back from long weekend
dancing through the plant front gate
eager for the day



my car took all the nickels I had to rub together
to fix over the weekend-
it was pure joy to come to work at 5AM this morning

in the fog
the naked trees
are no longer lonesome

in the hush of a grey dawn -
snow is whispering

heavy snow
closes the local school
shed roof bird tracks

wind chill
the thought of my lover's food
takes me back

gray morning
a dog
walks his man

fresh snow
blackbirds eat scabby apples
left on the tree

Here we go again
snow and frosty weather
autumn ends

snowmelt
the world turns slowly green
rivers swell

Mountains of snow,
Search for a forage sparrows -
Crisis

Growing darkness
The sun will go out
On street lantern

Late autumn -
It is latent by a gray fog
Sacrament of night

now we see
birds on bare limbs
peeping in are we
------------

..circa November 28, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
-------------------------

the branches are bare
the world grows smaller
without you

sweetly-scented leaf pile
even on the wind
your absence finds me

the season changes
this lingering stillness
remains

betwixt
the limbs of trees
a lone lilac bush
is reached by sunrays
enough to be thankful
-----------------

..circa Nov.21, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
----------------------------

first snow -
the silver birches
dressed in new coats

rook chatter
tracking each snowflake
to the end

Lots of lovely snow in Bradford on Avon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eberlin/3255794058/

through naked trees
the old cow stares:
antlered

snow
skeletal trees turn negative
pawprints

migrating geese -
another window where
curtains lift


***

oies de passage -
une autre fenêtre où
les rideaux se soulèvent

frost falling
like the soft paws of a cat
gently spreading

bitter chills
leave the grass white with frost
yellow mahonia

pink-tinted clouds
overnight wind piles leaves against
the motorbike

turkey day eve-
on the phone with my sisters
planning the big meal

setting sun melts
into woodsmoke --
regrets rising with the moon

sunrise reveals
fields dissolved
with frost

seagulls swoop
to examine dropped litter
rattling dustbins

Thanksgiving's comin-
marathon monopoly
and movie nights

blades of sunlight
chop clouds into long wisps
seagulls cackle

was I greedy?
all those leaves...
leprechaun's gold

warm autumn day-
single rose blooming
on the barren bush

leafshade--
where's the leafshade--oh,
we're in autumn
----------

..circa: Nov. 13, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
----------------------------

drizzling rain
the cat checks the back window
then the front

cold wind
sparrows on the bird tables
search for scraps

top of the oak -
a magpie joined by
two other magpies

***

à la cime du chêne
une pie rejointe par
deux autres pies

a breath of wind
among the silent sycamore
wind chimes rattle

no towering forest
could conceal that auburn tree
aglow in the fire

to the breeze,
I hang on, with my teeth
my two hands hold
a notepad and a pencil
I'm hanging on--goodness me!
----------------
..circa: Nov. 19, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
---------------------
QUESTION (Concerning poem):
should i have made it: "crisp breeze"
in Line 1, to be more symbolic
of autumn..?

evening commute
moon peeking through
the afternoon clouds

momentarily,
night wore alluring short sleeves
now, back to the coat
-------------

..circa Nov. 19, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
---------------------------------

morning mist
wraps trees and houses
children holding hands

mist stained yellow
with the leaves

Photo by Mike Epp

rainy day
mud escapes
between toes

Ambrosia,Issue 5,Summer 2010

Water rules today;
Racing streams and pregnant sky
And liquid mirrors.

Nesting kicking in...

crisp afternoon
basement door open
as I start to cull

en memorium


trees shed yellow leaves
geese slip out from the cold
my mother exhales


how fast the leaves turned
from green to burnt sienna
at her departure


a wind-blown oak leaf
twirled against the passing clouds
now the air is still

first snow
half a year of white
before me

* * *

ensilumi
puoli vuotta valkeutta
edessäni

morning breeze
steals the last leaves from the cherry
sparrows huddle

this night
wrapped up in sleep
and fog pressing at my window

morning commute
sparkling gold and green leaves
carpet the streets

half-moon--
the child wonders
the rest

The Mainichi Daily News
Nov. 3, 2010

November thunder
Rolls through my room at midnight;
Then just fades away.

I'm flying
these new, cavernous boots,
with mountainous force, ascend me
-----------------

..circa November 17, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
---------------------------

Dry leaf on the branch
Trembles in the wind and drops;
No effort needed.

Once again clear drops
Poised on the edge of tree limbs--
Windows and mirrors.

morning commute
Scottish Dialouge
floating in my head



Half way through NaNo WriMo!

deeper nights
through the rain I hear
you sleep

* * *

syvät yöt
sateen läpi kuulen
kuinka nukut

morning world
painted with white frost
dead nasturtiums

kindled colors
in the rain

puddled moonlight
an owl blinks --
dreamless nights ahead

week of vaca
watching the leaves change color
between good reads

sunshine breaks
clouds part for an early dawn
the dog, snoring

O environs...
autumn's thick blisters
itching to freeze
------------------

..circa Mon., Nov. 15, 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..mostly channeled; spirit Ram
----------------------------

last leaf falls to earth
summer a faint memory --
   you whispered of love just that once

our fragile silence
framed by cannon fire and
a lonely bugle call

Remembrance Sunday
all the colours lowered
during the Last Post
.

slivers of sunlight
cut the grey sky like old meat
I plant tulips

worshiping
the same tree
a man and a hawk

on waking to the first snowstorm...

wet snow
branches bow to pressure
from above

the lightening sky
paints the clouds in gold and silver
warm bed

pollen balls
in my coffee spoon
this autumn morning

***

pelotes de pollen
dans ma cuillère à café
ce matin d'automne

Leaves
Blown in the wind
As am I

autumn wind -
a whistling boy
through the fallen leaves

armistice day -
the red maple
lays its wreath

open door
lets in autumnal wind
cut flowers droop

Humber Bridge
the stretch of struts
across clouds

.
Humber Bridge:
http://www.humberbridge.co.uk/explore_the_bridge/gallery/photographs.php

.

autumn twilight
even the gutters sing with
gusting tongues of fire

Tiger Cat

the tree
planted long ago
beneath soil and roots she lies
sweet Queenie my cat

the dog's food bowl
overflows with rainwater
cyclamen trumpets

autumn light
gold and copper ores
within my reach

tonight I am waiting
for frost, bronzed leaves glazed white -
lining the streets

white birch
black branches --
November gray

the oak
last leaves to fall
a majesty of bright orange
bows about it's roots

come spring, the first buds

dusk
naked trees
autumn calligraphy

dried lavender
a sparsity of leaves
on the cherry

Curtis Dunlap has just posted a very simple but moving tribute to Mike Farley.  Mike was an amazing haiku writer, and a typical American cowboy too.  Here's an old haiku from me when I went out on a few days trip horseriding.

woodfire
flickering in the silence
corralled horses

Alan Summers
Modern Haiku
(USA haiku magazine Fall 1995  vol. xxvi  no. 3)

Weblink:

http://tobaccoroadpoet.blogspot.com/
.

in the street's puddles
houses tremble
...a prayer for Haiti

a mob of kids
eating and throwing chips
seagulls clean up

a lost kite
stuck on top of a telephone pole
here I am sitting
watching and waiting
for your long distance call

layangan putus
tersangkut di tiang telepon
di sini aku duduk
melihat dan menunggu
interlokal darimu

willow branches
dancing in sodium vapour spots
drumming rain

Masks

the trees
are wearing their granite masks
next change: winter steel
----------------

..circa Nov.8/2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------------------

magpie
on the telegraph pole
late dawn

humbly arranged
by the Buddha's doorway
Westerners' shoes

cold afternoon -
the distant roar of the
football game

sunbeams dance
on the heads of late poppies
frost on the roof

on my shelf
the hollow sound of three chestnuts
from an old autumn

***

sur mon étagère
le son creux de trois marrons
d'un vieil automne

harvesting moon
the death of a friend
a lost jigsaw piece


Alan Summers
original published Asahi Shimbun 2010
this version i.m. Mike Farley

If anyone would like to comment on his haiku and senryu at this blog, it would be a really nice thing to do: http://tobaccoroadpoet.blogspot.com/2008/10/mike-farley-three-questions.html

. 

the cause of
my maple addiction is now
on display

blustery night
the rattle of a soda can
going down the road

rain of ashes
a wild cat
got new coat

hujan abu
seekor kucing liar
berganti bulu

evacuation camp
a plastic bucket
collecting ashes

kamp pengungsi
sebuah ember plastik
menampung debu


Ashes rain poured down after the eruption of Merapi. Cities around the volcano turn grey, students returned much earlier from schools. Thousands evacuated from the mountain slope. Check the news here

trees bent sideways
wind dragging at their limbs
schoolkids buffeted

fourth watch
mums sparkling with frost
greet the sunrise

emerging from
the rain- a flock of
berry-hunting robins

the air clear and sharp
a squabble of seagulls
over the houses

first cold night
broken steam valve now more urgent
than when warm last week

the sound of
the ash tree-foliage falling
on a windless night

through the front door
moonlight sparkling
on frost covered cars

blustery day
rips leaves from the cherry tree
children stagger past

a lumbering sweep of wing
heron rises --
I turn one more page before sleep

lost my inspiration
in a pile of leaves
should I dig
or must I wait
for spring to uncover it

yellow cherry leaves
still cling to parental branches
a wren on the fencepost