bear creek haiku - poems from the tail end -
George Held, Bobbi Dykema Katsanis, Carl Mayfield, Dorothy McLaughlin, Denver Stull, Eva Alexander, Don Wentworth, Kelley Jean White, Noel Sloboda and Robert D O’Rourke
When I begin a new issue of bear creek haiku (111 so far), I first seek two poems, one for the cover and one for the last page (or, tail end) of that issue - and, these two poems become the, umm - inspiration? guardians? register? psychoanalysts? (Judith Partin-Nielsen, my wife, is a psychoanalyst/poet) or, maybe the medical staff, including nurses? (among other ‘stuffs’, most of which are printable/repeatable, am a nurse) yes! the poems on front and back end are all of these plus much more for the poems between them! Three earlier posts presented poems from the cover, and it’s about time you and I revel in what’s on the back side of bear creek haiku!
evening peace vigil Dorothy McLaughlin
candle flames flicker
touched by our prayers
the vicars of St. Petersburg Bobbi Dykema Katsanis
I met three cats in Petersburg:
the literary, postal and religious.
I danced with one cat in the snow,
At dusk, outside the Fountain House,
Where Akhmatova’s ghost is kept alive.
Another got his noggin scratched. He sat
Upon the wood post office counter,
Quite content. A third,
The sole parishioner (or priest?)
Of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral,
Blessed me briefly, and moved on.
(wow - I am realizing the two above are among my most favorite poems bear creek haiku has had the honor of publishing)
Return to Sender Don Wentworth
This is the postcard
you sent to remind yourself
that you have
forgotten.
Wake up.
It’s sooner
than you
think.
Petroleum Blues George Held
We got Oil in the marshes
We got Oil in the tide pools
We got Oil in the crawdads
We got Oil on the beaches
We got Oil in our future
A-throttlin’ Mother Nature
We got them ol’ Petroleum --
I said -- them ol’ Petroleum Blues
Monday morning-- Denver Stull
listening for the rooster
eaten yesterday
Moon #2 Carl Mayfield
That big white moon
So surprised
At the way things
have turned out
Blank Look #573 Carl again
a ghost song
trips over the mountain
at sunrise
the invisible starts to get dressed
first in a yellow sock
then in the key of G
memory of you Noel Sloboda
strutting in heels
across decades
spring frogs... Eva Alexander
and your song too
has a note of sadness
hours on the road Kelly Jean White MD
laughter, lights in the kitchen
smell of fresh baked bread
and, Robert D O’Rourke! - you need to know about Robert (Bob) because if hearts needed more warmth or my desire to continue with bear creek haiku more testosterone, he is the ‘most main dude’ (and, ok, yes!! I need to share with you other ‘main dudes and dudettes’ in future posts!) Bob (his age somewhere around 90) three years ago mailed bch his first attempts at poetry and pencil drawings, many of which have been/will be on the cover and the tail end of bch (his drawing of the contented bear sitting beside bear creek and of a bear’s paw print have been in many recent issues). He stated that the first bch acceptance of his poetic endeavors was not only a first attempt, both at writing poetry and at having his creations published, but was also incentive for ‘sticking with it’: he now teaches ‘haiku as a meditative practice’ in Fort Collins, Colorado, especially at the Senior Center - Bob states, ‘I also am a daily meditator attempting to be awake, living moment-to-moment, compassionate along my journey’ - and he has, for 40 years, been a wood carver of Santos: ‘noun ( pl. santos ) in Mexico and Spanish-speaking areas of the southwestern US, a religious symbol, esp. a wooden representation of a saint’ - (thank you, computer dictionary) (and the Longmont Public Library for, among many things, your free wifi) (and Perky’s coffee shop on Main and the Mister Bean coffee shop on Hover for allowing my swilling of unprecedented amounts of fine caffeinated brews and for extensive use - abuse? naw - of free wifi)
- Bob often uses the pseudonym Lone Crow with his published poetry, but he doesn’t use a computer, so I will let this little secret out, but don’t you tell him! -
bear creek haiku Lone Crow
departing
th
e
ma
i
n
s
t
r
e
a
m
well, it’s impossible to convey the quality of Bob’s (I mean, Lone Crow’s) poetry without
his pencil sketches, but I don’t know how to do that (yet) on a computer, so, anyway, here’s two more from Lone Crow -
breathing deeply
i fill my soul
with Autumn
sometimes
the muses
are silent
then
a flower blooms
ACROSS THE STONE WALL
Dwarfed by success
the ant drags
the cricket
wherever/whoever you be, you be well! mixed with some joy! and create, create!
(somebody stop me) -
thanks, Frosty - (cat needs a belly rub) -
see you in a moment -
ayaz daryl nielsen
evening peace vigil Dorothy McLaughlin
candle flames flicker
touched by our prayers
