By Doug Sylver
Seattle, Washington, USA
Not that it wasn’t appreciated
however unexpected
Not that it wasn’t beautiful
however out of place
Not that it wasn’t surprising
however disturbing
A cherry tree
blossoming full
pink fireworks
but in December
not even winter yet
let alone spring
another palindromic day
another palindromic day
12/11/21
Haiku-worthy
cliché as it is
but Basho is walking
uphill
while me down
and he’s taking notes
on his cell phone
noticing the colors
nodding to them
in their sparseness
noticing my noticing
nodding to me
in my sparseness
and this far north
next door to Canada
a stone’s throw from Alaska
tanka-worthy maybe but
I haven’t counted yet
I haven’t even written yet
You say I am keen today and
since the wind is south by southwest
I know a hawk from a haiku
and a handshake from a handsaw
you should see me on the
other days
and in the
other winds
then you’d agree
perchance that
beauty happens even
when unexpected
then you’d agree
perchance that
when everything
and everyone
should be gone
there’s always hope
for disturbing surprises
even then
even then
and especially when
they’re out of season.