The Spring Lantern
Haiku Challenge Review
2023 - Year in Review
January
New Year —
attached to my camera
a wide-angle lens
deciduous leaves –
tearing out of my diary
the last page
year of the dragon
some fire still remains
in my belly
February
a lonely night...
falling in love
with brine shrimp
First kiss
my cherry lip gloss
on his lips
Valentine’s Day –
I eat your chocolates
on my way
March
a new web
on the compost pile
early spring
marching
toward spring
full worm moon
skylark's song -
I ask permission
to record
river moon
the quiet stance
of an egret
our argument
left hanging -
moon sickle
April
with
or without the wind
wildflowers
a wild plum tree
blooming on a narrow road
where I can’t pull off
emerging from snow
the silence
of tulips
cherry blossoms -
laughter of school girls
arm-in-arm
a sprig of Jasmine
on my breakfast tray -
Mother's Day
taking the trash out
cherry blossom petals lay -
scattered by the rain
half moon -
I wish her
whole again
May
swollen river
geese move their eggs
to higher ground
the pond didn't stir in winds,
but saw it quiver,
under the butterfly's touch
stormy sea
the rocks
unmoved
birdbath
the moon shivers
from a cat's tongue
water fountain
refilling our bottles
for the homeless man's dog
rain beading
on my friend
the flax bush
June
garden walk
thoughts entangled
in a spider web
without a sound
poppies open to
the morning
my cat spreadeagled
on top of the garden shed-
morning sun
end of summer
the last cricket sings
out-of-tune tunes
same Kansas wind
at the June wedding...
her funeral
cat on the mat
where midsummer's blade pierces
the curtain's defense
July
night full of stars
breathing in the same sky
the deer and me
barefoot
on dew-covered grass
the stars, brighter
after the movie
stars
in the sky
morning sun
between a mother
and her calf
swallows darting
in and out of rotted piers -
low tide at sunset
blocking
the banyan sun -
a beehive
August
sunlit window
the left and right looking
of a sparrow
drawing of her family
all the people
sunflowers
at sunset
birds have their last say
then disappear
judging me
with tilted head
my one-eyed cat
note after note
leaves rustle
brown maya
a flock of sheep
grazing the hillside
prayer beads
September
summer gone
the mango tree
just a tree
petrol and pine
the lingering scent
of ten less trees
finally resting
under the shade of a tree
the cicada's shell
coloring my world
the maple leaves me
a changed person
sip my tea for one—
wedding anniversary
under changing leaves
lording it over
the fallen birch leaves
the smugness of pine
October
picking season
she tries to rescue
a falling apple
autumn morning--
turning on the light
by my father's chair
dense autumn fog
growing intimate
with the bridge
crunch of autumn
a squirrel in the leaves
with an apple half
twilight
more shades of orange and grey
than language knows
Kansas ocean
the sound of wheat
waves
November
village well
a bucket scatters
the moon
daylight moon -
the way she lingers
till the last guest
beyond words
having no opinions
the harvest moon
cricket song
in the taro field
settling dusk
tears...
the onion is just
an excuse
worm moon
a bird zooms in
on my zucchini
December
shortest day
an owl’s hoot
stretches the sky
Christmas party
hiding the mistletoe
from that one colleague
withering wind
still no sign
of a ceasefire