its starry glory. So after dinner with friends who live on a farm out in the country, it was such a thrill to look up on the way to the car and enjoy such a wide, clear view of the night's stars.
 
Night sky above a dirt road--
we pick out Polaris,
now it all makes sense.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

September 10: Skunk hour

In the redolent dark
soccer ball on the lawn becomes
so easily a skunk

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

September 9: River nocturne

Dusk on the river--
goldfinches finish chatting
--was that a peeper?

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

September 8: Wren

We hear the wren
after a summer's absence--
voice of an old friend.

Monday, September 7, 2015

September 7: Birds on our holiday drive

Over the harbor, eagle;
one farmhouse bluebird;
geese in the pasture.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

September 6: Trying to grow hot peppers

If we're lucky
we might get one chili pepper
from our single plant.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

September 5: Crickets

river flowing low and dry
slow ticking of insects
counts down the days
 

Friday, September 4, 2015

September 4: On the water

Slow sail past Mark Island--
red buoy, curious seal,
harbor we don't reach.
 

Thursday, September 3, 2015

September 3: Visitor

End-of-summer garden--
it's a new world
to the young yellowthroat.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

September 2: Nighthawks

On my drive home from Quebec this afternoon I noticed several nighthawks flitting overhead, diurnal migrants heading south.
 
Driving south, homeward,
following the nighthawks' path
along the river.
 

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

September 1: Les Fraises

Rural, farm-covered L'Ile D'Orleans in the St. Laurence River is the farm basket of Quebec. Strawberries are one of the specialties, with two seasons: summer and fall. After visiting L'Ile D'Orleans today, I checked out the permanent farmers' market near the Old Port Quebec, where I bought a cup of fresh strawberries and ate them on the spot. They tasted of summer, even as the season begins to turn to fall.
 
Strange to start September
here in Canada
with farm-fresh strawberries.