Arboreal Awakening
The far maple, where I once hung Frankie’s tire swing, blooms. The maple beside our deck, the one with moss growing up its split trunk, arises from its winter slumber, too. We will enjoy...
Category: Haibun
Faith Amidst Doubt?
Haibun Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” Luke 5:5, New American Bible How did you...
Weekend-feeling Weekday
Weekend-feeling Weekday Sharon Van Etten’s Taking Chances croons in my earbuds. Late afternoon heat breaks, and a pale-blue sky remains at sunset. Some cardinal flies from branch to branch, as the hoot of an...
Origin of a Silenced Voice
I make a sound and point. “Oh, you want this?” Mom asks, then takes whatever I point to down. Be it a can of corn, string beans, a favorite toy. I don’t speak until...
Such Monotony
Another day. Students to nudge to work or be silent, while others teach. While I remain voiceless… Another day. IEPs to write. The implications of the difference to face. Between where...
Avian Antics
A red-breasted robin leaps onto a high, thin branch on the apple tree. Branch and bird swing up and down three times. Then it flies. A nearby maple tree’s high branch swings up and...
Gastronomic Insomnia
Full, from dinner. Spicy beef and rice with black beans repeat. The last traces of tequila complete their work. I keep drinking water. No matter how bloated I feel. Or how sleepy. windchime rises,...
When Mowing, Mow
Haibun The tractor mower drives toward the pygmy Chinese Maple. The engine’s drone, heard through ear protectors. The stiff steering wheel, gripped in gloved hands. The long grasses stretch to the sun. solstice beside...
A Missed Invitation
Mira and two of her nieces are outside. I stepped into Mom’s bedroom. She sat at her desk. The TV beside her played a Law and Order rerun. Her hair rested unbrushed and straight....
A Cook Against the Storm
Haibun I turn on the barbeque just as a horizon-filling bank of rainclouds roll in. A sudden wind arrives. The songbirds’ ensemble speeds with urgency. I race this oncoming storm. The stakes? Our sardine...
Morning Thunderstorm
The skylight rattles under a tumult of fresh rain. The windchime dances in a sudden wind; it’s tritonal melody incessantly plays on. Thunder booms. The storm ebbs and flows. Lightning flashes twice. Thunderclaps follow....
First Stitches
Haibun I run in the day care center’s playground. Somewhere past the slide, the jungle gym and some swings, I slip and fall. My left hand thumps hard against the ground. I stand up....
