New Hampshire

got th’whole north country,
but one loon’s rant takes up th’night,
even in lancaster
(2-16)






climbing th’presidents –
left his law firm back ‘n th’city,
loves th’mud on his boots
(12-17)








eager t’climb th’pres’dents,
madison, adams, monroe –
knows’m better’n th’fam’ly
(1-17)






june with th'presidents -  
adams, washington, mad'son - 
he's climbed them all twice
(12-14)





firecracker took his

finger - now he spends his fourths 
fishing 'n th'merrimac 
(12-14)

from th’mountain, th’old man
‘ll watch th’webster highway tourists –
he’s started t’crumble
(10-17)

lancaster evening,
warm ‘n’ gentle, but even th’loon
complains ‘bout th’winter
(2-17)






down from granite peak
crumbled white mountain king
whose reign has ended
(7-05)




 

from th’fisherman’s truck,
he sees that th’old man’s crumbled –
though he lives on th’tags
(2-16)





through th’fury’s window,
questions th’old man on th’mountain –
how long will you reign?
(9-16)






laconia bikers
united in their feeling
th’locals’re too proper
(10-17)





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th’house’s ghosts talk t’him –
light on th’sill, ‘n’ th’days are shorter,
 just off th’franklin pierce
(1-18)








winnipesaukee –
ridgetop campsite local tells
of th’granite ‘n’ th’glaciers
(2-16)





tales ‘f glaciers ‘n’ granite –
winnipesaukee camper
seems t’know th’whole story
(3-17)





in dartmouth green, old
prof expounds under bright trees,
squirrel hides acorns
(2-10)





 
acorns ‘n th’dartmouth green –
thorough review of th’classics,
little too much wine
(8-17)









leaves on keene roadsides
blow in wind of passing cars,
without their purpose
(10-05)



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come back t’ th’keene valley
from his tour ‘n iraq – th’leaves change,
‘n’ he’s hoping f’r lots ‘f snow
(12-17)



banks of th’merrimack –
loves t’fish, ‘n’ loves th’fall colors,
hates t’be stuck on th’bottle
(2-17)









th’el’gance ‘f th’tiny church,
‘n’ th’reddish maples that frame it –
he’s back ‘n th’keene valley
(7-16)






pats on th’radio,
pastor promotes salvation – 
“live free or die” tags
(7-15) 







tiny town ‘f berlin –
even th’through hikers’ footsteps,
quiet ‘n’ serious
(7-17)







through-hikers in whites
meet by chance - town of berlin
can't contain their joy
(6-13)





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walking th’franklin pierce –
first frost on th’hillsides, ‘n’ th’silence,
overpowering
(2-18)









peaceful town ‘f berlin –
each hiker’s walked from georgia
‘n’ there’s a lot to say
(9-17)






october in th’whites –
no better time t’notice how
ev’rything’s alive
(11-16)






first frost in the whites -
the trail laundry, stuffed in pack -
only maine ahead
(3-10)





through hiker in whites -
somehow stopped seeing colors
't thirty miles a day
(2-14)









rockingham county –
th’pastor’s at his most intense
watching th’football game
(3-18)






seven pumpkins wide,
boxed in by granite - what's this
'live free or die' thing?
(12-11)









portsmouth machinist –
feast ‘r famine, says ‘bout his job,
his wife’ll cook th’turkey
(2-17)







first snows ‘f manchester –
never guess, ev’ry four years,
such a traffic jam
(1-17)







first blizzard, plymouth –
th’stately brich church holds its ground,
ready for much worse
(3-17)






on four going west,
's used to portsmouth, but christmas
's back to mastigouche
(12-11)







north church through window,
eggnog clouds his mem'ry - doomed
to repeat hist'ry?
(12-11)






manchester cafe
wag, sees blizzard - 'moved here for
live free or die tags'
(3-10)







ways off th'franklin pierce - 
old farmhouse, thirty acres
'f frozen, rocky earth
(11-14)








lonely, he feeds th’skunk –
roads’re icy, no one visits
back off th’franklin pierce
(11-16)






t’s all ‘bout th’candidate –
white christmas, but she’s stuck on
th’slant ‘f th’union leader
(6-15)







light snow, manchester
side street – but when you’re ‘n pol’tics,
all roads go t’d.c.
(6-15)







this road t’dixville notch –
she wants t’know how folks will vote –
how slick, th’roads t’power!
(6-15)





snow ‘n th’roofs, dixville notch –
all’s quiet, sure they’ll hide from
another tourist
(12-17)





stunned by th’roundabout,
th’maine-bound texan wants t’stop ‘n’ look –
but th’roads’re too icy
(6-16)









freezing rain and snow -
union leader's confident
turnout'll break record
(1-12)





manchester blizzard –
hot air from th’campaigns, he says
makes no difference
(10-17)






lonely stretch of four -
snow on tongue, eyes glaze over
at andover sign
(12-11)







stuck ‘t th’andover sign,
reminded ‘f mom’s law – t’keep th’tongue
off ‘f th’frozen metal
(7-17)






cross th’line ‘t nashua –
feels so diff’rent from boston,
even th’roads’re icier
(12-17)



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halfway t’montreal,
stopped in th’whites, t’argue in french
‘bout when th’snow would melt
(2-18)










dartmouth scholar's tale -
verdant valley's flowers bloom,
plato collects dust
(2-14)






flow’r’s got a lot ‘f names,
says th’keene lass – dad’s a pastor,
‘n’ calls ‘t th’devil’s paintbrush
(12-17)






one moment 'n portsmouth -
around th'corner, and in th'sun,
oh! cherry blossoms!
(11-14)








portsmouth’s cherries bloom,
‘n’ even th’’schoolchildren tell you
they know ‘bout haiku
(4-18)
 
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gets off th’road ‘n portsmouth –
has to see th’blooming cherries
t’keep th’haiku spirit
(9-16)








portsmouth’s cherries bloom –
even th’local kids pose with
th’japanese tourists
(7-17)






keene roads, or’nge hawkweed –
pretty as dand’lions, but she
calls’m devil’s paintbrush
(3-17)






u n h tassel -
relatives and friends toast her,
she yearns for the whites
(12-11)






forty years ago,
brought her th’u n h tassel
he’d gone ‘n’ retrieved
(11-16)






motorcycle week –
laconia’s lot like sturgis,
he says, ‘cept for th’loons
(3-17)


e pluribus haiku