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SUMMER Occasions

A Dictionary of Haiku
Jane Reichhold

circus

swirling dust
excitement flickers
within the tent

circus
red flags flutter
hearts

acrobats
unfolding the circus tent
first

outdoor circus
in the center ring
a butterfly

juggling sunshine
on clapping hands
little red hearts

outdoor circus
sun on the brightest costumes
fading

family circus
acrobats lifted high
on joined hands

champion
on the flying trapeze
a butterfly

hearts flying
on the high trapeze
a blond young man

trapeze artists
catching the sun
each other

mountain village
in the one-ring circus
a balance act

juggler
the children's eyes
in his hands

juggling illusions
the circus man
with many balls

circus bleachers
old enemies crowd
close together

circus
backstage the heat
everyone squirms

tinsel flash
under shiny sweat
goose bumps

magic act
wondering where the scarf went
when the wind blew

high wire act
on the ground children dance
arms outstretched

intermission
all the real clowns stand up
and smile

between acts
the quiet music
of bowing trees

clown act
without a tent
the wind as wild

part of the joke
clapping for stagehands
who fix the pole

empty morning light
the trampled grass circle
of the circus tent

dog days

dog days
a bitch in heat
laceless shoes

Flag Day

a field of stars
square and curved
the American flag

sea winds
cutting into a blue sky
a square of flag

Fourth of July

Independence Day
all the fireworks
in your eyes

sparklers
in the night sky
stars

sun burnt
and from fireworks
star-crazy

patriots
etched in their eyes
sparklers

sea shells
and sky rockets
beach holiday

another wave
the last sparkler
a bent wire

Independence Day
the empty flagpole
poking stars

Independence Day
the lower road bridge
collapses

two crows
and a sea gull having someone
else's picnic

Independence Day
the county courthouse
blown sky-high

-Point Arena's Hall of Justice

Independence Day
the parade majorette
with the shorter skirt

holiday
a marshmallow wind
on browning bodies

5th of July
the portable ice chest
drying inside out

school's out

a single mom
the paper days until
school is out

summer breeze
the shouts out of school
children again

summer skies
the clearness of children's voices
out of school

school picnic
someone very young teaches him
to boogie

school picnic
the ticket seller raises her fingers
as she adds

Summer Solstice

Mid-summer's Eve
lately bracken fern
invisible

mid-summer
day and night balanced
no wind

a broken shoe string
summer begins
barefoot

holes in the hammock
thoughts run through
my mind unfiltered

black pine
against the never dark sky
Mid-summer's Eve

Midsummer's Eve
her brief white gown
shortens the night

Tanabata
- a Japanese holiday to celebrate
stars and romance

Tanabata
and beside me tonight
an empty pillow

vacation

seaside vacation
unwinding the kite string
unwinding

in desert sand
cinder temples seem to be
from China

Grand Canyon
tourists sucked out of California
by a big hole

Grand Canyon
deeper with each camera click
the tourists' smile

in the roar
of Yosemite Falls photos
kids' scared smiles

under Cathedral Spires
two ancient Sequoias
and a trash bin

quacking ducks
on my favorite beach
tourists coming

clouds come and go
just as quickly on the beach
tourists

Lake Tahoe
tired eyes stare down
at a tiny rivulet

desert poverty
even dirt has been left
in the casino

bare tops
Death Valley tourists
on a hot day

tourists
overlooking Badwater
each with a Coke

tourists in Italy
Pan's pipes and the Crucifix
in one museum

out-of-season tourists
at San Juan Capistrano
hummingbirds

scenic spots
full of a century
of tourists' eyes

mountain gorge
before the great view falling
asleep

snobbish hotel
the rusty old cars
of employees

around the pool
their nipples exposed
men!

mountain river
shriveled to harmlessness
summer tourists

surf sounds
then my motel neighbor
turns off the shower

lying on the bed
layered with other lives
motel night

motel morning
the strange bird's song
in another migration

vacation
finally relaxing
fog dissolves

vacation ends
one last splash of a wave
I am gone too

Continue on to SUMMER Celestial.

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