Montara State Beach - Haiku and Variations

Montara State Beach sits just north of the town of Half Moon Bay, California along the historic Pacific Coast Highway 1. Today's post is dedicated to a friend who I learned recently was severely injured in a fall and is fighting to regain the ability to walk. I hope the spirit imbues me with something cool today. This will not be strict Haiku so if you are a purist, you might want to leave now :-)

Scratching at the surface now

trying hard to understand how

so much that goes misunderstood

and why it leads to doubt

perhaps

that doubt is only in me

and I hope it is true

Shucks is a word

that should not have left so soon

the vernacular's spinning carousel

why is such a good word

gone from playgrounds

and school halls

aww shucks, jive my corn

and whittle me a new word

damn this battery

said the man with the apple

she sighed and kept painting

all alone we were

at the end of the afternoon

on this lovely stretch

no worries

while in other parts

there were big concerns

Indian music

Mexican food

Georgian wine

punitive measures

lying liars

food fights

fiction

and fucking

The Happiest Place in the World?

A boy on a rock

Just like that came the fog

Pelicans in Formation

Temperature Plummets

Day is Dusk

The wildest flowers

cannot for a moment

grasp the wildness

of the nearby sea

combers combing

for no reason but to comb

so many images from a day so unscripted

from a life so uncontrolled

Just as it came, the fog lifted

The hard work to endure the dark night of the soul

came just before the truth

The sea birds with their feet tapping

made me know it could be done

This was just temporary

This good and bad, dark and light

stuff we are made of.

We clamor so loudly and the surf and sand

mute us accordingly and appropriately

healing is as much a realization as it is

a conscious act of the will

Haiku Sunday - A Hipstamatic Move

This week's Haiku Sunday is a Hipstamatic Move across the West. It has been a bit since I featured this app and since documenting the journey from Colorado to California this week I felt it an appropriate time for the Haiku and Hipsta!

here he comes riding

lands that were once his now not

because he is now dead

call my agent said

the giant as he made the

valley in two strides

writhing about so

obviously and without

fear of consequences

Sail on Silver Girl

sail on by, your time has come

to shine...who is it?

she stabbed at the ropes

with a toothpick and real hope

free she bled him dry

The giant called again.

Yeah, so what? well, he is pissed and

threatened a boulder

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

Dante

buried up in them hills

is a secret to knowing why all

secrets are not honest

strike strike strike nothing

the serpent fatigued asked the

man how he did it

That's really fucking hot!

We made it he said

double double animal style

shake and fries - goodbye!

Haiku Sunday - The Denver Adventure's Final Days

Haiku Sunday - The Denver Adventure's Final Days is a photo and poetic chronicle of our last two weeks living here in Colorado. Mixed emotions, joy, sadness, and the fear of the unknown all share in this largest HS of all time. (Roll over images with your mouse for the titles)

shining app sized bites

loving the views hating douche

morgue before-after

she tore at the pack

then grabbed scissors to shred the

seams of the cement bag

decisions shaped and

adventures planned taking sip

after sip dreaming

playful turns seem so

innocent till the searing

begins and skin burns

the robiola

melting on the hand while the

kir made her more open

always raw the chef knows

there can be no other way

to build Frankenstein

stirring stirring rice

time stands at bold attention

waiting the flatware

another damn dram

pulled to the lips with a burn

sprayed later from urn

last he had less now

more than before into the jar

not in the glass whore

crying alone is

always better than tears of joy

shed towards losers

wrapped up like a pro

the victim's body smelled fresh

when it hit the steam

a final heaven meal

among angels of the sea

how can we replace?

mister limpet smiled

as he prepared to sound

his horn of demise

the ends of the earth

to find the great fish that are

the end of the earth

rocking rolls of rib

meat in spotlight setting the

mood to imbibe now

days after blue moons

the light now ordinary

but still lights our way

Haiku Sunday - New York (Guest Post)

**The Blissful Adventurer is running about Italy at the moment so in his stead we happily endorse and support the work of the following blogger, Ryan Henisey of lifeasgood. Please check out this post, leave comments for exchange with the author, and give their blog a read.**

K. Ryan Henisey is a teacher, artist and poet living in Los Angeles. He currently spends his days teaching first graders in a public school. In the evenings and along his commute he composes verse and paints. Henisey's work can be seen at lifeasgood.com. He has published pieces for Equal Magazine, Amatistrad Jewelry, and has a collection (Status Haiku) available on Amazon. His ongoing account of creating and teaching a small after school art program can be seen at EALLA.org. Henisey has a Master's in English from CSU Bakersfield. He lives with his partner, a happy dog and a mischievous cat.

New York

The Lincoln Tunnel
Breeds romance; I’ll meet my love
In New York City.

From the bus, I see
The city stir; I’ll soon be
In that living air.

Stations in tile; the
Underground bustles around
Scenes in mosaic.

Concrete, plastic, steel,
Glass, flesh, blood, the rats, morass,
And hope embodied.

Night falls as dawn rose,
Empire State’s top veiled in a
Fine obscuring mist.

The city gleams in
Light and glass, reflected quick
Under passing clouds.

Bryant Park teams with
Visitors; the trees gaily
Laugh in light and breeze.

Asphalt, horns, grinding
Gears – behind the glass; love friends,
And a warm embrace.

Oxidized copper
In filigree recurs and
Speaks; This is New York.

Our lives are made of
Lines – wires, tracks, and roads – real as
Ink upon the page.

~

Thank you, Blissful Adventurer and readers for this guest post. My poetry, photography, and art can be regularly seen at LifeasGood.com. These haiku first appeared on twitter, where I chirp micropoems daily. They are collected in my first volume, Status Haiku, which is available for download on Amazon.

Haiku Sunday - Alaska (Guest Post)

**The Blissful Adventurer is running about Italy at the moment so in his stead we happily endorse and support the work of the following blogger, Ryan Henisey of lifeasgood. Please check out this post, leave comments for exchange with the author, and give their blog a read.**

K. Ryan Henisey is a teacher, artist and poet living in Los Angeles. He currently spends his days teaching first graders in a public school. In the evenings and along his commute he composes verse and paints. Henisey's work can be seen at lifeasgood.com. He has published pieces for Equal Magazine, Amatistrad Jewelry, and has a collection (Status Haiku) available on Amazon. His ongoing account of creating and teaching a small after school art program can be seen at EALLA.org. Henisey has a Master's in English from CSU Bakersfield. He lives with his partner, a happy dog and a mischievous cat.

Above the clouds and
Mountain tops, we dwell a time:
Thirty-thousand feet.

Snow and we are blown
'Cross the windswept road - ice floes
Navigate at sea.

He looks back, concerned
Across the snow, and I'm warmed
By the loving glow.

Bundled in North Face,
I reflect, in the snow, on
Basho - I'm not he.

The snow machines howl
And we're made wolves in the white:
Boys at engine dance.

North on iron tracks -
In the snow, others have left
Cold paths to-and-fro.

Eagle surveys the
Track. We are an iron horse
Under his domain.

Like the loon, hidden
In mist and lake, McKinley
Remains elusive.

Imposing, Northern
Jewel. Denali - rock and ice,
Millennial song.

The interior:
Braided rivers, they move like
me, mercurial.

~

Thank you, Blissful Adventurer and readers for this guest post. My poetry, photography, and art can be regularly seen at LifeasGood.com. These haiku first appeared on twitter, where I chirp micropoems daily. My first volume, Status Haiku, is available for download on Amazon.