SUMMER Moods

A Dictionary of Haiku
Jane Reichhold

being loved

wind perfumed
from a woman's shoulder
desert night

after loving

leaving the beach
only she has sand
on her back

sand
where lovers laid
a shallow depression

summer sun
drops of sweat mingle
with sperm

eyelids closed
the naked sleepers
curled into fish

lying naked
open to summer stars
this old couple

the whole bed
yet he lays his head
in my hand

sea fog
hiding morning-mussed hair
places you've kissed

sweeping the floor
sunrise on papers
left by lovers

anger

he's angry again
alone on the porch
with a red star

hot air
his arguments
on my face

crumpled silence
after the argument
moth wings

our angry silence
old faithful geyser
blows off steam

this heat
the harp too
out of tune

the neighbor lady
scolding her child
is also god

being lazy

picking up sleep
where you left it at dawn
afternoon nap

sun from the east
ocean waves from the west
our entertainment

dancing

dancing on the beach
I jab a stick into the sky
to break up the blue

white dance
in the beach walk skirt
folds of moonlight

I come to you clothed
only in the dampness of fog
and our dancing

delight in the new

hard glances
the sun on the sea
a virile man

she
showing him a sea cave
and more

almond nails
pressed into brown skin
a faint perfume

moon lights
houses of hermit crabs
my damp blanket

desire to travel

star paths
the tender roots
of passion

voices
bridging the stream
stepping stones

your voice
tying me to the desert
toast pops up

airport phone call
the heart leaves
without luggage

flying
the mountains bend down
to our meeting

dread of autumn

koi dart and hide
from the net dipped
coming of autumn

departing summer
and when it's gone
the river's low

one leaf floats
in the sand castle's moat
end of summer

circus acrobats
come to the end of summer
leaping and falling

dreaming

asleep in a boat
to dream the dreams
of water lilies

desert nights
the clarity of dreams
warm and real

dream dancer
sleeping without a pillow
on scarred boards

remembering a dream
and then the circus
was over

eyes closed
knowing by heart
the rest

- for Virgilio

enjoyment

days so complete
words become the calls of birds
the high tide wind

only borrowed
this summer day
this beach

wet silk
cupping her breast
night river

outdoor shower
bathed in sun colors
of hot water

slipping into the pool
naked divides the night
sun-warmed waters

gentle nights
of desert wind
a woman's breast

touching myself
your name
on my lips

placing the flute
against her lips something
slips into place

fickleness

British pub
an unfaithful man blows
suds from his beer

getting into bed
the stranger
even browner

eating melon
bites given on the point
of his knife

fullness

the blood circle
mother and daughter wading
in the surf

I'm not old
all night my eyes have held
the ancient stars

with the ocean's roar
I climb the hills home
not alone

sweeping bare floors
the summer empty cabin
very full

happiness

glowing
a flag unfurls
native happiness

long summer day
how many animals
I've been

on a bright sunny day
comes your smiling face
light added to light

just two stars
yet our eyes are closed
in ecstasy

high cliff
the heart beats the blue sky
like a flaying stick

kissing

kissing
together in a glass
our toothbrushes

desert kisses
hotter
than ever before

morning stars fade
waking a small bird
our lips

laughter

summer night
empty mountain road filled
with our laughter

- for Kenichi Sato

laughter added to the heat
my lover's farts can't kill
mosquitoes

angel wings
propelled through the air
by laughter

loving

tongue
tasting
pink

shapes
pure light the face
of a loved one

blue spots
tattooed with love
from his teeth

lovers
pulse of fire gods
in bubbling waters

lovers
cradled in caves
lovers

hot tongues
the little language
of lovers

lovers
the lamplighted lane
a way away

nights
the grove of little trees
swollen with lovers

moon white water
lovers in the secret cove
Saturday night

just as tangled
paths in the berry patch
lovers

lovers
heat of a summer night
fill the moon

making love
the unevenness of boards
on the porch

skin
touching
whispers

a butterfly
from your finger
light touches

following wet tracks
into the secret garden
he enters

hovering hums
mosquitoes watch us
making love

memories

packing
between unworn shirts
sea sounds

moments of forever
beach day chitin
fossil in lava

gazing into fires
seals in my mind
wind-water pictures

red marks
from your white teeth
mosquito bites

curving sandstone cliffs
the yellow school bus
where time stands still

memories
over a river of sunlight
a time bridge

oneness

the narrow bed
we breath each other
all afternoon

on bare arms
the noon-day sun melted
hot metal sweet

before the summer storm
rises the close smell
of two skins

after paying
the whore seems to be
someone's sister

applause
scenery painted
by a one-armed boy

openness

company's coming
over-friendly flies
buzzing at the door

prostitute
now a freeway rest area
her mother's home

outdoor fun

finally it's Friday
the passion flower blooms
wrinkling the bedspread

crawling on the bed
tendrils of passion flowers
thick on the porch

shadows of leaves
cover the open holes
her flute forgotten

the sun and hunger
watches without winding
on a summer day

panic

tourist fear
the ocean will ruin
Land's End clothes

clasped hands
holding the nervousness in
his thumbs

in rain in sun
how do you run from your hours
window box zinnia?

shelling peas
the pregnant woman asks
"Is forty old?"

silence
in a knot hole
stares

pride

traveling through
Basho in your town
you in mine

- for Kenichi Sato

relaxed

beach party
losing in the sand
her many years

a world closed
the roar of surf
plugs my ears

quiet evening
all the wind
back in the flute

on vacation
the summer sun
far out to sea

relief

summer stars
finding all the familiar things
edged with morning

campfire embers
all the demons nearly gone
in the morning sun

distance softens
and rounds the hills
our relationship

satisfaction

his penis in her
lightning strikes
very close

a gentle rain
in me
your poems

curve of a wave
holding perfect
a summer day

satisfaction
the cooling breeze
between lovers

my head
resting on the pillow
of your voice

we share these hours
gifts with many small parts
complete together

beaches where no one goes
their share of sand
gentle waves

tiny cabin
distant shelter of woods
and sky within me

temptation

caught between rocks
seaweed in the rising tide
seems to wave to me

smooth sand
following waves
back to the sea

tired

summer weary
the sky leans down an arch
of cypress

asleep
holding your breath
in my hand

wanting to be loved

beach-blown
my sea-foam body
awaits your hand

hot night
legs spread wide
where sleep should be

neon lights blink
glances pass underneath
dark lashes

hung over the bed
the unpainted painting
mosquito netting

Continue on to SUMMER Occasions.