long summer days —

in every child's room

an argument about bedtime

(hattip to Roberta Beary)

old friends —

she takes out the spoon

I like for ice cream

birthday errands —

she gives the wrapping elves

a little more time

against the western sky

a flock turns

into a dark smudge

finches everywhere —

even here, above

the fallow field

we catch the same fish

so many times

she gives it a name

I explain to him

about grief expanding

to fill the space

my mother’s hands

holding me up

as I learn to float

first day of summer —

the song of the ice cream truck

comes closer

my open window —

far above the fireflies

just below the stars

solstice eve —

the sound of tired children

refusing to sleep

I count the seconds

my mind’s eye mapping the storm —

parents fighting

always fading,
yet never quite gone —
how it is, with scars

perfectly level —

my anklet

of flea bites

I look away

from the dead fox in the road —

still it follows me

home again —

the moon back in my window

where it belongs

trying to flag down

the memory of the day

I first learned your name

as if poured out

from some bucket full of clouds —

slow-rolling fog

driving mountain roads

thinking about the mountains

before there were roads

where the fawn slept

amongst the flowers —

a small flat circle

cross-country flight —

even tiny, wispy clouds

cast shadows

in need of comfort

I lie still and listen for

the mourning dove’s coo

under the maple —

haven’t you learned to climb yet,

busy woodpecker?

little fox

what do you think of the world

in this, your first year?

fighting the flood

although the old stories

urge me to give in

listening to a finch

while finally giving up

on seeing it, too

a warm damp cloth

draped over the bowl

of the Earth

tear down the old fence

to put up a taller one —

our backyard neighbors

Haiku Andy!

Andrew Dugas (aka "Haiku Andy") writes a daily haiku and publishes it via social media (sound familiar). Every day, he physically inscribes that same haiku on a single postcard and mails it to someone in the world.

Today was my day!

To see more of Andy's excellent haiku, tune into his Facebook page or his Twitter feed.

Thank you, Andy, sharing your gifts and in this case, for specifically brightening my mailbox and my day!

spring fever —

we spot the front yard bunny

in our neighbor’s yard