window washers
hanging ten stories up-
spider starts anew
As I watch the window washers I think about the spiders that built there webs up there and how upset they must be. But they will start again and rebuild as soon as the washers move on. This is the attitude we must take when life deals us hardship.
runner heading
for the finish line-
coward hides his face
In reading about the explosion in Boston I was moved by one runner who had just FINISHED the race. They had just put the heat blanket wrap on him when he heard the first blast.
“I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor,” he said. “We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs.
This is compassion in action.
mosquito larva
on the stagnant pool-
future Buddhas
Our mind is the stagnant pond. If we recognize the Buddha within ourselves the larva will hatch and our mind will flow in harmony.
chicks breaking
through the shell-
flower festival
Today is Hanamatsuri or Flower festival. It is also the time we celebrate the birth of the Buddha. Just as a chick breaks through its shell to be born we too must break through our ego to be born a compassionate being. May today be your birth too.
a tule fog
covers the valley-
fasten seat-belts
I read about Tule fog and likes the image so much that I composed the above haiku.
A Tule fog (pronounced too-lee) is a very thick fog that collects in parts of California during the rainy season of the late fall and winter. It is a type of radiation fog, caused by the combination of increased humidity due to the rain and rapid cooling due to the longer nights. Tule fog makes for very low visibility and is the cause of many accidents every year.
a smile on my
face upon seeing you-
a moment of nirvana
Daffodils wilting
in the return to winter-
stubborn old man
clutch of hens
scratching at the dirt-
seniors meeting today
Today I had to chuckle as I was at the library and heard a sound familiar to me. But it was out of place! The sound was of a clutch of hens having their morning feed and chatting. As I got closer I saw the sign that said “senior women’s meeting today.”
Now of course I had to look in and they were in their little groups, standing around sipping coffee and snacking. I guess some things are the same regardless of species.
a robin shakes
off the morning dew-
mental cobwebs
the wet grass
from last night’s storm-
unmade bed
Yesterday we had winds above 50mph and it blew in a late storm. As I look at the garden bed, and how the soil soaked up the rain I see it is nearing time get to work planting.
