Goodbye to March

HAIKU
late dusk . . . honking,
a short skein of geese
flies north
~~~

charcoal-colored clouds
move between the moon
and the star
~~~

with the bulldozer
next door, it's hard to hear
the mockingbirds, jays
~~~

finally, blooms--
maroon, pinky-finger size--
on the mailbox vine
~~~

CINQUAIN
"40,000-60,000 Insects"

He said,
"Whew! Now I can
rest easier since that
darned bee colony is gone from
my house."
(from News in Brief, ADG)
~~~

"Face to Face"

The pope
and dictator
--both old, representing
disparate truth and world views--sit
and talk.
(from the newspaper)
~~~

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

Day by day: a week's worth of (mostly new) poems

March 22 -

CINQUAIN
Our man
Blagojevich
will lose his signature
black helmet hair while in prison.
No dyes.
(from a news article)
~~~

March 21 -

HAIKU
after the rain
the irises drooping
the dogwood a-bloom
~~~

March 20 -

HAIK-SEN
the hot-air balloon
with the pilot still inside
sucked into storm clouds
(from a news article)
~~~

March 19 -

SENRYU
"Bath on your birthday!"
(muffled, beneath his covers)
"Five more minutes, please."
(2003- grandson's 13th b.d.)
~~~

March 18 -

HAIKU
outside, reading
later, oak catkins
clinging to my robe
~~~

HAIKU
tornado
"melting back into the clouds"
after ten miles a-ground
(from a news article)
~~~

CINQUAIN
Iris
blossoms above
fading vintage jonquils
that kept their puffy yellow
till now.
~~~

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

A poetic bow to the birds

CINQUAIN

Bright blue
wings flutter from
wire to the greening grass.
It's rare to see a bluebird, so
I watch.
~~~

HAIKU

male cardinal bathes
in the fresh water ... three ... four
sparrows join him
~~~

CINQUAIN

Between
the noise of cars,
I hear a woodpecker,
spring peepers and a gentle wind-
chime tone.
~~~

CINQUAIN

Mocker
at the birdbath;
flies two feet to the bush
of beautyberries. Inside, my
nose drips.
~~~

HAIKU

college's spring break
only a team of robins
on the baseball field
(published in Haiku Headlines, 2003)
~~~

HAIKU

the flock of blackbirds
down the street just yesterday
now in my backyard
(published in the Premier edition of Hermitage [Romania] 2004)
~~~

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

The newspaper spawns "found" cinquains

CANNOT IMAGINE
Drilling
through more than twelve
thousand feet of solid
ice--that took a decade--they found
water.
~~~

SUPREME COURT QUANDARY
Are lies
protected by
the First Amendment--those
words used to falsely claim service
medals?
~~~

ANOTHER QUANDARY
Whose rights
come first, patients
or pharmacists? To sell
Plan B or not, according to
beliefs?
~~~

IS THERE NO SAFE PLACE?
Bullets
flying across
the Mexican border
hit an El Paso woman in
the leg.
~~~

MY OPINION
Looks like
the only way
to tax the ultra-rich
is to threaten Congresspeoples'
pensions.
~~~
c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

Tornadoes and floods wreak havoc

two views--the same twister:
"Couldn't-see-anything rain,"
"It was a white sheet."
~~~

96-year old
sent back to the schoolhouse
nursing home flooded
~~~

"May I have these, please?"
"My only pair of houseshoes?"
"You don't have a house."
~~~

neighbor helps neighbor
friend pulls friend from the rubble
smell of lumber yard
~~~

stricken mayor
"Hadn't cried in 50 years
till I saw the flood"
~~~

older man gives up
"Don't have the strength to rebuild
. . . or the time."
~~~

leaving the compound
for higher, drier ground
red ants and inmates
~~~

through the flooded street
a man and his dog riding
the rescue truck
~~~

a tornado
razes downtown instantly
raising takes longer
~~~

effects of storms
never fully disappear
a limp, a cry, dreams . . .
~~~

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press