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.