Author Archives: Puff Of Smoke Poems

another of the many ways
to think of
others, or when we must,
our selves—
How mood shifts
clouds, swift or slow
but moving
through
your landscape and mine
each of us
constantly
in the middle of
our own weather

seventeen syllables
in the continuing now
playing -ing -ing…

Dog toys
Dropped
At my feet
Unnoticed
When I
Am busy
Writing haiku
To capture
A moment

The last tangerine
wrinkled and dry
in the bowl
of its wintered skin

five a.m. dark
three cars
then
none for
many long breaths—
traffic haiku

February—
so drawn to light
even the moon
is a friendly face

pond under the snow
found by sound—
crack
of ice
beneath
your feet

winter
spare landscape, clean desk
haiku weather

boot tracks in snow,
step between the delicate
trail
of cat’s foot prints

What should really surprise us is this—
there’s a tea-drinking rock star
and a bad boy, addict rock star
The third rock star is only a
star in an alternate universe or
maybe only in his or my imagination

In this world? He’s our postman
He whistles as he delivers packages,
bills, offers of car insurance,
occasional letters. Evenings, he plays guitar
for his kids, taking all requests and we
are never amazed when he knocks on our door
the way we would be awestruck in that other world

Two of the three rock stars will grow old
one will not and you might be surprised
at which one is which but
trashed hotel rooms or Earl Grey
or today’s mail delivered—-
all three rock stars and you and me?
we’ll die someday and likely won’t see it coming
through our whole short or long lives
till it’s close and startles us with its heft
That? That not acknowledging
That ought to surprise us all