Cuttings:
Winter
Haiku and Short Poems
Winter and Spring Season
1998 - 2025
By Mike Garofalo
Place, Setting, Location:
Red Bluff, Tehama County,
North Sacramento Valley,
California, 1998-2016
Pointing at the moon,
making a point—
her lovely fingers.
Shadowless dusk
growing colder—
squealing teakettle.
Only the idea of self remains
Floating on a sea of cells;
Only heartbeats short of eternity
In breath after breath we dwell.
A dog barks at nothing,
a thousand ducks twitch—
winds of winter.
fruitless
lawn tree—
full of flowers
Daily rain—
from the deep well
this glass of water.
The leafless poplars sway,
a warm and windy Winter's day—
grackles chattering.
She walks by
followed by my eyes—
desires linger.
sipping steaming coffee,
their eyes playing
possibilities
Brushing my dog—
the cow licks
her calf's eye.
leaning over
stirring soup—
hot and sour smells
dark barn—
a ray of light
from roof to floor
The raspy-voiced crow
perched on a pine pole
preached the Winged Dharma;
wayward birds trembled, fearing
rebirth as human beings.
frozen puddles—
the crack of axes
from four directions
biting off
more than I can chew—
a broken wisdom tooth
a frog floats
belly up—
dead silence
Last day of Winter,
leafless walnut trees—
form is emptiness.
First day of Spring,
clear sky to Mt. Shasta—
emptiness is form.
Ripping out
a walnut orchard—
diesel smoke
back gate open
dogs gone—
foggy dawn
Surrounded by raindrops—
walkers
at daybreak
shadowless dusk
growing colder—
squealing teakettle
The moon's low, a crow caws,
The landscape's laced with frost.
Under the riverside maples,
Lit by fishing lamps,
My sadness keeps me from sleep.
Beyond old Suzhou town,
Down to the traveler's boats,
Han Shan's Temple bell
Rings clear
Right at midnight.
oranges sway
in the cool breeze—
sunlight on a pitchfork
I turn and stare into the foggy mist;
Wondering, wondering ...
about what I missed.
Flocks of white
geese in the light gray fog—
this way and that way.
murmuring rooftop
gurgling gutter lines—
stalled winter storm
my boys,
bright eyed—
a tray of cookies
My poems: often, barely;
when good,
rarely.
warm valley—
countless geese
seeking refuge
Loosing ground from unconscious rounds
Of the "This is Not It" mantra sounds;
Burning holes in my soul
Over and over, no loophole
for escape.
None!
Replay Mind, Spellbound.
bone dry
dog turds
laced with frost
This cabbage, these carrots,
these potatoes, these onions
will all soon become me.
Such a tasty fact.
Bless the farm!
Bless the market!
Bless the kitchen!
Alive with bees ...
radiant pink
peach blossoms
Between the Sun
and the nearest Black Hole,
my home.
hundreds of bees
humming—
cypresses in bloom
walking past
my old dog's grave
not a trace
Daily rain—
from the deep well
this glass of water
Redding at sunset:
mauve rain clouds
mountains of shadows
daylight and darkness
Spring
balanced
A poet of yore
whispers to us—
gently turning pages.
brilliant yellow
border of daffodils
behind barbed wire
moving conversations
down gravel roadways ...
crisscrossing ideas
setting potted figs
along the warm southern wall—
a goose flaps by
Weeding my fiction books;
into the giveaway box
two old Bibles tossed.
Place, Setting, Location:
Vancouver, Clark County,
Columbia River Valley,
Washington, 2017-2025
Poems from this time period
will be added later in 2025!
| Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo |
|||
| Winter | Spring | Summer | Fall |
| January | April | July | October |
| February | May | August | November |
| March | June | September | December |
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works
At the Edges of the West, Volume 1
Highway 101 and Hwy 1: Pacific Coast
At the Edges of the West, Volume 2
Highway 99 and Interstate 5
Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems
Arranged by the Seasons
Mike Garofalo lives in Vancouver,
Washington.
He worked for 50 years
in city and county
public
libraries,
and in elementary
schools. He
graduated with
degrees in
philosophy,
library science, and
education. He
has been
a web
publisher since 1998.
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works
Copyrighted 1998-2025
by Michael P. Garofalo.
Green Way Research
All rights reserved
Cuttings: Winter Season
First Distributed on the Internet
in September 1999.
Updated in March of 2017.
This webpage work is licensed
under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Created by Michael P. Garofalo,
Green Way Research,
Valley Spirit Center,
Gushen Grove Notebooks,
Vancouver, WA © 2025 CCA 4.0.
This document was last edited, revised,
reformatted, added to, relinked,
changed, improved, or modified
by Mike Garofalo
on April 3, 2025.