hawaii

-

labor day - haiku
stairs guard takes our photograph;
in fog, a smile's lost
(10-10)





chirping stilt protests
tenuous relationship
on pearl harbor beach
(1-13)

pounding 'f th'taro root,

while lava 'n' th'condos advance -

its echo fills th'valley

(1-15)

rain pounds windward side,
haiku valley mission postponed -
saints day step van tea
(1-14)

urge to pray - during

volcano park ranger's tale,

r'members it's souls' day

(11-14)

vets' day, pahoa -

twelve hundred degree lava,

best to step aside

(11-14)

kailua tourist -
tells how aunt picked fights over
that turkey carcass
(11-13)





frigid small town vows
behind, waikiki ahead -
surf breaks and crashes
(2-10)








they met 'n oahu,
came over to th'big island -
winter crowds depressed'm
(3-10)







landing, we share dreams -
hers, more champagne, waikiki,
mine, the haiku steps
12-11





pearl harbor tourist -
new year brings recognition
thirty years' nightmares
(1-13)







haiku valley fog
envelops a steep ladder -
balanced on new year
(10-10)






ocean's pearl sparkles
from mainland march, sun has strayed
temptress oahu!
(10-05)








busy restaurant
loses bride's lu'au - groom's eyes
on duke in finals
(3-10)

th’hibiscus blooms red –

th’park lass claims they were planted

for her majesty 

(6-15)

a nisei’s loyalty,
she says, spraying th’hibiscus,
‘s always in question
(6-15)

kapiolani

lass, mem’ries of hachimachi –

most loyal to th’flow’rs

(6-15)

hibiscus gard'ner -

most nisei loyal, grandma

made hachimachi

(1-15)

easter rains - hilo
laundromat's dull dryer lint,
needle on old jeans
(4-10)

big island sunset -

cobalt sea t'blanket 'f june stars,

tide that pulls both ways

(1-15)

-

idaho

cour d'alene boxcar
shuts out steady mountain rain
pine smell slips through cracks
(7-05)








bitter years at camps;
minidoka memories -
locusts at window
(3-10)

fry bread 'n' huckleberries -

spit grease, cars on twelve, the sounds

of his own footsteps
(10-14) 





fled pocatello
took enough to camp in these
cottonwoods a while
(2-10)





quarter in the snake,
small plop of an august dream-
undammed illusions
(1-07)

hell's canyon rafter -

moment of calm, gold leaf,

reflection in th'snake

(10-14)

first frost, morning chill,

coffee, trout on open fire -

bitterroot breakfast

(9-14)

cour d'alene drunkard
unfolding torn cali map -
damaged by first snow
(1-12)

twelve hours from th'coast ,

fills tank, but waits out th'blizzard -

welcome t'idaho!

(10-14)

panhandle woodsman,
winter's wood surrounds cabin-
sawdust falls from beard
(1-07)

sawtooths' snow-capped peaks -

she serves the onion soup with

pointed suggestion

(9-14)

window sealed against
moscow snows - not like russia,
'cept for the vodka
(1-12)

off twelve, th'wilderness

thaws and awakens - the fish

watches the hiker

(9-14)

st. joe forest home
bear knows where fish jump in spring -
let him have first try
(10-05)






they called it the red
'cause it ran red with salmon -
they came up hungry
(4-10)





salmon and coffee,
sun on lolo pass camas -
glad i'm home, he says
(1-13)







grandpa pulled salmon
from th' river by th'bucketfull
's why it's called the red
(1-12)






river ice breaks up,
fishin's good, but he dries out
in a boise jail
(1-12)

weiser fiddler's tale -

a world of travels end in

small town festival

(11-14)

illinois

-

kingshighway shoulder,
flat stone stuck in his sandal -
cahokia fossil?
(12-10)






sore from detassling,
knox county roads shimmering,
drive home first, then sleep
(9-08)






a fourth of crackers -
ancient farmhouse, acid rock,
washington county
(8-11)






porsche convertible,
lakeshore drive sparkle in sun -
let me off at king
(3-10)





kentucky side's just
as steamy, says pilot of
cave-in-rock ferry
(7-05)







in the kickapoo,
lazy waters, shallow breeze
mud on nettled legs
(11-11)






cahokia mound's
shadow - east saint louis fries;
bones rest one more year
(4-10)

blazing heat, cornfield,

ten silos here, small town there,

train stretches t'champaign

(12-14)

sox traffic ties up
th'dan ryan - locals grateful
to have their streets back
(7-05)






danville exit sign,
no shade from sun's reflection
skin reddens and dries
(9-08)





fragrant hay on truck
old blue hills, sunset, dirt road
lincoln's gaze on plate
(7-05)






corn tassels for miles
august breeze, shimmering fields
near use exit sign
(9-08)






carlinville clerk says
not much to see here except
labor day cyclists
(9-08)

bridgeport hiker’s sweat –

get on the wrong side ‘f this bridge,

they throw you on th’road

(5-15)

off thunderstorm road,
civil war graveyard's secrets
rest in a cool shade
(10-05)






orange cones and sox game
add minutes to the commute -
strangler to the loop
(3-10)





giant city stars,
falling leaf - he made it to
another campfire
(8-10)






outside new baden,
drivers in traffic gaze at
harvest beans, flooded
(10-09)






murph dormer to roof,
to tree and down to bushes,
to apple-fest jam
(3-10)






the heron circles
at evergreen reservoir -
might stay for winter
(11-09)






in the shawnee caves
nomads barter for hemp socks -
october drizzle
(6-12)






walmart pumpkin sale
drivers become impatient
trail of tears junction
(11-09)







chief illiniwek
blanket with indian corn
image, illusion
(7-05)







well into vets' day
mums keep their yellows, dragons
guard the castle park
(11-10)







ribbon of traffic
soars down brown icy hillside
about to cross th'spoon
(11-09)





perry county teens
making plans behind manger -
snow on courthouse stone
(1-13)






not knowing grand tow'r
tales, we stop at th'river's edge -
in comes the new year
(12-11)





machine capp'cino
warms hand, feet slip on ice at
effingham rest stop
(1-07)





gray january -
salt stains shoulders near king bridge,
sun sets behind arch
(1-10)








deisel fuel chapel
where gravel lot fades to weeds -
icy carlyle sign
(1-10)





depot's crackling snow -
train man statue's gaze falls on
town I abandoned
(1-13)





glazed ice on bean fields -
blue hue deepens, sun sets on
okawville exit
(1-10)






unyielding winter -
working man's song, a hard brake,
pekin road off ramp
(1-07)





the toll collector,
on frigid night near o'hare -
smile of the buddha
(12-11)





tollway or dan ryan
or'nge cones on slick deadly ice
fatal drudgery
(1-07)






worked thirty-three years,
ford plant, chicago heights - now,
it's cold, 'n' i'm leavin'
(3-10)





ry'n and ninety fifth -
warm change on icy platform -
first train to the loop
(5-11)






on snowy o'hare
tarmac, pilot says it's all
physics - but i pray
(8-05)





plane circles o'hare,
march hail sweeps city beneath -
above clouds, sun sets
(3-10)





the green-colored beer
green streamers, bulls game background
outside, spring on rush
(3-11)






six lane ninety four
lake cook traffic hides spring - then,
japanese garden
(9-05)






rain pounds river road,
piasa cliffs - high water,
frogs jump in darkness
(5-10)






memphis wood river
sign - low wet mud, fresh new corn,
ghosts of cahokia
(5-10)





murdale laundromat
may rains, dust and lint, a nap
dryer calmly waits
(5-11)

"th'judges 'r all on th'take,"

she says and shrugs - flowers bloom 'n 

loop buildings' boxes

(11-14)

big muddy's risen
standing water in the fields -
long plantin' season
(3-10)





inside loop taxi
blossoms reflect off glass walls
open the window!
(7-05)





- more illinois haiku (carbondale and local- some repeated)

indiana

-
raised 'n americus -
fished th'wabash, he says, 'n'roamed all'f
tipp'canoe county
(1-13)




world's freshest melons,
posey county moon's shadow -
town called solitude
(5-11)





tales of snow dragon,
tibetans in bloomington -
monarch stops t'listen
(2-14)






dunes picnic sunburn
sharp pain of needing to be
back around the lake
(1-10)






to her, polk fireflies
elusive, like dad - to him,
too easy to catch
(1-13)






richmond - this town of
quaker seminarians -
cicadas' silence
(5-11)




-->

autumn eve, th’wabash –

long ago, they chose this spot

t’make their utopia

(6-15)

fog shrouds orange woods -
tales of flight and secrecy
passing through tell city
(12-13)







deep in the hoosier,
campground fire fades to pink ash -
tomorrow, winter
(1-10)








broadway's faded hues-
quilt of steelworkers' fam'lies,
memories' winter hearth
(1-10)

all 'f indy's left church,

have t'get ready f''r th'holidays -

bad time to hitchhike

(12-14)

terre haute diner's
muddy coffee - new year plans
unfathomable
(5-11)






at gary on-ramp
sun catches hard metal shiv
on icy shoulder
(8-05)








near on-ramp outside
of indianapolis -
snow falls on dog's grave
(8-05)








indiana pike
rest stop blizzard - she longs for
california sun
(5-11)





this state lived for hoops
but march hopes flickered and died
since he threw that chair
(1-10)







came here for the race -
a thousand miles to indy
certain spark and fire
(5-11)






world comes to indy
for speed, power, thrills - sun tries
t'set 'n its exit ramp
(12-13)