Issue #119, Eldorado Springs, Colorado. November 6, 2005. Haiku writers Patrick Lynn and Jonathan Machen visit a climber's paradise on a warm day in November. Additional haiku by Susan Peterson and Krista Morien.
nooks with nubbins
chalk reveals climbers' path
on steep overhang
memories of bluebirds
jarred loose by the white noise
of the waterfall
each intricacy i encounter
say a rock
another five minutes
mild november day
the promise of winter
shrouded by summer
climbers and their gear
as bright as the lichen but
more provisional
from the shadows
within the pine needles
comforting smells and birdsong
he finds a haiku
but struggles to remember
the exact cadence
dry autumn
weeks after the berries are gone
purple birdshit remains
i startle the fox
who secretly
watches climbers
above my head
white continents
troll silently by
a busy canyon
climbers yell, trains whistle
silence in-between
climber
stuffed in crack
grunting and sweating
haiku climbers
their poetry the movement
touching the rock
everything about
this gorgeous late autumn day
could be otherwise
in a shallow granite basin
a few whole juniper berries
among the amber-colored seeds
from my perch i drive
matchbox cars full of climbers
along the dirt road
intense yellow needles
penetrate the murk
in which they float
talking to teslin
under eldorado cliffs
tears roll down rocks
teslin's acceptance
of swollen legs and all the rest
with me on my walk
happily chucking
smooth white branches
into the river one by one
early november
each time the sun reappears
amazed at the change
water ouzel distracts my mind
while the river visits
with the rest of me
..."the Kev"
by the river
a bush with seeds designed by
Dr. Seuss
Spread upon the ground
Red and yellow confetti
Dropped from outstretched limbs
a lone conifer
losing the forest battle
in aspen prison
frozen before me
fire spreading up the hillside
autumn aspenwoods
walking the middle world
river rushing below
waves of aspen above
trying to uncap
something inside, to fill fully
with the aspen light
hard to believe
that everything is falling
in this beautiful blaze
it feels like fall
is falling even faster
on the hike back
losing their gumption
grasshoppers fall to the side
in the autumn wind
aspen eyes unblinking
golden leaves whirling everywhere
they've seen this before
today the fall wind
sweeps through purposefully
pouring gold from the trees
solo/group kukai drawing/writing/photography jonathan machen