"The Dragonfly," by Matso Basho

Hot Day, Cold Watermelon

   Pink tongue (the center)

tastes. Sweet. Around it the mouth
  praises water: cold!

hans ostrom 2025

River Rocks

 River rocks rolled,

current-rubbed, grit-buffed, &

for now in this garden

hans ostrom 2024

Brown Rabbit in a Meadow

 

Rabbit, still as stone.

in profile--one brown eye stares.

chewing jaws move, work.

hans ostrom 2024

International Arrivals

 

this is an age of

people poking, touching screens--

heads bent--birds searching.

       *

in white-washed light

we strangers wait--no smiling--

for ones arriving. 

       *

new citizens wait

for new immigrants--happy!

everyone else: glum.

       *

among a crowd of

people I'll never know, I

wait for one I love.

hans ostrom 2024

One-Year Old Henry's Blues

   ... start with a higher-

pitched whine followed by grumbles
          low, real low: fussy

Carrot Haiku

 Sweetness of carrots

can come wrapped in a thin shield
  of faint soap-flavor
                        *
  Oh, sunset aflame,
color-cousin of citrus fruit
  & road caution cones
                      *
  Large bits, drillers of
soil. Gaudy green Mardi Gras
  feathers. Round shoulders.
                      *
  Hide is rough, lumpy--
carrots are miners, you know.
  Tips taper to thin string.
                    *
  The smell of nectar
seized from soil, of earned sugar.
  Subtler than parsnips.
                   

"Four Letter Word," by James A. Emanuel

A 20-second music/poetry video of James Emanuel's "Four Letter Word." As far as I know, Mr. Emanuel conceived of this form--the "jazz haiku." His collected poems: Whole Grain: Collected Poems  (Lotus Press 1991) is available on amazon.com and elsewhere.

Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP2eM6xsygU

Cat's Eyes Haiku

pupils of a cat's
eyes: flat black stones
under pale green waters


hans ostrom 2019

Haiku Flu

too sad, haiku, you
have the flu & your
fevered syllables shiver



hans ostrom 2018

Peckish Muse

Should Muse want to munch,
pre-lunch, on a haiku,
fix a syllable-snack


hans ostrom 2018

Alps

odd word, alps--
awed by these massifs we
use a word that is a gulp


hans ostrom 2018

Museum of Design, Milano

in the cafe of
the Museum of Design
a warped table wobbles



hans ostrom

Haiku Shoes

sonnets wear slippers,
ballads like boots
L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E poems,
hip waders, &
haikus, just shoes


hans ostrom 2018

At the Airport

airplanes not flying
sniff gates sadly. they
are too big too enter


hans ostrom 2018

Young Olive Tree

smooth meandering trunk
young olive tree
soft silver mist, Sicily


hans ostrom 2018

College Test in May

students look at the test
a contract with memory.
sunlight in windows


hans ostrom 2018

Lichen, Sierra Nevada

pale green lichen
on blue rocks, top of mountain.
a patient form of life.


Hans Ostrom

Consider It Done (Hike Haiku)

as we hiked I said
I like you & promised to write
a haiku for you


hans ostrom 2018

The Stemware of the Bourgeois Garden

tulips. red yellow white orange
flexible stemware
filled with soft secrets


hans ostrom 2018