Woodstove Hokku (Autumn and Winter)

Gathering kindling;
Queen Anne's Lace caught
In the basket weave.

October rain;
The sound of water dripping
In the woodstove.

Woodcutting;
The thud of a dropping limb
On the frozen ground.

Winter wind;
Sawdust stings
Chapped hands.

The cold iron
Of the woodstove grate--
A November morning.

The warm stove;
The flames' reflections dance
On the wall.

Bitter cold;
Leftover wood ash frozen
To the bucket.

Lake Hokku (Autumn, Winter, Spring)

An October sunset;
The old fisherman sits
On the driftwood.

On a stump,
The seagull's feathers ruffle--
Winter wind.

Winter wind;
An old sailboat locked
In ice.

Snow falls
On the rolled sail--
A spring morning.

Spring wind;
The sailboat tips over
Rounding the buoy.

Sunset;
Rolling a sail up
In the stillness.

Farming Hokku ( Spring, Summer)

In the barnyard,
Melting snow drips
From the hay wagon.

Lengthening days;
Tilling towards the pink streaks
In the western sky.

(Planting corn)

A sparrow alights
On a ripened head of wheat;
Harvest time.

Summer humidity;
Wheat chaff sticks
To sweaty skin.

A moonlit cornfield;
The chatter of raccoons
From the corn's shadows.

A summer evening;
The scent of corn pollen
In the falling dew.

End of summer;
The last turning
Of the hay rake.

A dark barn;
The forge's glow
On the blacksmith's face.

(Roscoe Village, Ohio)