borrowed book
I bring Bashō
to my garden

fireworks
my son asks
if heaven could catch fire

Frogpond #42.2 - 2019

pavement mat
the beggar throws a party
with pigeons

roadkill
crows and hawks
swoop amid traffic

dawn rumble
the moon rolling
on a train

Cattails  October 2020

shadows emerging out of silhouette summer shade

rain after rain the rhythm I locked myself in

the road not taken thin ice

morning mosaic
the splash droppings
of rafter birds   

behind the beaver's bridge
a floating moon
b a r r e d 

morning rush...
in the lead car's back window
a zoo of toys  


village abattoir—
vultures arriving early
before the kill


noon heat
the blacksmith
making fireflies


Buddha
his shoulder pad
of snow

waking up
from a beer booze —
this pee without end

my delight
in his drunken state
pocket coins for candy

the boldness
to dare God in his sanctuary
chewing gum & blasting balloons

a party
before the farmer’s party –
locusts

Cattails April 2018

1
moment of silence—
a cockerel constant call
thru the neighborhood

2
community screening
neighborhood mistakes our van
for bread distribution

3
pandemic lockdown
neighbourhood refuse swells up
in lager bottles

4
pandemic stories
friend's landlord increases rent
on losing his job

5
coronavirus
fearing my beloved wife
after contact tracing

city mountain
gathering and gathering
rejected goods

village massacre
in a dead baby's hand
forget-me-not

winter after war
burnt out houses fall
snow on snow

temple bell tolls
coming from within
a resting butterfly

moon trapping
my daughter widens
the puddle size

moonlight
in a sleeping child's palm
stolen coin

moonlit night
the heavy breast
of a child prostitute

caught in my headlight
the prostitute lifts
her middle finger

low cut dress
the aged prostitute reveals
youthful legs

a crucifix between
the prostitute's breast
distant temple bells

evening rain...
the prostitutes' fire
dying out