11 Haiku from Japan

Old town Kyoto!
Where geisha trot through the streets
Gift-wrapped like presents

A deep green pool
held in cracked raku tea cup
offered with two hands


If you want to sleep
watch the precision of the
tea ceremony

Five turquoise lagoons
suspended in a sea of blue
born from sand and fire

The Salaryman
feeding the birds in the park
in his old work suit

In the bamboo grove
the creaks and groans help you to
see shinto spirits

Chattering children
typhoons and evening news
family moments

One thousand years of
Japanese history, held
in a single note

The Shakuhachi!
Grown in the bamboo forests
Nourished with moon light

Everything that you are
there to benefit others
- the life of giving -

She walks home alone
they don't see the word 'hello'
printed on her bag