Poems by Leland James in the tradition of Haiku
“With or without the 5-7-5 formula and seasonal references, readers are invited
to place themselves in a poetic mode and to explore ....”
—from the Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems
by Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, and Akira Yamamoto
Stream
Above the bend, the water deep and clear,
a quarter mile seen from the Buckman Bridge;
ten minutes walk for me, my cabin near,
through pines down from a timeworn granite ridge
—a lofty mountain once, it’s said, in time
gone by. I come to see and hear the stream,
this part that of the whole makes not a page:
a line, a phrase or two, in a river’s scheme
of mounting water up ahead that this
small stream will join; and that behind, upstream,
flowing down, winding from a nascent hiss
to sing a hymnal line and brace the dream.
From this unsubstantial perch, this swaying bridge,
mirrored in the stream, the sun floats on the ridge.
First Published, HQ Poetry Magazine, The Haiku Quarterly
© 2012 Leland James
freak warm wind Chinook,
scythe of Spring, windrows of snow, exposed earth startled First published Cyclamens and Swords © 2009 Leland James |
Once
garden shears upon a low stone wall where white roses grew a toppled pedestal the basin lying near mouthful of rank water an angelic stone child stands still by the gate keeping the watch First published Reach Poetry © 2009 Leland James |