Cuttings - June
Michael P. Garofalo
June
Red Bluff, Tehama County, California
cool night--
watering the orchard
in the moonlight
new moon--
my flashlight
cuts a path
June snowflakes:
cottonwood fluff
floating on the breeze.
midnight moon--
three mares
traced by shadows
Weeds turn yellow as the days grow long;
we move the sprinkler on the lawn.
covered
with ants--
dead lizard
disappearing ......... bit by bit
Spotted dog
lusting to kill a lamb--
shot dead.
Broken pencil--
anyway,
I'm short on
words.
Eastern sun
between Cascades and clouds--
glowing red hollyhocks.
Cherries and berries
ripening fast--
her sweet lips are red.
Loose mind
jumping out of its skin--
a rattlesnake.
Nimble fingers picking
fistfuls of cherries--
spitting pits.
Graduation Day
pat on my son's back--
cameras flash.
Coming, here, gone:
Flowers in the Sky.
In the blink of one false eye,
In the blink of One True Eye,
flowers in the empty sky;
Shimmering, scented ... gone,
Gone, gone, gone far beyond
Their seeds of arising.
But, staying, Here-Now,
A Great Marvel of Manifestation.
Bodhisvattas - for the bees.
Gardens for the eyes,
gardening for the hands--
a flashlight in the dark.
Early morning
purple clouds--
flies on my pants.
Swat! Swat!
more flies fall ...
her aim is true.
Crazy Cloud Ikkyu--
skin on a skeleton
listening to the dead.
My son's old friend, tall and tan,
a different person, now a man.
I dreamt I died.
Followed by
Green plums
bend their branches,
bowing to Pomona.
Sharing the windstreams--
cattails and
cottonwoods
casting
cottony seeds.
Removing cattails
till the pond is clear--
six empty bird nests.
Frogs leaping
far into the pond,
ahead of a snake.
Late rain
softening dry ground--
drips off my nose.
White sun
behind a black cloud--
moon flowers curling up.
Walking the fence line, eyes downcast;
humming a rock tune, smiling at last.
Raccoon up the willow,
dog nearby--
both tensed:
eye to eye.
No flowers, no bees;
No bees, no flowers.
Blooming and buzzing,
Buzzing and blooming;
Married and still in Love.
If you have a hoe, She will give you
another.
If you don't have a hoe, She will take it away.
Magpies hop and squawk to start our day,
begging for dog food in the feeder tray.
As night turns to day
mountains appear ...
I stretch and yawn.
Full opal moon
rises above Lassen forest--
laughter around campfires.
The
smell of wet clay on a warm Spring day;
in a shaded orchard, sprinklers tick and
spray.
Prop plane
roaring as it turns--
everyone
looks up.
Last day of school
drags on and on--
cheering at the final bell.
Carefully
locking library doors--
Treasures in a
safe.
Memories of a teacher
dead for decades--
refreshed in a dream.
Squirming,
uncomfortable with the truth--
liars listen.
a crying
daughter
makes a midnight call--
Love is awkward
Cutting down
a dry dead tree:
pull to cut, pull to cut, pull to cut .....
Laker Championships
won and lost
in the squeaking of seconds.
Long-legged whore
shadowed by streetlights--
shiny boots.
Sitting still
in deep shade--
the dog licks my
sweaty arm.
Since daybreak,
hoeing and mowing ...
siesta time.
After the long wait ...
twisted wreckage,
glancing at death.
North Valley Heat
attacked!
Spring died.
Last day of Spring
ripe purple plums drop--
form is emptiness.
First day of Summer
ditch completely dry--
emptiness is form.
b b b b b
b b
o o o o o o o
x x x x x x x
e e e e e e e
d d d d d d d
i i i i i i i
n n n n n n n
Bouncing on the tractor as the day moves to dusk;
Mulching up dry weeds, trailed by dust.
Huge white oleanders
hide tiny black flies ...
Yang solstice.
Crack!
kitchen faucet breaks--
priorities change.
Vociferous killdeers
limp away--
eggs on gravel.
Quang Duc poured the gasoline
Over his head till it soaked to his feet;
He sat down calmly on a Saigon street,
Straightened his robe, his purpose keen:
To Protest Injustice and the horrors of war.
Lighting the match - he Exploded in Flames.
One image from 'Nam was burned in my brain.
-
June 11, 1963
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Haiku
Poetry
Links
and References
Footsteps
on the Stones of Epiphanies
Short
Poems by Michael P. Garofalo
Haiku, Couplets, Senryu, Free Verse, Quatrains, Fragments
Author
Index to Haiku Poetry on the Internet
Comments About the Poetry Notebooks of Mike Garofalo
One
Short of a Baker's Dozen
Sonnets, 10-16 Line Free Verse Poems, Rengay, Haibun
By Michael P. Garofalo
Teaching Haiku Poetry: Links, References and Quotes
The
Body as Audience
by
Ann
Gleeson
Quotes for Gardeners
Quotes, Sayings, Proverbs, Poetry, Maxims, Quips,
Cliches, Adages, Wisdom
A Collection Growing to Over 2,700 Quotes Arranged by Over 130 Topics
Many of the Documents Include Recommended Readings and Internet Links.
Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo
Pulling Onions
By Michael P. Garofalo
Quips and Observations of a Gardener
Copyrighted © 1999 - 2001 by Michael P. Garofalo. All rights reserved.
I Welcome Your Comments, Ideas, Contributions, and
Suggestions
E-mail Mike Garofalo in Red Bluff, California
A Short Biography of Mike Garofalo
Garofalo's Poetry Notebook II
Cuttings: June - Hot Spring Days
Short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo
64K, 30 April 2002, Version 4.3.
Distributed on the Internet since September 1, 1999.
The History of Gardening Timeline
Haiku and Short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo
