mydailyhaiku

mydailyhaiku.com

home the haiku autumn 2004 next

by Chris Smith

22 September 2004 - 6 December 2004

An Epic in Five Haiku

9-22-04 empty spider web

billows in the evening breeze

oddly incomplete

9-23-04 eight delicious legs

dangle around the wren's beak

she flies dinner home

9-24-04 exhausted mayfly

tangled and twitching concedes

where is my venom?

9-25-04 the torn web flutters

hatchlings in a distant nest

blindly beg for more

9-26-04 too small to bother

a young spider spins his web

late into the night

***

9-27-04 yes this new towel

is soft like a chick's down, but

fuzzies in my beard

9-28-04 fragrant asters sway

in still air, on each flower

a diligent bee

9-29-04 triangle of shade

at the end of the building

where smokers gather

9-30-04 the evening sun draws

my shadow long beside me

my feet a foot high

10-1-04 poor daffodil bulbs

so confused by the transplant

sprouting through the frost

10-2-04 cool October night

under floodlights the road crew

gathers up their signs

10-3-04 miscalculation

a dead cow with rigid legs

struck down by lightning

10-4-04 with one flying leap

the chipmonk clears the shoulder

no, you can't hit me

10-5-04 a stand with fresh grapes

as we bike through the vineyards

the perfect rest stop

10-6-04 I zip my jacket

as the stiff October wind

gears up for winter

10-7-04 lost bicyclists

sniff out a doughnut shop to

ask for directions

10-8-04 watch out for that snake!

don't worry, his head is flat

a car got him first

10-9-04 a cat patrolling

the border of the vineyard

pauses, disappears

10-10-04 pruned for winter

the brittle brown stems shiver

in the autumn wind

10-11-04 trees in the forest

not so random as you think

planted by squirrels

10-12-04 autumn afternoon

I drive with the windows down

fresh decaying smell

10-13-04 I see our porch lamp

so warm in the chilly night

my love is waiting

10-14-04 ugly potted plant

so overgrown but I still

water it weekly

10-15-04 a recent widow

starts sobbing in the kitchen

stacking spoon in spoon

10-16-04 all men's pride at stake

the couch squeeks and groans as it

squeezes through the door

10-17-04 urban tumbleweed

I had to swerve to avoid

rolling garbage cans

10-18-04 birds trying to roost

near the exit ramp take flight

with each passing car

10-19-04 I drop my shovel

to watch geese fly overhead

in V formation

10-20-04 after traversing

the wet sidewalk, a worm slips

into the garden

10-21-04 perfect orange leaves

spaced evenly on the floor

of the store window

10-22-04 our tangled embrace

we could be found one day like

lovers in Pompeii

10-23-04 my handkerchief shows

more that just leaves turn yellow

at this time of year

10-24-04 no nothing fancy

maybe that place with its name

shingled in the roof

10-25-04 notebooks in their laps

new believers shed tears for

their self-help guru

10-26-04 two red lights appear

from the fog like dragon's eyes

better hit the brakes

10-27-04 a broken feather

spirals upon the air where

the hawk snatched its prey

10-28-04 I could see my breath

as I hurried to the car

it's still October

10-29-04 we circle noses

with our noses, her nose feels

cold against my cheek

10-30-04 last night's fallen leaves

now form a wet yellow skirt

underneath the tree

10-31-04 children warm in bed

a sunken jack-o'-lantern

flickers in the night

11-1-04 I hear my father

in the clatter of blown leaves

walking beside me

11-2-04 although a cold rain

portends winter, change feels good

on election day

11-3-04 rusty shopping cart

with one wheel spinning freely

rattles past my car

11-4-04 no you silly dog

that's not a frog or a mouse

just a blowing leaf

11-5-04 climbing over a

bank of gray November clouds

a cold sun rises

11-6-04 green lawn, leaves piled high

I'm sorry but wind is in

tomorrow's forecast

11-7-04 after a long walk

when dinner is in the dog

that's when I relax

11-8-04 calm November lake

smooth and reflective like it's

covered with fresh ice

11-9-04 invigorated

by his first snowfall, puppy

pulls hard on his leash

11-10-04 above the city

a pink haze fills the night sky

a warm breeze descends

11-11-04 la da-dah da-dah

goes the song in my head as

I take a day off

11-12-04 a house facing north

its chapped door a frozen scream

under dark windows

11-13-04 the night stand rattles

from the movement in the bed

the candle flickers

11-14-04 old dog licks her paws

then sneaks upstairs with hopes of

sleeping on the bed

11-15-04 cold November sun

when it does shine is so bright

through the naked trees

11-16-04 in the gray morning

I could see my puppy's breath

hot around her face

11-17-04 the leaves have fallen

they lie in sticky wet clumps

too heavy to rake

11-18-04 as I walk past it

a bloated earthworm retracts

safe into the earth

11-19-04 a fog so heavy

light from the street lamp doesn't

even touch the street

11-20-04 bare November trees

reveal log cabins that I

never knew were there

11-21-04 in the dark coatroom

their coats hang close together

his coat spooning hers

11-22-04 my puppy watches

over my yard, her kingdom

from the back door stoop

11-23-04 my love showers first

I roll onto the warm spot

in bed where she slept

11-24-04 my cross-eyed headlights

lead the way as I travel

through the foggy night

11-25-04 winter's first flurries

stick to the cold dead ground of

the cemetery

11-26-04 driven by instinct

shoppers swarm into the store

clawing for bargains

11-27-04 blue icicle lights

hang from the eaves so still in

the deep frozen night

11-28-04 crooked Christmas tree

fifty years of ornaments

make it just perfect

11-29-04 EMERGENCY ROOM

patients in wheelchairs outside

for a smoking break

11-30-04 while puppy pees

a specter in the window wags

her boney finger

12-1-04 the cloud cover breaks,

briefly reveals a blue sky

before darkness falls

12-2-04 leaving Buffalo

our jet breaks through heavy clouds

into the blue sky

12-3-04 winter's low half moon

smoggy orange, almost warm

in the cold night sky

12-4-04 I slept so late and

December nights fall early

I missed the daylight

12-5-04 cold aluminum

saps all my strength as I climb

to clean the gutters

12-6-04 on my dormant lawn

in the halflight before dawn

puppy finds her spot