Last Year's Haibun

Most of the following were written last July through November. The first few date back to the prime fall hurricane months. They've all been repeatedly rejected by Haiku Publications online and otherwise, but who cares; fuck it. If you are from Florida, you know how the air feels just before a storm at that time of year.

The coolness;
Cockroaches rustling,
The wind in the palms

Rain beats the thicket
But, here inside--
A snail

***

East Orlando Baptist had pumpkins for sale last Halloween. They were sitting on their soccer field; saw them as I drove to work the morning after a big storm had passed fairly close by.

The pumpkins,
Just as they were
Before the hurricane

If you've ever bitten your nails through many Baptist "invitations" you might perceive a wholly unintentional hymn reference in that last one. Anyway, this was written five minutes later, while walking past the retention pond:

The white egret,
Blown away by
A gust of cold wind

***

I got on a big Darjeeling kick last summer at work. I drank about sixteen cups a day. When school is out the workdays are pretty long; you're often working out back and sweating in the heat putting freight shipments together: scoring cardboard, stretchwrapping, banding, building crates, that sort of thing. Usually in the afternoons the thunderheads start to loom, and then the sky darkens; when the first large drops fall hissing onto the blacktop, there's always that good, earthy smell. Do you know what I mean? And it's even better if someone has recently cut the grass.

After work,
Drops of rain
In my tea

***

At 1403 N. Ferncreek we had--and, sad to say, still have--a colony of medium-sized gray rats that are always getting into one of the kitchen cupboards. I caught a bunch of them with traps, but they kept on coming, and are now smarter than ever. I was reading a lot of Basho around the time I broke up with my girlfriend...

In my loneliness
Even the kitchen mice
Keep to themselves

***

Sophia bought me a yearlong pass to Sea World for my birthday last year. Yes, Journey to Atlantis is awesome. No, I don't get tired of touching the stingrays. My only request is please be more creative when you name the newborn killer whales. They name around 80% of them Shamu. This was written one day at Sea World:

The seeing eye dog
Is tentatively sniffing...
Chrysanthemums

***

Finally, here are a couple more assorted ones...must go to sleep...mosquitos and citrus need no introduction around here:

The ripe orange landed
With a thud, and then...
It started to rain

Afraid of the bug-light,
The mosquitos
Hide in the moon