Now Then

(C) R.L.K.

summer twilight and
   through the old streets
    a warm wind's
     stirring memories /

                                           as if,  just as if :

   I'm young again and climbing
      the wide gray steps of the front porch

          while through an open         upstairs window

                                                 music drifts
                                              down in
                                            welcome

Along These Paths: Three Haiku

(C) R.L.K.

1.
Thoughts of yesterday
while walking in wind & rain;
old leaves tumble down.

2.
On a misty night
a hotel sign weakly shines
on a dead-end street.

3.
Sun setting slowly;
an empty grain train rolls through
shadow-softened hills.

Three Syllabics

(C) R.L.K.

Another Place

This clear night's big moon
beaming, stars seeming
to cap the tall trees,
wind-sigh, and nearby
a small lake gleaming.

Early Evening

After the storm
a windy time;
clouds are ragged,
the windows dim,
still streaked with rain.

This Much Later 

On the corner of a
drizzly twilit street a
page of old newspaper
clings to a wooden bench.

Traveling Songs (Haiku)

(C) R.L.K.

Late in the evening,

the sound of an old guitar

and soft falling rain.

....

A room for the night;

time slowly passing while rain

drips down the windows.

....

After the rain ends,

a faint imprint of moon in

a cloud-ragged sky.

In an Old Park

(C) R.L.K.

The sky turning cobalt blue,
The night gone cool,
The wind dispersing the last loitering clouds,
The moon appearing, full and round,
As an oak tree spreads a shadow on the ground.

Two In January

(C) R.L.K.

1.

Winter afternoon:
after a snow shower a
deep chill; nothing moves
but the shadow of a cloud
crossing the deserted street.

2.

Snow-covered maples
atop the hill; a few things
in a landscape,but
beautiful, just beautiful
on this fragile, fleeting day

Advent: Three Tanka

(C) R.L.K.

1.
Dawn in the foothills:
gold and blue, light and shadow
play upon the ground;
a small bird in a tall tree
sings its song into the wind.

2.

Fading afternoon:
ballet of light in the sky;
the old brook murmurs
an accompaniment as
I pause on the woodland path.

3.
Tonight a chilly
wind has cleared away the clouds
and now a thin old
moon, slightly tilted, shines a
little light upon the hills.