On Possibility

The sea glimpsed through glass --
how many words are held in
this little ink pot?

Smoking Haiku

Curlicues of smoke
write characters in still air --
a craving for peace.

On the Gift of an Inkpot

This sepia ink
seems to hold a hint of blood --
a trace of old wounds?

After Summer Rain

Professorial -
gulls walking, arms behind backs,
heads bent for earthworms.

On the City Preparing for Festival

The same loneliness
of abandoned scaffolding
starting as ending.

On the Taking Up, and Casting Off, of Spring Raiment

Just as the trees start
donning their new leafy coats,
the students shed theirs.

On the Nurturing Sage

The scholar waters
his plant on the windowsill;
his prose he keeps dry.

On Spring Thinking

These gleaming snowdrops
standing about with bowed heads.
Scholars in the quad.

On Externalities

How busy they look!
Figures in lightened windows,
seen from far away.

On Lending and Loss

The gaps between them

make old friends lean drunkenly,

these books on my shelf.