Thursday, November 30, 2017

November 30: That sky again

Turn off the radio.
On the mountain's rosy face
glow of sunset.


Wednesday, November 29, 2017

November 29: That sky

Hazy gibbous moon
holding itself aloof
from the lurid sunset.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

November 28: Winter moths

Winter moths—
it figures the females
would be flightless.

Monday, November 27, 2017

November 27: Deck the halls

Fake news.
Clipping holly boughs 
to tuck in the plastic wreath.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

November 26: Lucky 7

flock of seven geese
if you believe in omens
that’s some luck right there

Saturday, November 25, 2017

November 25: Last one in

After sunset—
bright half-moon rising,
one last dove flying to roost. 

Friday, November 24, 2017

November 24: Sharing

Sharing my cereal.
Tiny pearls of milk
on the cat's chin.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

November 23: Thanksgiving

Cold morning, no snow.
Titmouse singing in the yard.
Thankful.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

November 22: Thankful

Moment of grace:
vole dashing under my tires
was only an oak leaf.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

November 21: Light in the darkness

facing down the darkness
at the end of the street
hazy crescent moon

Monday, November 20, 2017

November 20: Re-reading Bernd Heinrich’s WINTER WORLD

Shivering I read
how tree frogs survive
being frozen all winter.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

November 19: Trespassers

Flock of gulls grazing
in the rain-soaked field
“No Hunting No Trespassing”

Saturday, November 18, 2017

November 18: Crabapple

Laden crabapple tree—
was it really the cause
of the crows’ racket?

Friday, November 17, 2017

November 17: Night light

awakened in the night
somehow reassured by
the modem’s green light

Thursday, November 16, 2017

November 16: Being read to

Audiobook
crime novel set in Venice—
I want to keep driving

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

November 15: Dark early

Darkness by 5.
Hoping I don’t meet a skunk
on my way inside.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

November 14: Winter training

state fairgrounds race track
sound of one horse trotting past
I can see my breath

Sharing: Elemental haiku

Elemental haiku

Just have to share this Periodic Table composed of 119 haiku by Mary Soon Lee, from SCIENCE. There's a haiku for each element, including one for not-yet-synthesized Element 119. To read each one, click on or hover over an element on the table.

Monday, November 13, 2017

November 13: Snowy Owl

Holiday planning.
A friend texts
about his first Snowy Owl. 

Sunday, November 12, 2017

November 12: Yard work

Remembered too late
summer’s flowers
already frozen in their pots. 


Saturday, November 11, 2017

November 11: Queen of the Night

Streetlight’s out.
Surprised at the front door
by Cassiopeia.

Friday, November 10, 2017

November 10: Pecha Kucha

The ceramics artist
describes his simple cups
as three-line poems.

PS: Artist Simon van der Ven later shared the "cups" part of his talk:

"A beautiful, handmade cup is a three-line poem about consideration. 
The foot speaks about a relationship to its ground, about stability and how it will lift.
The body of the cup talks about a relationship to your hand, about separation and containment, about the definition of inside and outside.
And the rim offers its wisdom in its relationship to your lips, offering and delivering warmth, refreshment, stimulation and redemption to your body.
Making cups allows me to make hundreds of little useful sculptures, to wrestle with the intricacies of proportion, weight, and balance, to explore texture and color, to try new techniques and perfect and evolve established ones.
Making cups gives me a chance to be part of your everyday."

Thursday, November 9, 2017

November 9: First frost

Scraping frost off my car
how I envy
the flock of geese overhead.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

November 8: Drouthy Bear

At the Scottish pub
trying to gossip
without being overheard.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

November 7: Moonlight

Awake to moonlight
so bright through the bedroom blind
I think it’s morning.

Monday, November 6, 2017

November 6: In the Whites

Even the truck driver
stops to photograph
the roaring waterfalls.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

November 5: At the A1 Diner

Riverside diner—
eating at eye level
with the high water marker.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

November 4: After the storm

After the windstorm
new bridges for squirrels
across the river

Friday, November 3, 2017

November 3: Audubon Folio

Was invited to a read a poem today at a unique event: the monthly page-turning of the Bowdoin College library’s Audubon folio. On the first Friday of every month, the Special Collections librarians (it takes two!) turn the supersized page to the next bird. This month’s featured bird is now the “Yellow-breasted Warbler,” now known as the Common Yellowthroat. 

Turning the page—
another month begins,
another bird flies in.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

November 2: All Soul’s Day

Two crows lift off
something dead on the roadside—
is this transmigration?

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

November 1

Day after Halloween.
Putting all the skeletons
back in the closet.