Simply Haiku: An E-Journal of Haiku and Related Forms
November-December 2004, Volume 2, Number 6
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  Prologue: Being fascinated by Thoreau, I spent the night with the first summer moon at his cabin site on Walden Pond. I don't remember when I fell asleep but I was awakened by the noise of hundreds of birds. When sunlight touched the top of a tall pine tree, I got up to see the sunrise. By the tree I found a hawk feather. A hawk nest by Thoreau's cabin--dwellings of two solitary spirits.  
     
 
  Nijuin: Hawk Feather      
  summer morning
a hawk feather
by Thoreau's cottage		 Tadashi  
  a single cooling breeze
on the glacier pond 		Allen  
  slowly towards the shade
feeling pebbles
beneath the feet		 Yumiko  
  listening to the women
tell funny stories		 Arawana  
 
   
  startled by the clatter
two cats fight
in bright moonlight		 Allen  
  a hooker welcomes her pimp
with a bouquet of mums		 Tadashi  
  under the red maple
he glances
she lowers her gaze		 Arawana  
  ants moving about
in quiet disorder		 Yumiko  
  united nations of poets
spreads its roots far and wide
awakening politicians		 Tadashi  
  war songs ring out
with mountain artillery		 Allen  
 
   
  in a tent
mother, father and kids
wrap themselves in a blanket		 Yumiko  
  while Amaterasu hides in a cave
her brother lights the frozen sky		 Arawana  
  seven ancient cedars
dancing with the dancer
a smile warms her face		 Allen  
  death on her belly
with wine and flowers		 Tadashi  
  arising from a misty dream
the ghost of a young man
abandoned, fades away

Arawana

  
  teardrops
like shimmering stars		 Yumiko  
 
   
  after whale watching
the fast boat
heads for city lights		 Tadashi  
  thin remnants of ice
decorate the river's banks		 Allen  
  collecting blossoms
along the promenade
the smell of mowed grass		 Yumiko  
  just finished with taxes
peepers everywhere		 Arawana  
         
 

Composed by Z*A at Jo Ha Kyu Studio, Boston
June 2004
led by Tadashi Kondo

  
 

Amaterasu: the Sun Goddess in Japanese mythology. When Izanagi and Izanami created the world she was born to rule everything under the sun. Her brother Susano'o was so violent she got angry and hid herself in a cave, then the world turned dark.
Death on her belly: Death of a male partner during love making. It is considered by some men as an ideal way to go to paradise.