Haiku poems
i
i reach for you
empty arms return
the night is chill
ii
i wake in dampness
stretching toward the light
struck dumb by the fog
iii
were i to leave shore
would the waves swallow me up
would i return in spring
iv
dark clouds hovering
obscuring the sun’s hot rays
rain is sure to fall
v
winter settles in
will the heat of summer
keep me warm
vi
where fires burn today
next year after the spring rain
morels will sprout
vii
bereft of their blooms
do the thorny rose bushes
grieve as much as i
viii
would i were the crab
who so swiftly sheds his shell
when it hurts too much
ix
oh curious bug
climbing up the southern wall
don’t look down on me
x
would i travel far
if i had six legs and wings
or would i stay home
xi
i wrestle with thoughts
that crack my resolve
authumn breezes pass
xii
weeding my garden
in the hot noon sun of july
i thirst for you love
xiii
autumn clouds looming low
assuming fantastic shapes
if i could only fly
xiv
when the frost comes back
portending the coming snows
will i be patient
xv
those fleecy mountains
rising on the western ridge
my name called clearly
xvi
was i someone bad
did i do some awful thing
cancer’s come to call
xvii
i seem to have learned
much about pain
this winter
xviii
songs don’t sing themselves
they need many instruments
on many branches
xix
spring was foggy
why didn’t i know that
until winter came
xx
the melons grow large now
we’d better make use of them
before winter comes
xxi
trudging through the snow
as the red salmon swimming
against the current
xxii
has my life become
like the hapless horseshoe
leaning against the pin
xxiii
yellow rose petals
lying in the shallow dish
along with some red
xxiv
laughter of the spring
will their joys be muffled
in the winter snow
xxv
fiery august skies
raindrops quickly soak my clothes
my body shivers
xxvi
sultry august rain
tomatoes fatten themselves
roses push skyward
xxvii
will i find the words
to capture this autumn day
before winter comes
xxviii
my cucumbers hide
under their broad protective leaves
hot july sun
xxix
fiery august sky
huge torrential drenching
clothes cling to my skin
xxx
heavy my garments
quickly drenched my skin
cloudburst in august
xxxi
fiery tendrils
treetrunk shattered in twain
august strikes again
xxxii
steam rising from the bay
crabs lurking in the seaweed
July at the beach
xxxiii
August at the beach
wisps of smoke floating, stinging
jellyfish rule the day
Jonathan (son #3) said,
12 January 2007 at 12:10 pm
Found a variant of xxviii above.
Cucumbers hiding
under broad, protective leaves
Hot July sun.
It is undated, on a page of 10 haikus in a folder inscribed:
This is the text from (apparently) the cover letter he sent to “Haiku Harvest”:
To the editor;
I stopped writing more than 30 years ago, after my divorce. Now, six years after the death of my second wife, hopefully having matured in the interim, now in my 67th year, I’m beginning again. Hopefully, some of my efforts in Haiku will meet with your approval. I have included 10 poems on the following page for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Norman Pearl
Jonathan (son #3) said,
12 January 2007 at 12:15 pm
xxx above reminds me of a poem I wrote a few years before, “To dance in the rain“. I don’t know if my father was aware of my poem. What strikes me, again, is how he and I alighted on similar images in our poetry.
mariela said,
23 January 2007 at 12:41 pm
its really long
zuly said,
23 January 2007 at 12:42 pm
it is really nice !!!!! do more
Senryu and Haiku « Words of My Father said,
25 January 2007 at 1:06 pm
[...] [see vii, on Haiku poems] [...]