American hiaku is a three line verse. First line has 5 syllables. The second line has 7 syllables. The third line has 5 syllables. We live at the end of a dead end road. 'Round here it is called a "holler." There are ridges all around us. I started writing these verses about 2 years ago. I usually write these while I'm bush hoggin' the pastures.

Chickens give me eggs
White and brown with gold inside
Roosters give me grief

Squirrel's up there barking
I hear him, but he lies flat.
Huggin' the tree limb

If you look real close
You can see animal sign
No one's protestin'

The mare is limping
Maybe a bruise from a stone
No, it was a nail

Something 'bout a seed
That makes me want to plant it
Waitin' is the chore

Spring is here today
Turkeys raisin' a ruckus
Gobblers, Jakes and Hens

Ate a wild onion
Don't know why, I just did it
Won't do it again

Groundhog hole, be damned!
Filled it up with dirt last Fall
Just two words: Sea Mint

Swallows in the barn
Got a nest of little birds
Rafters sho' sound full

Light'nin' bugs are out
Queen Annie's lace is showing
Let's jump in the creek

Got my big hat on
Dragons flying 'round my head
Man! It's really hot

Bugs, bugs, buzzin' bugs
June bug flyin' on a string
Red wasp gonna sting

There's swallows by day
And bats are flying at night
Skeeters got no chance

Wild ginger, Blood root.
Trillium and mayapple
Tiger lillies...WOW!

Cicadas, locusts
Don't matter what you call 'em
I still don't like 'em

Kamikaze moth
Flew straight into the campfire
Never came back out

Mayflies come in June
June bugs come out in July
What's that all about?

Put my bird house up
S'pose to 'tract purple martins
Been shooting starlings

Black berries ripen
Red bugs are hidin', waitin'
Yin and Yang at work

Copperheads, rat snakes
Some red bellied water snakes
Garden of Eden

Black willow, walnut
Sweet gum, cedar, sycamore
Forest full of trees

Hard to hear a thing
Tractor engine way too loud
I should plug my ears

Bush hog chews the grass
Grasshopper hitchin' a ride
Big orange limo

Fish are bitin' good
Damsel fly rests on my line
Won't rest very long

The day she was born
Horses were not in my thoughts
Now they consume me

Going round and round
Barn swallows keep me comp'ny
Mowing's not so bad

Fishin' should be good
But the pastures need mowin'
Wish I had more time

Second day of spring
Gloomy, rainy, wintery
Who missed the memo

Must be gittin' old
Got plantar fasciitis
Foot with kidney stones

My head hair is thin
But it grows good on my back
Now it's in my ears

Here's one to ponder
Can chickens scratch in the mud
Nope, didn't think so

My heart's beating fast
A rooster just attacked me
Should I get a gun?

Had to kill a hen
She was very, very sick
Her last egg was huge

Why'm'I gittin fat
Cut back on the butter rolls
Down to two a day

Spirits in the Pasture (a four verse haiku)

Best time to bush hog
Is late in the afternoon
When shadows are long

Each day about 5
A doe and fawn silently
Appear in the field

I don't see them come
But, they are here just the same
I watch as I mow

They move a little
with each turn of the tractor
Then, they disappear

The Unknown (a three verse haiku)

Nothing as scary
as a pasture never mowed
what's under them weeds?

a stump? or a log?
maybe a strand of barb wire
that will stop my blades

since all is hidden
I will pass over it twice
just to get the feel

A Revelation (a four verse haiku)

Poke weed and Pig weed
Are like the widow's oil jar
And her meal barrel

You can cut them down
The next day, they're back again
Life is a struggle

What is abundance?
Are there cans in the pantry?
So then, be thankful

Then, what is pasture?
Is there good grass in the field?
So then, be thankful

Copyright January 1, 2009