Last Night of the Year

Last night of the year
full moon hiding behind clouds-
fruit-gazing instead

New Year advent

new year advent
thinking of what ifs
and what might have beens

Wishing everybody a year of love and peace. Happy New Year!

last tanka of 2009

five hours before
the end of the decade
above my window
the cold earth is eating
a piece of blue moon

gerald england

new year's eve
cat on my lap
we watch the snow


a virtual toast
to haiku friends
--new year's eve

snowy new year's eve
the world has a clean slate

soft snow encloses
the world
in the silence
of new year's regrets

sudden blizzard -
the playing fields full
of half made snowmen.

old lavender spikes
shiver in the north wind
last year's stubble

DECEMBER 31, 2009

No cakes or cookies
to celebrate my birthday
this New Year's eve
lunar eclipse and blue moon
cheer the cup in foggy chill

.
New Year's Eve...
company in the small hours
my old cellphone bill
.

white-out
snowflakes find my place
anyway

the year closes
a full moon and shadow spaces --
what might have been

early commute
almost full moon
bleeding through the clouds

almost new year’s…
the dullness of soup cans
at the checkout

advent candle:
gave itself
to enlighten

a yellow rose blooms
against the ochre of old ice
bare stems rattle

against the house
north winds press, press --

being bullied as a child

the crack of newspaper --
dust motes wreath an old man's head

black ice
i fall into
my reflection

Pamela A. Babusci

Christmas morning
my niece keeps orbiting
the tree

Pamela A. Babusci

five days of family
only one blowup
what a great Christmas

rain on the old ice
I run behind a hedge
and piss

.

new Aussie sister
after forty years of Christmas
we toast to snow!
.

across the field
a rolled up snowball's dark path
...full moon

nothing left
of last night's fog
patches of ice

made from oceans
our snowman -
the full moon has him leaning

freezing church -
from the minister's mouth
ghosts of Christmasses past

vehicles lost
in a haze of fog and frost
trees in solitude

a single streetlamp
opens the darkness -
Emmanuel

falling snow -
the fat squirrel poses
for raisins.

snow blows
through the bare branches -
magpies squabble.

left on the plate
a knuckle's worth of nuts
over-indulgence

brief thaw and birdsong
under the tree -
tinsel litter

ice becomes lace
as the sun warms the surface
a robin wakes

an unopened
Christmas card dangles
from the trashed tree

the day after...
pieces of candy cane
swept from the floor

holly bush –
hidden robin sings
his wintersong

fresh snow
on the frozen canal -
a shell nut

***

neige fraîche
sur le canal gelé -
une coque de noix

a hint of blue
against the pre-dawn's dark clouds
an arrow of geese

christmas eve
pine trees losing snow


Winter seems to come early in Pullman, Washington. My friend Liana Munir wrote grasses were covered by ice weeks before winter. And when it comes, the street was deep under tons of snow. But, "It's an obvious impact of climate change," Lia says, pointing finger at the rising temperature in Pullman that drives away the snow. It melts very quickly, and people put off their fury coat, changed them into sweater and lighter clothing.

It's So Tinsel!!!

early Christmas morning
cooking family breakfast
and humming softly

just a hint
of pink edges to the grey
Christmas morning

cars creep along
under a fresh snowfall
houses wear shrouds

starry sky -
a handful of salt
on the icy pavement

***

ciel étoilé -
une poignée de sel
sur le trottoir gelé

one more day
to put off the wrapping
christmas eve eve


Happy Holidays to everyone!

a snowman
in the Christmas Market -
crescent moon.

festive lights -
frost sparkles
on snow.

Melting Snow

snug, warm tea in hand
watch snow melt
kaleidoscope of colors

Ice

the country - a black
plate of ice - sculptured by the
contours of our lives

Photo Ice Rink by Dave Amis

snow:
in a melted footprint
worm rears against the walls

path slick with ice
reflects a watercolour sky
starlings bicker

deckchair -
the snow mattress
slowly melts

***

chaise longue -
le matelas de neige
fond doucement

feathered brown blossom
leaning into the sun --
small sparrow


(revised 12/24; thanks, Beatrice!)

icy pavements -
the rottweillor pauses
before each step.

blizzard -
the creak of new snow
under my boots.

snow on the bushes
a scruffy blackbird
shoots out

winter morning -
two old friends
snow in our hair

Losing face
a little crestfallen today
melting snowman

sunlight flares on snow
dustbin men in Christmas hats
wake the street

Every snowflake a star
slowly falling
midwinter will rise another

Merry Christmas to all!

streets glaze with ice
tonight -
a moon mirror

when will I ever learn
love, delicate and new
like snow melts away

snow and ice burn through
the brief daylight hours--

the arc is complete

(happy winter solstice everyone!)

snowman -
for crow a gift:
carrot eyes

Yule solstice
snow weighs down the conifers
the year's wheel spins

a fresh beginning
conceals the scars between us -
snowfall

sudden gust of wind,
snow falls from the cedar tree-
fleeting stars appear

(see the haiga here)

she pulls down
her turtle neck, and
inhales deeply
holding early winter inside
but the snow gone too fast


for Liana Munir in Pullman

Wish upon a star....

All the world
at Copenhagen
I wish they had done it

yesterday's snow
a thick sheet of ice
even the dog slips

Christmas is near
a girl whose name is Martha
likes the name Arthur

A true Alan Santa story from today.
.

abandoned farm
snow reaches tractor wheels

snowflakes fall one by one
broken branch sheds the burden
cold scarf adorns its victim

snows surging
up the coast
the urge to nap overwhelms

lovely in all her whiteness
a match for the softly falling snow

wistful thoughts fill me
as winter snows pile deeper
first snow blocks barn door

icy breeze

interloping
icy breeze; pigtails, too,
well-scarved
** **

..Copyright 2009 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
-------------------------------

party time
tonight even the moon
mooning

moonless night -
snow enlightens
the path


***

nuit sans lune -
la neige éclaire
le chemin

snowflake

O thousand-eyed
snowflake, between dreams,
herald me a promise
** **
..Copyright 2009 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
------------------------------

Winter rain
bends the roses low--
lumbar pain

monks and nuns --

at the feeder sparrows and titmarshes

Dark green and white
shadow and light
our landscape

slush in the dark
a burglar alarm calls
from the high street

bright morning
yesterday's snow
a patchy yellow

Shopping women

after the holiday
I vow not to join
women shopping again

December kisses

December kisses
are deeper and less selfish
lips soon encompass
every virtue to herald
the new year with tenderness
** **

..Copyright 2009 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
--------------------------

library check-out
today all conversations
begin, "it's so cold..."


Right now it's 12°F and expected to go down to about 6° later tonight. It's so cold!

storm on the way
no milk and bread in the stores

bone-cracking cold descends --

Debussey warms the house

second snow shower -
filling a jigsaw's
missing pieces

Painting my new home
in crisp brush strokes of white
--a snowfall outside

children creep
in the morning darkness
delivery vans

did I remember to forget your kiss
drinking while softly singing your song
did I run out in the rain, too late
where now nothing but silent shadows remain
will you ever fade from my heart full of pain

slowly her perfect pristine body
moved lethargically, wrapped loosely
her luscious form molded in pale sheets
lovely in all her whiteness
a match for the softly falling snow

Christmas prep-
rum ball in powdered sugar
and angel cookies

Christmas tree
decorated and twinkling
shells from the beach

Kindness

In the spirit of Christmas, here is a framed quotation from my collection.
Enjoy! and Merry Christmas to all!

at the market
Charlie Brown Christmas trees
welcoming me

inside dry, heavy and smothering heat
outside the cold – fresh, sharp and pure

Photos La Llama / The Flame by Luis Fabres and A very cold day by broodkast

frosty monring
tiny pink begonia
encased in ice

the hours they creep
patterns repeat,
snow... snow...snow

iced shards
pure color
petals break off at my touch --

ducks and geese
clamouring for attention
four swans

each year snowy white Egrets take flight.....migration

After a major dump in Muskoka: 75 cm snow in two days...I turn to nature for solace.


bugs awake from sleep
woodpecker drums in the forest
weary shovels keep time

red berries
along hawthorn hedging
a blackbird sings

Few snowflakes
on icy grounds
a shy look
slight stir in sleep
Winter half awaken

Skeleton trees reach

gnarled branches through falling snow.

Our joints ache.

winter resurrection
a friend's face
on Google Chrome

bushes combed bare
the spire of Datchworth church
punctures the hilltop

Shrouded in fog
the lone pomegranate
in the courtyard

dressing in darkness
the house across the road
has Christmas lights.

passing geese -
another window
where curtains open


***

passage d'oies -
une autre fenêtre
où les rideaux s'écartent

malevolent wind
rattles my Christmas spirit-
bills in the mailbox

among the thistles
a molted snake's skin
she turns sixteen

Notes from the Gean
Vol. 1, Issue 3, Dec. 2009

fourth watch
my breath follows me
to the car


at the plant-
buying new men's bathroom heater
to prevent shrinkage


during the shift
folks lingering to chat
in my warm office

dawn -
dirt grey
smudges a line of trees

Photo Light Fog by technopolitan

Bayou St John - 2 days after the big rain

With rain

Bayou -

grows

the thunder of snowplows
throughout the night --
not quite the dance of sugar plum fairies

out from freezing fog:
a man
making fog

gulls wheel
over Derbyshire streets
salt on the breeze

third watch
moon crackles in the window
pulling the covers tight

bare brittle winter ice
creeps leaching deep snow prints

soft white gleam, first snow

fallen asleep -
three days burnt away
on the advent candle

far away,
it still falls -
the first snow

my breath makes clouds
in the freezing bedroom
warm blankets

the dentist's clock
is draped with tinsel
on either side
relentlessly through time
the pendulum beats on

at the feeder
birds squabbling --
seed husks punctuate fresh snow

by the calendar
not quite winter
--cat watches the snow

I actually have the day off from work today due to snow. This does not bode well!

Christmas lights -
on the cherry tree
frozen raindrops

black anorak
a boy marching to school
watched by crows

early commute
moon dancing in the ice
of car window


any suggetsions?

on the windshield
perfect whorls of frost --
hot coffee melts one or two

.
Santa duty
I ask him not to karate kick
his sister again
.

cold bright morning
a stone Buddha praying
outside the house

Wintry evening--
my grandson toddling round
room to room

damp air
distils on holly berries
miniature worlds

dripping down

grey day

rain

long drive home
snow pokes through fresh fallen snow

poinsettia
in the hearth again
bright flames


(Mainichi Daily News)

children creep to school
arms folded against the chill
why no coats?

the advent candle
burns away another day
the flame shivers

early snow--
squirrel, are you as
surprised as I am?

I woke up to about 6" this morning here in New Hampshire!

night air hushed
earth expectant --
first snow whispers in the trees

wet leaves become mud
along rain-sodden gutters
crows feast on roadkill

Winter Moon

intruder moon
a hard cold blade of light
disturbs my sleep

Photo Winter Moon by 5150fantast

season's first sleet
my upturned collar
smells of must

my hat
whipped by north wind
a kite!

November fields -
a flight of pigeons
creases silence


***

champs d'automne -
un vol de pigeons
froisse le silence

snowflakes
brushing her hair
winter grooming

an ice-cold beer
followed by a cup of tea
early winter

mergansers bob for dinner
fisher eyes them from shore 
cold lake sanctuary


sun arises
morning sun prances

--snow drips from branches

Pale and cold,

I dream of the tropics

and stare at the ceiling--

winter blood test. 

 sumac with snow hat

 raccoons dream dreams of spring

--flowers bow their heads in prayer



blue jays steal peanuts
cat awaits with patience
--under snowy bird feeder

winter night
chill of moonlight
on my skin

 

a touch of frost
paints Christmas trees on windows
goldfish in ice

autumn twilight
they left her
at the hospice

Mainichi (Japan) Daily News,
Dec. 2, 2009

afternoon walk
turning up my collar
as I leave the plant

sleepy bare forest
and winter mists around
the cemetery

leafless poplar
crowded with raucous starlings
sudden silence

advent chocolate
the chill of early morning
on bare arms and legs





Edited after Alan's advice

full moon rests on the rim of sullen hills --

its' twin gazes up from still waters

evening commute
crackling in the night sky
frigid full moon

damp street clatters
the council bin lorry
decorated with tinsel

gentle rains

lush, green fields

egrets eating

darkness presses in
earlier each day --
starlight burns brighter

leaves shiver, cling
against the thinly-veiled moon
you are gone

Friend's Death

a hummingbird
follows the falling leaf
my friend’s untimely death

The Heron’s Nest
Vol. XI, No. 4, December 2009

frosty morning -
the spider's decorated
the cherry tree

the deepening chill 


settles in my waiting soul 


early winter

bright sunshine
names carved in old granite
hoar frost highlights

.
Father Christmas
my fake beard becomes real
for the little boy
.
.
Partly as research for my Christmas novel, I'm Santa Claus in the Ice Cavern. I've been told by many grandparents that I am the best Santa they've seen.

I think some parents and grandparents even believe in me as the real Santa.

Strangely enough, sometimes, only sometimes, the full set of whiskers feel very real to me, and I occasionally test them myself! ;-)

For 24 days
we believe
in father Christmas

Locked between
my bed and quilt
December chill

full moon:
press to enter
the white garden