Wrinkled Sea: 100 Haiku

Here is the complete text of my second haiku book "Wrinkled Sea." It contains 120 poems and was published in 2002 by Hikoo Press, Kansas City.


1

awakened by spring light
I put on a blindfold
and go back to sleep

2

autumn dusk
a hippopotamus
perches on a withered branch

3

relieving itself
a gray cloud
turns white

4

a spell to protect
the paper tower
from wind

5

a whole sky
of stars hides
in my blindfold

6

to prevent discovery
a dinosaur dies
beneath a cathedral

7

a dream
of sharks --
the one-armed mermaid

8

staring at the sky
a fish waits
for the next ocean

9

rubbing the skin
from my face, I uncover
a jade mask

10

the moon
purchased and towed away
by aliens

11

for a good luck charm
I wear
a five-ton boulder

12

false eyelashes
barely seen
on the tarantula

13

valentine opened
valve replaced
valentine closed

14

flowing
from the chainsaw
cedar's perfume

15

walking through dead weeds
hand held up
to block the sun

16

the space
between galaxies --
that's where I'm most free

17

cherry blossoms
falling on stones
smash them

18

a stalactite and stalagmite
touch for the first time
in the dark

19

it's too white
to be my heart --
it must be my brain

20

water
come caress me
then go

21

defending houses
against the stars --
the faithful roofs

22

at night the refrigerator
yearns to escape
into the snowstorm

23

starlight
falls
on fallen leaves

24

one day
everyone ignored
a square cloud

25

during a snowstorm
a ruby grows
in a laboratory

26

from a gold frame
a holy man looks out
over a rock collection

27

without flapping its wings --
little silver plane

28

from a cloud
wind pulls
thousands of tentacles

29

sharp knife
at the string --
a kite dreams

30

staring at a blank wall --
it helps to listen
to the sea

31

in the ocean
for thousands of miles --
hidden rivers

32

in this soil
rot
of a billion petals

33

and we continue
slowly to ride
Milky Way's merry-go-round

34

the dragonfly examines
what I suppose
is my face

35

forsythia --
let's give the peacock
a crew cut too

36

pulled inside my lungs
the wind for a moment
is still

37

remembering Jesus
I walk on a sea
of concrete

38

slowly my toenails
wandering out
of my body

39

the stars
ripening -- occasionally
one falling

40

perfectly cut
to fit above everything --
blank sky

41

why do the smallest birds
always fly in the distance?

42

to smooth out the wrinkles
pull on the edge
of the sea

43

a cloud
stands still --
I float by

44

tree
my tend fingers
your ten thousand

45

angel's camouflage --
white dirt
of heaven

46

we who dwell inland
use small machines
to make ocean noises

47

during the rain
a man is repairing a wall
made of words

48

I cannot see
how I look
in my new blindfold

49

beneath the streets
tree roots reach
toward one another

50

moonlight shadows --
they never look
quite right

51

river delta
the mud has eaten
thousands of colors

52

flossing piranhas --
a difficult job
but it pays well

53

stars --
within me
tiny ancient things

54

in some other place
this little yellow sun
is scorching someone

55

beyond the window --
the world more magical
viewed through dust

56

eating raw cabbage
eating cooked cabbage
eating a gray sky

57

parking garage --
in 5000 years
stalactites?

58

even when I rest
my toenails growing
toward my destination

59

when no one is looking
the waterfall stops
for a moment to rest

60

sleepless night --
the trees beneath the street light
yearn for darkness

61

freed from cold
my spirit body
naked on an iceberg

62

stacking my vertebrae
on top of each other
I move on

63

my feet
are whispering to each other --
I play like I'm asleep

64

rather than dusting
I throw a little glitter
in the corners

65

toes --
old and fat
but still together

66

blue chicory flowers --
just before the lawnmower
I saw them

67

blue morning glories
the garden gate entangled
I go away

68

light reflect off
the light trapped in
a photograph

69

to make the photograph
look old, he took it
a long time ago

70

ghosts of dead languages --
black and white photo
of a rainbow

71

rotting off the house
a balcony
from which stars were viewed

72

bugs around a street light --
a little snow
that never falls

73

yes this morning
the fish still bathing
in the pool

74

for thousands of years
the cave patiently waiting
for electric lights

75

some younger, some older
the stalactites all dripping
in darkness

76

pulled between my thumb
and finger, the corn leaf
hisses like a snake

77

falling into the ocean
a tear expands
for thousands of miles

78

singing a hymn
to silence -- choir
of a thousand fish

79

the light has slowed
but eventually
I appear in the mirror

80

except for the sun
the sky today
flawless

81

a blind fish
listens
to falling snow

82

after the storm
a business man struck down
by a rainbow

83

freshly poured concrete sky
a yellow crocus
pops open

84

falling through
the back of the mirror
I reenter the room

85

before walking away
my shoes make sure
I've put them on

86

with hair gel
Rapunzel builds
her own tower

87

massaging the tarantula --
it wasn't as easy
as it sounded

88

a dragonfly wonders
why everyone's
so fat

89

found a meteor
shaped like a tongue
began writing haiku

90

beneath the flamenco dancers
the cockroaches
learn new steps

91

cute clouds
ugly houses
suburb twilight

92

lost myself
at the carnival
so I went home alone

93

a stone goddess
smiles
cracking hear head off

94

needing a vacation
I visit
my feet

95

hidden
in my closet -- capstone
of the Great Pyramid

96

forever salivating
the cave
hungers

97

by the time I returned from peeing
the cloud had died

(Published in "Ginyu," Ginyu Press, Japan)

98

a wet painting
their curiosity
keeps it moist

99

after two million years
face of a cliff
still waiting to be carved

100

moon
big round
bright rock