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James Kirkup's Haiku

"A haiku a day / keeps the doctor away"

Mountain berries ripe -
even the droppings of birds
are a deep purple

In the village pond
the full moon is shaken by
the first falling leaf

I switched off the light
over the kitchen sink, and
the frogs stopped croaking

Waterfall roaring -
though the sparrow sings unheard,
still he keeps singing

The pond's dark waters -
only stepping stones covered
with the first snowfall

A butterfly fans
one buttercup, and then fans
one more buttercup

In the amber dusk
Each island dreams its own night--
The sea swarms with gold.

As they toll for Mass
bells start shaking off first snow
deep in the valleys

A fractured rainbow
Is straining under thunderbolt clouds with
Cathedral quiet.