Haiku For the Soft and the Thorny
From Cactus to Rabbits
I have a variety of haiku today.
First is one about cholla. I love to look over the hillsides in the early morning and see their blonde or silver tops thrusting up amid the greener branches of mesquite and palo verde.
When the sun lights their thousands of needle-sharp thorns, they appear softer, and some species even look furry—hence the name “Teddy Bear Cholla” for one.
They are not plants to be tampered with lightly. But they have their place in the desert ecosystems and, to this poet’s eye, in the personalities that surround me.
Along the rough slopes
they pause, dancers disheveled,
startled by sunrise.
As the days become hotter and brighter in the desert, shade becomes more critical.
Where wall makes shadow
the rabbit on my doorstep
is glad for welcome
And finally here are two haiku for night…
Pale sheep of the sky
the unearthly gleam of moon
lights the silver lambs
Rabbits tiptoeing
in the quiet of moonlight
I too am a ghost
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Ooh I hate trying to advertise like this! Does it sound as shtick as I think? Anyway, I really am grateful to all my subscribers! It’s lovely to be able to share my work with people who enjoy reading it! And it’s true that right now especially, those paid subscriptions do make their mark in my admittedly lean bank account, ha!
Much love to all of you!
Substack always reminds me to add a subscription button, so here it is.
Christine, the first poem about moonlight was lovely and I so appreciate the new words... "puissant." Thank you :-)
(And your mentioning paid subscriber options doesn't sound 'schtick' ... Folks who value your work want to support you. The NPR model, right?)
Those disheveled dancers will stay with me ...!