Greeting Spring
running barefoot through the forest
imagine

three sparrows
flit from hedge to bird table
council grass cutter

_____________________________________________

rains pummel the earth
incessant birdsong --

winter's silence breaking apart

first cherry blossom -
shy streaks
of red

the recycling box
is full of April showers
the cat stays indoors

the end of March

embarrassed naked branches

attempt retraction

inspection done
plant breathes a collective sigh
then high fives

early morning
fog drips from a fuzzy moon
pools under the street lights

thin drizzle -
jackdaws gather twigs
and chatter
_____________________________________________

under a bush
green phalli rise -
tulip buds

a round moon
rises early this evening--
pale creeper

the beauty of blooming Bradford pears

without the odor of blooming Bradford pears-

thank you unusually cold spring

reaching for a vest -
cherry blossom
sprinkled with snow

Great tits and Blue tits
flock to seed dispensers
white azalea blooms

scandal in Rome
a couple of cardinals
pacing our patio

a single blossom falls
and with it
the whole world

red tulips
against glossy Viburnum leaves
sunlight glinting

upon a grey fence
amidst a leafless lilac
the cardinal blooms

Gennem visne blade
spirrer foråret
endeligt

-

Through withered leaves
spring sprouts
at last

_____________________________________________

Smile brings
on beloved face
spring’s colourful play.



Youthful flowers
swing on gentle wind
welcoming spring

dandelion sun
flowers in a sunny spot
Hyacinth grave-scent

over the fence
of the playground
swings come and go


***

par-dessus la palissade
du terrain de jeux
un va-et-vient de balançoires

immature cherry
sparse in its blossoms
just like you

through tiny movements
I feed a deepened hunger -
sowing lettuce seeds

and my face gladdens
rising arch of yellow
daffodil smile

Saturday alarm clock -

hungry baby birds

peeping

_____________________________________________

spring light on pine needles --

your laughter lingering in the air

spring, earth softens
as the sun grows near
warming barren beds
wake those sleepy seeds
on the 29th a new moon will rise
as we make our way back into soft spring
breezes, the growing time

blustery night
rain slams into the windows
the first red tulips

Response

treelike,
his wherewithal bears fruit
blue seas respond
the calm of ages past surfaces,
oblivious of disavowal
** **

..circa 2010..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
------------------------

It’s in the air
green socks on clothesline
spring

late in the cool of night
when primrose bloom
I collect some pedals
for under my pillow
and make a wish
in the moonlight
never to be alone

tv aerial

a light wind interferes with

a collared dove

semi-detached -

two magpies

facing the rain

on the roof
a pigeon is cooing
wet tyres hiss

AIB* morning
enjoying the daffodils
as I walk in the plant



* yearly three day audit of the plant I work in

inverted worlds
cover the windows
raindrops fall

lightning flashes
on the far horizon
a navy mom
smoothes the wrinkles
of her son’s picture

In The Pebbled Shore:
The Tanka Society of America’s
2009 Anthology, 2010.

depressing morning
but for a jug of joy:
daffodils

sun burns off the frost
in the unheated greenhouse
my seedlings die

lone among greens
a bright yellow daffodil
hitchhikes school buses

afternoon drive
buds bursting out on the trees
magnolias unfurled

helicopter buzzing --
in the sodden grassland,
daisies

"Let those
who have not sinned
cast the first stone to her."
Left alone, He enjoins her,
"Sin no more!"

catkins on the willow
A blue tit is startled
by the curtain

first cardinal
trying out the chair
without snow

spring equinox

spring equinox discarded fag ends among the flowers

gerald england
_____________________________________________

jacket opened
to the first sun of March -
"times are changing"


***

veste large ouverte
au premier soleil de mars -
"times are changing"

hissing tyres
peppercorns of rain
on the dog's fur

half awake
a rumbling reminder
that California
still remains
earthquake haven


A very delayed reaction ....

Bedazzlement

color me harp
winglike embrace let surface
is it a quiver next
to grow its fraction
spring's equanimity bedazzles
** **

..circa 2010..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
-------------------------------------------

_____________________________________________

gardens and decks
caught in the evening light --

kingdoms within kingdoms

first rain:
little magpie
shakes its head


sunset: for a few minutes
the slush and the mud turn gold

a dead frog
broken on the road
wind in my ears

sparrows fly in threes
from hedge to sunlit tree
a belt of jasmine

busy sparrow -
a long thread of grass
to weave around her

a swathe of snowdrops
naturalised on a lawn
compost worms wiggle

Greeting New Year*
he worships nine goddesses
and fasting too




*Now is the time of 'Navratri', marking the Beginning of
Spring as well as the Hindu New year

open window
cats fall over each other
getting to the sill

already warm
children pass in just their shirts
swathes of crocuses

The visual evidence
decreasing snow
I believe

Blinded and hypnotized
this early morning sun
I believe in spring

____________________________________________

fog hugs the coast
sight lines slip away

echoes return

cool night rain -
surprising scent of licorice
upon my warm face

the spring wind swished

the stern dress of the camellia-

made her blush

sleepy in class
the boy blames it on
daylight savings time

spring -
a green shadow spreading
across the trees

mid-March...
the increased desire
for corned beef

From the roof top
beautiful birdsong emerge
Blackbird

A dressing gown
fetching the morning paper
silence Blackbird

Stop and listen
song from heart
Blackbird

Expression
hope and new start
Blackbird

sunshine
streaming through half-closed curtains
trees rocked by wind

orphanage window
plastic flowers bloom
in the snow

The Mainichi (Japan) Daily News
March 11, 2010

_____________________________________________


builder's promise kept,

work's done-- amongst the rubble,

crocuses and snowdrops

.

talcum powder sky
lets the sun shine through
blue tits eating peanuts

It’s in the air
this indefinable something
spring

_____________________________________________

freeway -
a flight of migratory birds
high in the sky


***

voie express -
un vol de migrateurs
haut dans le ciel

Rubbing
the rabbit's hind foot--
St Patrick's Day

College basketball tournaments

L. A. traffic jam
he peeks at the sports page
March madness

Haiku Harvest, Vol. 6, No. 1
Spring/Summer 2006

spring hunger-
and my crocuses
are roses
_____________________________________________

young blades
stitch through old snows --

cruel spring

dream catcher rain
allows the earthworms to be
sea horses for a day

Happiness
in a ray of hope--
the new sun

overnight rain
brings the misery of mud
loose hair is wind streamed

A New Approach

even the pebbles
seem to have borne a new approach
a newfound glint
each bud, each footstep
on trail, too, lends significance
** **

..circa 2010..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony

---------------------------------------

snow on distant hills -
alder catkins shiver
in the breeze.
_____________________________________________

Captured branches
ice shine in the sun
on the brink of spring


On the brink of spring
by the sun the ice shine
captured branches

On the brink of spring
ice captured branches
sunlit tree

_____________________________________________

spring funeral -
carefully into the earth
carefully covered

the garden
still covered in brown leaves
a dog at the window

pale crocuses
Gnome holds up his carp
with pleasure

sparrows sit
touching heads -
spring inches in

Under the feet
smell of crushed dried leaves
spring calling

a barking dog
echoes in a silent street
a coal tit darts away

flood my empty eyes
with a deluge of light -
spring fever

sly march the piper
dances in the woods and fields
his music wakes all

early morning gull -
a creaking door
opens into spring

shadows become
stencils of night frost
Forsythia blushes

Returning home
with wearied masks
Holi faces



(Holi is an Indian kigo, marking arrival of spring)

Dusty leaves
break days of silence:
spring's first rain

sudden rain
her umbrella widens
to take her lover in

World Haiku Review
Vol. 8, Issue 1, Jan. 2010

crocus buds

catch raindrops

and hold them close

vacant possession -

a great tit investigates

the nest box

.
bright breeze
the kettle warms up
a cloudless day
.

yellow crocuses
a lady in a green jumper
scrapes her windshield

Desperately writing
spring must come now
or else!

morning sun
streams through the window
paws chilled by frost

my daughter
rehearses a new song
march!

oh, so early
the March sun
--and the birds!

rain fall, bitter and chill
a chrysalis hanging
from a raspberry cane

dogs barking in darkness
the moon through open curtains
keeps her from sleep

sparrows in sunshine
a blue tit on the buddleia
teases out old seeds