SUMMER Terrestrial

A Dictionary of Haiku
Jane Reichhold

bay

a quiet bay
with seaweed and rocks
the sun at rest

beach

a forest walk
ending at the beach
roots

morning beach
blue sand still quiet
in the tracks

cold wind
on the beach
foam fans

beach fire
flowing into waves
flames

rushing in - rushing out
the wave's mini-vacation
on the beach

darkening beach
the warmth of a person's eyes
for the sinking sun

scattered in sand
embers of a saltwood fire
face to face with stars

shell beach
wind blowing through
a train whistle

city folks
playing on the beach
board games

city voices
on the beach
the litter

sunny day
blown on the beach
clouds of sea foam

damp beach sand
where a naked witch squats
her heart

lonely beach walk
losing in the sand
car keys

tracking
the cliff-bound beach
noon clouds

beach fire
pale calla lilies
flame bright

again on the beach
drifting with dreams
she tracks sand

the beach
blowing sand
in water colors

a windless day
the beach colored
sea foam

pocket beach
after the climb back up
sand in mine

gravel beaches
the corners of the river
elbowing

summer fog
the beach wrapped up
in itself

bridge

wooden bridge
words found by a splinter
in bare feet

bridge timbers
a rumble in the creek
flowing under them

bridge song
vocal chords
of the river

brook

meandering brook
my good intentions
melting away

canyon

canyon wash
clean
and dry

canyon
closing out
sea sounds

rain-torn
canyon walls
catch the sun

canyon walls
slip into the valley
river gravel

noon clouds
finding in the canyon
opals

wall by wall
the canyon releases blue rock
deep night sky

box canyon
in a dried up wash
ancient river rock

ancient river rock
running once again
down a muddy canyon

paint box canyon
the river a rainbow
of rocks

oldest rose
stone canyon walls
folded in time

caves

cave walls
turning to sand
footprints

translucent wall
in the sea cave
a shell

cliff

avalanche
blue sky presses
into the cliffs

cliffs
sloping into the sea
gull wings

sheer beauty
cliffs drop straight down
raising spirits

taking sunshine
into a secret cove
steepest cliffs

green growing
steeper than seacliff meadows
a lush smell

coastal range

coast ranges
distance spills
into the sea

cove

leaping up
a wave comes into
a secret cove

cupping the eye
the quiet cove
on a rocky coast

crater

Uhebehe Crater*
the inverted mountain
made of wind

* in Death Valley, California

crater rim
our kissing
with open mouths

creek

taken by a creek
both feet exploring
wet

desert

desert
flapping in the wind
the whole town

desert
a stretched horizon
of silence

desert town
tropical fish store
well stocked

- Twenty-Nine Palms, California

dunes

sand
curing the glare
high noon

sand dunes rimmed
creosote bushes bloom
sunset colors

rain-wet dunes
scraped with yellow light
of sunset showers

noon shadows
following the contours
of desert dunes

living in desert dunes
the ups and downs
of curved sand

hot spring
in desert dunes noon
memory

dunes
mountain peaks
as hot and dry

retreating
from the eastern world
coastal dunes

night dunes
in the warm places
ants

dust

drought
on the way to church
dust devils in the road

earthquake

earth
awake
quake

remodeling plans
the whole house sways
earthquake!

trembling
the earth touches
us all

shoreline highway
moving over the sea cliff
off shore rocks

earthquake
in the Thrifty drug store
prices fall

harbor

beyond the bar
dancing lights the sun
in the harbor

hills

the hills
touching each other
at the river 

-(one of my favorite haiku of mine)

washed
hills dribble down
muddy waters

painted hills
morning freshens
the colors

hills
mounding up a cloud
full of thunder

dirt-poor farmer
high on the hill
a priceless ocean view

mountain woman
cadence of rolling hills
in her breast

- for Marlene Mountain

hot springs

desert storm
from underground
hot bubbling water

hot springs
not far from the desert sun
fire spirits

bubbling hot springs
in dry desert sands
fire opals

between us
hot springs salt water
our electricity

hot springs
soaking from earth
happy bodies

desert nights
in the hot springs
all the lives

nights
in the hot tub
dreams

soaked in hot springs
crystal-filled waters
home in the stars

mineral hot springs
all day wearing crystals
bare

islands
white bones
rolled between islands

stars
sprinkling in the sea
islands

land's end

land's end
a rock crumbles
in damp sand

sweeping
out to the lighthouse
a long sand beach

landslide

landslide
years slipping away
from the cliffs

landslide
the cliff reveals
its other age

lake

leaving
the lake waters
calm

valley lake
below sea level
dried salt

dark blue
coolness crosses the lake
in ripples

without stars
the sky eases pink
into the lake

meadow

meadow knowledge
by sleeping on the ground
death isn't bad

foaming between rocks
fragrance of seaside meadows
at high tide

the stillness
between tides
meadow fragrance

midnight meadow
lying in moonshadows
poison ivy

mountain

turning the earth
as mountains rise
they crumble

riverside cliffs
the current recycles
mountains

jagged blue
flames of evening
mountain peaks

lost paint box
mountains have borrowed
all the colors

desert misers
in a wide blue sky
one low mountain

lying in a meadow
kneecap to kneecap
with the mountain

desert
hoarding
mountains

morning mountain top
my shadow crosses
Death Valley

jagged mountain peaks
sharpening my pencil
for another scribble

snow mountain lake
desert river damned
LA toasters toast toast

noon sky
red rock mountains
jut into blue

tunnel
through the mountain's heart
headlights

mountain echo
ages waiting
for its return

desert mountains
all four seasons
melt into one

desert mountain
all four directions
meet in one

stone mountain
a gravel road winds down
the slim edge

mountain pass

mountain pass
the setting sun
meets the moon

writing
on mountain peaks
tablets of stone

summit warmth
wrapped around
by mountains

between mountains
desert night wind
on a full breast

mountain peaks
watching a million years
pass by

dizzy
wobbly line of mountains
at the summit

mountain top
silence slammed
by a car door

mountain stream

mountain stream
bell tones of rocks
barely wet

oasis

summer
at the oasis
evening cool

ocean

dawn seas
the ebbing light
leaves shell pink

ocean waves
tide sends winds
home to the ridge

sea foam
blowing from a wild surf
gulls

given depth
by a passing cloud
ocean colors

ocean wild
no need to see
a whale

summer day
the ocean invents
aquamarine

holding hands
a blazing log
-and ocean roar

squirting water
between old rocks the ocean
plays with itself

pebble

mighty river
a white line through
this pebble

pond

torchlight
inviting rocks by the pond
to dance on water

green round pond
lily pads of late summer
mossy pennies

summer departs
the stagnant pond
stays right here

reef

alone in the storm
anchored to a rocky reef
clang of a buoy bell

river

narrow river
opening just a crack
the wide ocean

white with foam
the ocean enters
the river's mouth

reservoir
an ancient river
refilled

river days
a stream of light
flows by

river mouth
bridged
by gulls

redwood roots
the river's course
bends and twists

deep below
running in the sea
other rivers

rushing river
brushes the air
with white ripples

walking the mountains
the river goes along
with us

mid-morning
the river refreshes itself
with a little breeze

the earth turns
now and then
the river bends

hot sun presses
water into a river
summer flood

from the river
winding up the river
a stream of cool air

sleeping
valley river sounds
dream

sleeping
below the noisy river
the other one

stopping by the river
sunlight
a bank of fog

rocky stream
a dropped feather
dyes it blue

riverbed

dry riverbed
covered in the mornings
with puffy clouds

resting
the river
in its bed

streambed
bent to fit the earth
a fallen willow

rocks

face to face
with ancient rocks
the tourist touches hers

sea spray
a rock drawn in the air
its water shape

mountain boulders
breaking up
the light

desert rocks
listening to the music
of water

monoliths
holding the rosy sun
against blue night

broken rock
half hot
half cold

rocks
legends
in sand

rocks
leaving clearly
sand

rocks
in veins of ore
roots

magnetic
lines in the rock
writing it down

evening reflected
by glowing granite
lighted from within

rocks
at the foot of the bed
waves splash

water falls
on Japanese landscapes
sea rocks

a crack
in the monolith
one star

the top of the rock
in the bottom of the pool
bright with sun

cracking a smile
faces in sandstone
slanted sun

splashing each other
centuries in the surf
brother rocks

after the rain
all the desert colors
in wet rocks

red rock walls
echo
blue rock walls

forces of nature
a sense of theater
with rocks

mountain peak
stars burned into rocks
glitter all day

high tide
lapping the fire
in a rock

salt flats

road to the moon
between ash meadows
salt ponds

reflected
on the moon
salt flats

Death Valley
salts a bright blue lake
at twilight

earth fissures
lacing the pond
dried salt

the line
between water and hills
a salt sea

desert beach
green moss white
with salts

lining the hills
edges of the sea
with salt

sand

rolling over
into dry sand
the 7th wave

snow-capped peaks
then the wave spreads
over a sandy beach

sea

dark and growling
from land a summer storm
becomes a glass sea

lying low
before storm clouds
a smooth sea

distant horizon
sea miles marked
by different colors

water drawing
a straight line between
sea and sky

splashes
return to the sea
a dance

sea stacks

sea stacks
the white smoke
of spindrift

sky country

two crows land
with sun on their backs
sky country

spindrift

undercurrents
below spindrift
a mellow flute

spindrift
above the ocean wave
a prayer flag

spindrift
a cloud hangs
where a wave broke

stones

night fall
yet not one stone
moves

painting stones
a mountain brook moving
tree shadows

alluvial fans
the valley heat
on stone fields

shimmering
above the hot stones
summer sea

one stone
climbing the mountain
in my shoe

covered with stones
the stream makes a path
to the river

streets/roads/paths

fire in the mist
rushing down the highway
far mountains

mountain path
the roundness of the earth
arches between my feet

poem maps
under summer feet
paths

midnight car
lining the coast
with highway one

headlights
on a rain-drenched pass
slanted sunlight

yellow line
on a black highway
last sun rays

desert highway
the poet writes a haiku
on the yellow line

mountains
twisting roads
in us

following the river
following the sun
through mountains

rivers
building roads
in mountains

desert paths
the smell of water
paving the way

without moving
our road goes from town to town
changing its name

a summer shower
the asphalt road
rising in steam

beach road
summer smooth
from sandy feet

a mountain
bends in the road
heaped high

mountain road
going and going and yet
time stands still

freeway
a truckload of art
passing tanks

dust
the road disappears
in itself

road
winding around the mountain
mountain views

down from the pass
still the black road
wiggles

stream

in the stream
waiting for wind ripples
to move the mountain

this beach stream
hangs our sandals on two fingers
runs to the sea

surf

an open window
surf sounds
square

night surf
the bright waves
of flame

surf's boom
sun beats into water
sound on metal

earth spins
surf sounds
in dry sand

boiling seas
into a wild surf
a hot sun

swamp

black cypress
draining into the swamp
strands of color

tides

home again
a pulse of tides
in our blood

tilted
this side of the ocean
dries in the sun

dry rocks
bubbling up between
the incoming tide

incoming tide
the sun-dried rock
wetted

rattle of rocks
at high tide the stars
an earthly tone

night tide
black rocks blacker
as a dark moon

freshly washed hair
receding tide leaves
wet rocks

high and low
tides weaving
sand

the tide turns
a whoosh of wave
splashes white

pictures
in the burning wood
tide lines

rippling light
night tide flows back
to a sunlit sea

high tide
sharing a small beach
with wet feet

tide pool

melting
in a tide pool
sun on still waters

tremors

deep in the earth
tremors in our knees
magnified

after tremors
in the fear and trembling
frog voices

valley

rocks
crumble into valleys
evening colors

deepening
the lowest point in USA
night shadow

jagged mountains
the wide slope of valley
smoothes the air

mountain shadows
tracing valley contours
across the sky

layers of color
the cliff eases into valleys
blue dusk

San Joaquin valley:
sand walking valley
after all my years

Queen Valley*
mother earth
full of gold

* a mining area in Death Valley

empty night sky
fills the desert valley
with city lights

the breaking wave
cough drop colored
cool mint

between rainclouds
sunlight slants
deep into valleys

mountain greatness
the gentle easing
into valleys

rainclouds
blowing into the valley
sunset's golden light

village

bell tones
of the country side
village names

volcano

evenings
setting the sky on fire
lava mountains

red into black
summit passes
into sunset

mid-day
heat of volcanoes
still in the rocks

lava rocks flowing
with the river
night-long shadows

lava rocks
flowing with the river
dry summer heat

black lava
pushing into bloodred
sunset peaks

waves

sunshine
the tops of waves melting
into hard metal

sun in front
of each crested wave
its own radiance

night air
breathing deeply the waves
wet dry sand

walls of water
waves in rock
a tearing sound

waves crash
in the curve of the bay
unbroken by man

wave upon wave
sun beats the water
into a hard curve

earth turning
a wave rounds
the blue green

elephant rock
stomping on the beach
ocean waves

asleep
yet waves remember
to come ashore

a wave breaks
out in laughter
two people

waves
unrolling
seafoam

mounting up
a wave rides a rock
ashore

rolling in waves
the white foam clouds
thunder

solid waves
flowing into the surf
dunes

arching into the sky
the wave takes on
more blue

teary eyes
seeing with binoculars
salt waves

white laced waves
tearing silk
across the sand

each wave curves upward
catches a gleam of sunlight
then moves on

seas of silk
shapes without scissors
waves torn asunder

waves
feeling
time

waterfall

a woman
a step down
a waterfall

taking to the waterfall
the everyday worries
washed away

mountain waterfall
fog flows backwards
into clouds

breath of angels
air of waterfalls
up one's nose

foot of the falls
tourists stopped
in their tracks

foot of the falls
the roaring opens
tourists' mouths

writing its name
on a granite cliff
water falls

quiet river
all of the wind
out of its falls

water drops
a radiance
in the falls

woods

beyond the campfire
darkness draws together
the woods at night

Continue on to SUMMER Livelihood.