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Francine Porad's Haiku
wearing
the first bloom
of the camellia tree
the old woman
country
garden
bordered with railroad ties
end to end
rhododendron buds
child caught between
yes and no
neighbour child
at the door selling
my cereus bloom
autumn
breeze
leaves and their shadows fill
the roof garden
forsythia
holding its arch
windless cold
surgery tomorrow
we talk of flowers
thick lilac blooms
on the tree half
left standing
big
birthday
the mirror no longer reflects
my self-image
echoing
cry of an old woman
m a m a...
class reunion:
filling the distance
with words
spellbound husband-
his wife's version
of their courtship
steaming
tea-
old photographs
losing definition
steady rain
inside a pitcher plant
a fly floats
poplar trees shedding
we hunt
for his gravestone
our dialogue
his eyes never leave
his reflection
folded flag
in a Safeway bag
fifth of July
solitaire
I win
all the games
November
sunshine
a six-inch carpet of leaves
for the tree house
desert
heat
cactus flowers stand
away from their spines
love
poem read aloud
splintered light
of a billion stars
a
matron
pockets the fluted shell
ginko moon
snapped
line-
the salmon's full length
in the air
duet:
a finch at the feeder
the caged parakeet
retired engineer planting petunias precisely
silenced by a stroke her hateful tongue
temple bells a stranger blesses me
late
fall
skeleton of the tree
on each leaf back
misty
morning
an Art Deco handrail adorned
with spider webs
stormy
night
still one bright star
for wishing
eye
surgery
the shimmer
of moonlight
school
open house
Mrs. Thompson atop her desk
swinging long legs
teacher
invites Daddy
to discuss my schoolwork
without Mom
long
night
I adjust my breathing
to his
an
ant scurries
between raindrops
another biopsy
at
odds today
crow-pecked plums
in the leafy tree
handsome
vendor
my name
on the grain of rice
drawing
a house
with a fenced-in yard
the deaf boy
vacation
beachfront
tossed back in the waves
a perfect worry-stone
class
reunion
filling the distance
with words
I
raise my head
from his chest, heartbeats
to crickets
clouds
spill
a torrent of rain
divorce papers
from
my bare shoulder
he plucks
an imaginary speck
cardiologist
heaping butter
on a sweet roll
another
disguise
the stranger
in last night's dream
ikebana
arthritic
fingers taper
the slender branches
finding
father
in Frans Hals painting
how his eyes sparkle
all
this talk of war
baby's mouth
quivers in sleep
threat
of war
new moon's face
completely in shadow
poolside,
we chat
about reincarnation
no longer strangers
baby's giggle the way a smile changes two faces
long
commuter ride
a stranger discusses
his incontinence
spring
cleaning
all the forget-me-nots
tossed by the gardener
Mother's
Day
gift-wrapped box of chocolates
one piece missing
snapped
line
the salmon's full length
in the air
late
fall
the skeleton of the tree
on each leafback
the
waves roll
fracturing the sun
into a hundred stars
crab
washed
ashore
each feeler intact
early
morning
the slanted shadow
of the pink house
monastery
the
all-white room
hoards the sunlight
tide's
in
slipping through her fingers
sun sparkle
bursting
free
from a box-shaped pruning
forsythia branches
arctic
storm
the trees' frozen drips
pointing skyward
heavy
snowfall
the last bus leaves
in chains
blank
calendar
not only a new year
a new life
high
tide
a slippery fish
makes off with the bait
joggers
feet
maintain the rhythm
pounding waves
tiny
gecko
in my shower,
please use the guest bath!
time
out
handcuffed to a chair
his sisters doll
signaling
spring
dozens of doves
lovie-dovie
hospital
masks in place
dad runs through falling debris
babe in his arms
late
spring
house plant's spotted leaves
removed
migrating
birds
grains of sand tumble
from her notebook
still
hunched at the computer
beginning to see the light
these
boots
are made for walking--
Beal Street blues
line
forms on the right
all the voting booths
occupied
New
York, New York
under construction
kids on scaffolding
bird
house empty of seed
even the jays
look for Bernard
autumn
wind
ochre saturates
a fresh canvas
night
clouds
touching
the city's aura
drone
deep in sweet alyssum -
Indian summer
tear-stained
faces
within and beyond
the TV set
stifled
giggles
behind the gazebo
summer wine
twilight
deepens
the wordless things
I know
mirrored
image stares
back at me, then forms the face
I show to strangers
house
guest directions:
at the sunflower on 33rd
turn right
long
night
I adjust my breathing
to his
a
life confirmed
I knit my joy
with pastel yarn
side
by side -
shriveling camellias
snowy white plum
crab
washed ashore
each feeler intact
frog
in the pocket
second childhood
hopping out
http://www.millikin.edu/haiku/writerprofiles/FrancinePorad.html
http://www.worldhaiku.net/poetry/eng/us/f.porad.htm
http://mothertongued.com/francine/carmensselections.htm
http://www.poetrylives.com/SimplyHaiku/SHv1n1/pages/porad.html
http://www.haikuhut.com/Short%20Stuff%20V/Francine%20Porad.htm