Winter is waning, but is it over ? TEN HAIKU

                        perfect sleet cover / except for the imprint / of an oak leaf

                   the great elk / his breakfast just beneath / the dusting of snow

                                 blue jay / on the frozen birdbath / carping?

              in winter's grayness / a ground-level dandelion / brightens . . . portends

                  cat sitting in snow / black on white / next glance, only white

                       a piece of leaf / in my snow ice cream / February's end 

 late-winter cold front / the empty yard swing moving / in the northwest wind 

 warm winter dusk / the sounds of children outside / spawning memories

                                               icicles / yet it's thundering / this morning 

                               going for the mail / to no avail / box lid frozen shut

c 2023, PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

 

POEMS DURING MID-JANUARY THROUGH THE YEARS

 

a windblown leaf

disregarding

the red light

--2003

blizzard

forcing the duo inside

with their wedding plans

--2006

ducks ignoring calls

from the governor

--2005

the expensive doll

meant to impart lesson

of the Depression

--2010

before the ice storm

cutting camellias

for every room

--2013

the young man says

"I hate taking your money"

yet holds out his hand

--2017

four days after snow

temperature warm enough

to open the door

--2021

cold . . . blustery

forced daffodil blossoms

warming the table

--2022

green daffodil spike

on its way to new growth

spearing a dry leaf

--2023

c 2023 PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Mid-November poems

 

four colors of fall

on the foot-high pin oak

field mouse scampers

~ ~ ~ ~

waiting till morning

to photograph the flowers

alas, it's raining

~ ~ ~ ~

in darkness' chill

gossiping geese fly

to safe nesting place

~ ~ ~ ~

her father's pickup

      collateral

for her student loan

~ ~ ~

A bird,

a butterfly,

a falling leaf all flit

and flutter under the orange

dogwood.

Soft glow

of the mantel

decorated for fall:

Lisa's churn, autumn leaves, pumpkins,

gourds, nuts.

scratching itself

the young squirrel nibbles

on last year's acorns

~ ~ ~ ~

c 2022, Pat Laster dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Fingers, fist, knees or noses: a Gardenia pattern poem

 

HOT SPRINGS, 

October 24, 1939

In an effort to reduce 

stealing of bird dogs, 

Police Lt. . . Kauffman began taking the noseprints of such animals at the Whittington Avenue fire station this afternoon. More than 50 owners had impressions taken of the noses of their dogs. A charge of 50 cents was made to cover actual expenses, and for this the owners got the dogs' noseprints . . . ADG.

The sheriff proposes

that printin' dogs' noses

will cut down on thievin'

and keep us from grievin[.

Let's stop all our riddlin'

and fork out a piddlin'

four bits (fifty cents)

to cover expense.

We'll keep those illegals

from stealin' our beagles!

c 2022, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR, from VARIATIONS, Second Printing, 1995

Early September poems from then till now

 

BEGINNER BAND CONCERT

Driving

100 miles

just to hear his grandson

play the trumpet for 11

minutes.

-- September Cinquains, 2003

~ ~ ~~ ~

bookstore window

in the university town

Latin Can Be Fun

--from A Patch of Yellow, 2005

~ ~ ~ ~

MIKU (minimalist haiku)

butterfly

dropping

into salvia bed

from just before dawn, 2006

~ ~ ~ ~

teaching

her friends' grandchildren

Sunday School songs

from a lamp to work by, 2012

~ ~ ~ ~

early September

the last red leaf falls

fom the poinsettia

from a crisp brown leaf, 2015

~ ~ ~ ~

ON LABOR DAY

Ancient

stand of yucca

finally sprouts 3 bloom

stalks after I decide they are

barren.

from September Cinquains, 2018

~ ~ ~ ~

EDEN'S DRAWBACKS

Living

in Florida

a prime example of

risky behavior: 3 cyclones

this month.

from September Cinquains, 2020

~ ~ ~ ~

flood's detritus: a

purple/yellow basketball

and empty birdcage

from fishing off the dock 2021

~ ~ ~ ~

bobbing

in the newly-formed lake

a neighborhood of roofs

from train whistles at night, 2022

c 2022, Pat Laster dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

MID-AUGUST POEMS FROM PAT

 

                                         Hello again. Seems I can't manage to be regular at blogging.

Here are some poems for mid-August from several of my monthly booklets I mail to friends who've expressed an interest in them.

cool, crisp summer nights--

deer sniffing around coolers

in sight of campers 

--from "Connecting Our Houses," a year's flip calendar, '95

~ ~ ~ ~

hurricane's wake

more shells in the dune

than on the beach

-- from "It's August Already?" 2003

~ ~ ~ ~

the inland cousin

rubbing wet sand into

the jellyfish sting

--from "only sky and sand" 2005

~ ~ ~ ~

orange mushrooms 

in the mesh of grass fern

a dragonfly rests

--from "fishing in the clouds" 2010

~ ~ ~ ~

overnight

the lilac beautyberries

turn purple

--from "the lighter side of darkness" 2012

~ ~ ~ ~

mimicking me

the cat reaching out her paw

as I pass the bed

--from "along the walking trail" 2020

~ ~ ~ ~

on Mom's birthday

eating a nectarine

in her memory

--from "all of a sudden" 2021

~ ~ ~ ~

"Rain's coming"

the online forecast says

it's only raining leaves

--from "maple leaves sing" 2022

c 2022, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

It's already late June?? Poems

 

tree trunk encroaching

on grave marker

T - A - Y - L -

~ ~ ~ ~

thunderstorm

unleashing a 2-inch rain

--he surfs the street

~ ~ ~ ~

old stuccoed buildings

the color of summer melons

         the rusty gate~ ~ ~ ~

following to see

why the cat creeps to the door

--the neighborhood tom

~ ~ ~ ~

slower and slower

up Martindale Hill

a crow in the pine

~ ~ ~ ~

picking up the pace

airplane & thunder above

the walking trail

~ ~ ~ ~

c 2022, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA