Haiku

pallanguzhi
the filling and emptying
of life’s coffers

nolen gur …
the warm taste of winter
on my tongue

ferrying clouds
the boatman
bursts into raga malhar

her flushed cheeks
when she catches him staring
a glowing angeethi

the tart taste
of childhood memories
raw mangoes

a little girl
on her brother’s shoulders –
the Rath Yatra rolls by

darkest hour…
Kali’s smile
in the diya

displaced logs
from a colonial cabin
the sound of a creek

sapphire ice
begins to thaw . . .
the elder's story

climbing
the Seminary Hill forest
a Pacific Wren’s song

in the darkness
of a hollow tree
the owl’s dream

the red sun sets
between pale white sails
a turbulent sea

her tears . . .
the river ice melts
into a song

oak trees rising
from old church ruins —
voices in the wind

dripping icicle . . .
I step into
someone else’s dream

sudden storm …
a child cradles
bruised mangoes

fungus on seeds …
the wind sweeps
across fallow fields

sharad purnima -
my pet overturns a bowl
of rice pudding

hanging mangoes …
a child’s eyes taste
the sweetness

sinking sun
behind the amaltas …
she lights an oil lamp

a coucal
scoops out the papaya …
our guest is god

bursting cotton pods …
she can’t wait
to tell her story

fallen frangipani …
the child marks
a zigzag path