Mainly works of Haiku, (but some other works also) by Mark Shean- New page under ‘construction’ as I transfer poems from my note book, (the kind with actual paper in it) to my lap top. My rss feed is http://mafirearmsafety.com/feed/ for any updates to this site. M.S.
INTRODUCTION:
I was introduced to Haiku when I was in the third grade by a Mrs. Hanna, one of those rare teachers that make a lasting impression, from then to now I have been ‘hooked’ on the simplicity as well as the depth of Haiku.
We can define/breakdown HAIKU in this way:
HAIKU (hi’koo) A major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables, divided into three horizontal, (English style) lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, (Japanese style is vertical) employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons.
Evoke (i vok’) To call up, produce, or suggest (memories, feelings, etc.) to elicit or draw forth: ‘the music evoked the mood of spring’.
Allusion (e loo’ zhen) n. A passing or casual reference; an incidental mention: an allusion to Shakespeare. A metaphor, to allude to.
Metaphor (met’ e for’) The application of a word or phrase to an object or concept it does not literally denote, in order to suggest comparison with another object or concept, as in (“A mighty fortress is our God”).
Mine for the most part is not purely traditional Japanese Haiku in any strict sense. I have made a point of not reading published poets Haiku so as to be original, and without influence from them in creating my own thoughts and style. I think of my ‘style’ as American Haiku, I touch on many things including politics, I claim in my Haiku an ample touch of ‘poetic license’ as is the right of any poet at heart.
My ’American Style’ Haiku, Objective; To create an image or scene from each line, to tie together and start you on a quest to complete a scene/story from these fragments in your minds eye, to stir the imagination in a few short lines.
The following Haiku are the sole creation and property of Mark Shean, and cannot be reproduced without his explicit permission. These Haiku are dedicated to my beautiful wife Diane : )
Brite hazel-blue eyes
happy, pretty Autumn soul
My hearts desire
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Imagination
From seventeen syllables
A story is wrest
___________________________________________________________________________________________
To link with the old
Common thread, with modern thoughts
Times, climate of world
___________________________________________________________________________________________
1.
Small town, baseball game
Apple pie set out on sills
Porch swings, light laughter
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Green, orange and brown
Sentrys to dusty dirt roads
Wild black eyed susans
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Children run and hide
all-ee all-ee, in come free !
Parents remember
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Good memories, bad
Lifes experience, minds eye
Times past, subtle change
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Deep grey mornings dawn
Ominous, swift, snow chilled clouds
Winters pending storm
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6.
Mighty soaring wings
Diving death, a rabbits cry
Eagle nest, young’s kill
___________________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Veiled sun straining
Grey day waits
December marches on
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
White, colorful orbs
Watching changes in the world
Your souls reflection
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9.
Forever the night
Interpreting life’s bounty
Intricate textures
__________________________________________________________________________________________
10.
Some people will say
True loves feeling comes but once
Hear only your heart
___________________________________________________________________________________________
11.
Idle day, cane pole
Drifting bobber, gentle tug
Happy lads blue-gill
__________________________________________________________________________________________
12.
Wild windswept whitecaps
Stormy clouds racing onward
Gulls erratic flight
___________________________________________________________________________________________
13.
Agile, wary prey
Nervous nibbles, twitching ears
Fleet hooves, steady fear
___________________________________________________________________________________________
14.
Tree buds hardy growth
Forest branches reaching out
Springs boundless promise
___________________________________________________________________________________________
15.
Tranquil harbor waits
Jetty, protective sentinel
Oceans moody whims
___________________________________________________________________________________________
16.
Full moons blue haze cast
A snow-scapes reflective glow
Clear, crisp winters eve
________________________________________________________________________________________
17.
Grass, glimmering dew
Early morning, night retreats
Wrens melodious song
________________________________________________________________________________________
18.
Minnows reflection
Survivals unending play
Great Blue Heron’s eye
_________________________________________________________________________________________
19.
Gale driven crystals
Sanctuary nature seeks
Forest’s straining boughs
__________________________________________________________________________________________
20.
A young pilot dies
Country’s reflective sorrow
Parents dream, high cost
___________________________________________________________________________________________
21.
Stormy day, plane crash
Lofty goals, now such a loss
Prayers sent to Heaven
_________________________________________________________________________________________
22.
Shadows lengthening
Steadily ascending moon
Night creatures stirring
_________________________________________________________________________________________
23.
Night’s promise of snow
Moon’s encircling halo
Dawns cold, telling flakes
___________________________________________________________________________________________24.
24.
Deep forest shadows
Murmuring brook, speckled trout
Natures solitude
___________________________________________________________________________________________
25.
Peepers incessant calling
A footfall
Silence
__________________________________________________________________________________________
26.
Passing chill, Springs warmth
Waken natures fragrant scents
Budding new life stirs
__________________________________________________________________________________________
27.
Softly falling snow
Mesmerizing danger illuminated
A nights traversed road
__________________________________________________________________________________________
28.
Churning depths assault
Breached jetty’s futile battle
Sea’s harsh endeavors
__________________________________________________________________________________________
29.
Bright hazel-blue eyes
Her happy lighthearted soul
My hearts desire
__________________________________________________________________________________________
30.
Wide cool blue ocean
Sands shimmering heat mirage
Tan, relaxed bodies
__________________________________________________________________________________________
31.
Warm breeze, swaying hay
Clear sky above amber plains
Whispering beauty
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
32.
Sea’s treacherous reef
Flashing beacon, ships warning
Graveyards looming hulls
______________________________________________________________________________________
34.
Bare limbs intertwined
Warm shuddering, sweet release
Soft sighs subsiding
______________________________________________________________________
35.
Angry windswept sea
Racing clipper, soaring hearts
Billowing canvas
______________________________________________________________________
36.
Great fog shrouded lake
Birch canoe’s silent progress
Hawk feathers, war paint
_________________________________________________________________
37.
Lusts ageless calling
Rhythmically rising, falling
Youth’s forceful yearning
_____________________________________________________________________
38.
Mid June summers night
Young couple, back seat romance
Chevy’s squeaky springs
_________________________________________________________________________________
39.
Tulip fields, windmills
Ox drawn barge’s, long canals
Friendly folks, wood shoes
_________________________________________________________________________________________
40.
Young lovers hiking
Rain, a tent hastily pitched
Pleasures warmth within
__________________________________________________________________________________
41.
Warm Hawaiian night
Inhibitions abandoned
Splashing, laughing, love
_____________________________________________________________________________________
42.
Children’s bobbing fun
Rainbow colors tug on strings
Balloons in the park
______________________________________________________________________________
43.
Joyful memories
Children skipping, London Bridge!
Youthful wonderment
_______________________________________________________________________
44.
Happy playground sounds
Adventure rides, shiny slide
Childhood fantasies
******************************************************************************************
45. to 56 Dedicated to September 11, 2001 Lest we forget.
Bound in infamy
Winged evil and innocence
A shocked nation mourns
****************************************************************************************
46.
Selfless courage
Unparalleled moral strength
The flight of ’93′
*************************************************************************************
47.
Flame, billowing smoke
Softened steel, cascading glass
The hellish descent
*********************************************************************************
48.
Scarred, surging workforce
Individual courage
Many the brave soul
************************************************************************************
49.
Duties valiant call
Responders courageous toil
Big ‘A’s bravest fall
************************************************************************************
50.
Frantic families
Scant success, few miracles
Forlorn they linger……….
*******************************************************************************************
51.
Charred rubble, grim crop
Volunteers searching, weeping
Drastically changed world
**************************************************************************************
52.
Honest, steeled resolve
“Your with us or against us”
Countries on notice
*********************************************************************************************
53.
A Speech to Endure
Hushed, and attentive Congress
Emerging leader
************************************************************************************
54.
An angry nation
Sharpen the swords, beat the drum!
Righteous call to arms
****************************************************************************************
55.
Family, loved ones
Red white and blue Patriots
Thoughts of what matter
******************************************************************************************
56.
Congress reminded
Honor the Constitution
Uphold and Defend!
We Will Never Forget 9-11
*************************************************************************************************
57.
Evening, fading light
An angler casts out his bait
The surfs gentle lull
_________________________________________________________________
58.
Squirrels nervous chatter
Forest creatures warning knell
Predator stalking
___________________________________________________________________________________
59.
Lions rush, wild fear
Success not, another night
Hungers agony
___________________________________________________________________________________
60.
Calm surface facade
Abyss, darkest mysteries
Vastly unknown world
_________________________________________________________________
61.
Battles swirling smoke
Young men aged from death and strife
Old veterans mourn
______________________________________________________________________________
62.
Morning dove in flight
On high, speeding talons plunge
Blood falling to earth
______________________________________________________________________________________
63.
Silky satin sheets
Inviting lovers pleasure
Sensual, joined bliss
______________________________________________________________________________________
64.
Carelessly tossed stone
Serene pond’s disturbed surface
Rings reaching outward
_____________________________________________________________________________________
65.
Sun sparkled fair sea
Albatross, white wake churning
Merchant ship, steam on!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
66.
Watchful amber eyes
Patient, powerful puma
Acute senses probe
____________________________________________________________________________________
67.
Faded vanities
Flowing time, forgotten names
Fame’s fleeting moment
_________________________________________________________________________________________
68.
Tandem swans in flight
Till deaths parting, natures bond
Loyal, steady course
_________________________________________________________________________________________
69.
High meadow, dawns light
Shimmering alpine flowers
Natures velvet dance
____________________________________________________________________________
70.
Mothers diversion
Padded death swiftly passing
Fawns instinctive fright
_____________________________________________________________________________________
71.
Coma mind, trapped soul
Muted cry to be set free
Hopeful prayers, cold fear
_______________________________________________________________________________
72.
Days dawn, flashing hues
Many throated melody
Feathered harmony
____________________________________________________________________________
73.
Deadly shoals, ships plight
Heaving sea, windswept fury
Waves crash, lights warning
________________________________________________________________________________
74.
Time silenced ego’s
Mortality once realized
Melancholy thoughts
______________________________________________________________________________________
75.
Wild eyes, nostrils flared
Gate opens, bolts, mane whipping
Hooves flash, pounding heart!
__________________________________________________________________________________
76.
Vast covering clouds
Suns filtered beams, darkened days
Woodland paths cold way
___________________________________________________________________________
77.
Circled stars with stripes
Liberties toll, freedoms cost
Country’s Bill of Rights
_________________________________________________________________________________________
78.
Guard well your loved ones
Through deeds and prayer, evil heaved
Thy Lord will guide thee
_______________________________________________________________________________________
79.
Fear not the darkness
Thy Lords light shall guide brightly
the pathway to love
_____________________________________________________________________________
80.
Sorrow not of death
Brief life, fleeting memory
God’s eternal joy
________________________________________________________________________________
81.
Smitten loyalties
Seek in prayer the Lord to guide
Prosper in HIS love
___________________________________________________________________________________
82.
United Nations
Overrun Constitution
Presidential nod?
________________________________________________________________________________
83.
Struggling workforce
Corporate greed taken hold
America torn
_____________________________________________________________________________________
84.
Special interest groups
Overlooked constituents
Priorities bought
_______________________________________________________________________________________
85.
Politicians scheme
Handouts, to keep people down
Progressives welfare
___________________________________________________________________________________
86.
Police the worlds wrongs
Ignore America’s throngs
Misled ambitions
_____________________________________________________________________________________
87.
Taxation’s bondage
Five months of year, slavery
Congress, apathy
_______________________________________________________________________________________
88.
Your tax for worlds sake
Constituents frustration
Congress, arrogance
_______________________________________________________________________________________
89.
Money sent abroad
An ungrateful, sponging world
Middle class, awake!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
90.
Fragile peace and hope
Explosion, death, martyrdom
Nations in mourning
___________________________________________________________________________________
91.
Rockets deadly route
Big guns rising to answer
Israel’s lost peace
______________________________________________________________________________________
92.
Grief of families
Long Island, fiery death
Questions unanswered
______________________________________________________________________________________
93.
New seeds of peace sown
Many nations steadfast hope
Growing peace or strife?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
94.
Peace, prayer, hope, bonded
Slim bridge spanning wide chasm
First steps, faith, courage
___________________________________________________________________________________
95.
Young children dying
Despair, Chernobyl’s legacy
Nuclear warning
______________________________________________________________________________________
96.
Fishing plug taunting
Quiet solitude, calm lake
Fisherman’s day dream
____________________________________________________________________________________
97.
Happy abandon
Scruffy bug-eyed doggy love
Unconditional
________________________________________________________________________________________
98.
Delicate winged flight
Impulses, flames obsession
Fatal attractions
_________________________________________________________________________________-
99.
Collect, long distance
Youths desperate, hopeful call
Parents prayer fulfilled
____________________________________________________________________________________
100.
History unfurled
Tall masts, billowing canvas
Freedoms sentinel
_____________________________________________________________________________________
101.
Ye ole Iron-sides
Freedoms stalwart guardian
A grateful country
___________________________________________________________________________________
102.
Growth, steady, subtle
Natures winter weathered glen
Springtime’s bold promise
_____________________________________________________________________________________
103.
Lone markers vigil
Times weather worn epithet
Visitors no more
______________________________________________________________________________________
104.
Golden quake, white bark
Colored tapestry, chill wind
Dormant winter nears
_____________________________________________________________________________________
105.
Deep churning waters
Black orb, primitive white death
Great shadow cast down
____________________________________________________________________________________
106.
Hazy blue sky
Diamonds sparkle on the bay
Slight breeze, tide recedes
_____________________________________________________________________________________
107.
Life’s observations
Shadowed opportunities
Pleasures reminisced
______________________________________________________________________________________
108.
Breezy, poplars sway
Like fluttering butterfly’s
Leaves dancing shadows
_____________________________________________________________________________________
109.
Deep woods predator
Solitary aloof air
A deadly purpose
_____________________________________________________________________________________
110.
In pursuit of prey
Paths cross under snowy boughs
Cautiously watching
_____________________________________________________________________________________
111.
Solitary course
Devil of the northern woods
Scourge of the trap line
__________________________________________________________________________________
112.
Snow flurries bluster
January’s cold herald
Winter gray, warm hearth
________________________________________________________________________________________
113.
Swift mirrored movements
Etched silhouettes, twilight flight
Feathered synchrony
______________________________________________________________________________________
114.
Autumn frost forming
Shimmering crimson and gold
Landlocked in beauty
_____________________________________________________________________________________
115.
Pointer senses peaked
Camouflaged partridge tenses
Whirring rush to flight
_______________________________________________________________________________________
116.
Sulfurs pungent smell
Plumage exploding outward
Soft mouthed retrieval
_______________________________________________________________________________________
117.
Crystal woods beauty
Balsam dew, sparkling hues
Prisms star-fired glint
________________________________________________________________________________
118.
Wander o’er the globe
Dirt, cobblestone or paved way
All paths lead back home
____________________________________________________________________________________
119.
Coming storm, still air
So subtle natures warning
Funnels roar, black shroud
______________________________________________________________________________________
120.
Fury, strength, fang, claw
Evolution’s dynamo
Fearful of nothing
____________________________________________________________________________________
121.
Eagle poised once more
A defiant tyrant taunts
History repeats?
______________________________________________________________________
122.
French, cringing cowards
Short memories, ungrateful
Beneath our contempt
__________________________________________________________________________________
123.
U.N., impotent
‘Allies’ paid to help U.S.
Utterly shameful
______________________________________________________________________________________
124.
Welcome undeserved
‘Boot’ U.N. America
Treacherous leeches!
____________________________________________________________________________________
125.
Subtle changing hues
Turning seasons slowly grind
Feathers flowing south
____________________________________________________________________________________
126.
Natures solitude
Yesteryear’s beauty preserved
Artistry’s canvas
_____________________________________________________________________________________
127.
Wintry doldrums
Scarlet feathers, holly tree
natures flighty gift
________________________________________________________________________________________
128.
Canvas reflections
Window through anothers eye
Interpretations
_______________________________________________________________________________________
129.
Conception intwined
Movements rhythmically joined
Threshold of new life
_______________________________________________________________________________________
130.
Shades of green and blue
Moody unsettled ocean
March turns to April
____________________________________________________________________________________
131.
Patch’s of dawn’s light
Gull’s careening silhouettes
Shimmering ripples
______________________________________________________________________________________
132.
Time’s, very precious
Many lives weave through them
Eternal endings
_______________________________________________________________________________________
133.
Whispering breeze’s
Creaky cemetary gate
Earthen resting place
___________________________________________________________________________________
134.
Shadow’s spooky shapes
dead tree, owl’s silhouett
Black cat -a- slinking
________________________________________________________________________________________
135.
Cycling phases
Shifting tides, moody changes
Clestial sphere
_____________________________________________________________________________________
136.
Wicked witch, full moon
Ghoulies, goblins, scarey sounds
Pumkin patch, dark fears
______________________________________________________________________________________
137.
Leaves swirling at feet
We spy a jack-o-lantern
Trick or treat! retreat!
________________________________________________________________________________________
The pinnacle of all our achivements may
also be the sum of all our fears.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The wisper of change, the promise of rain in darkened clouds,
the wonder and beauty of earth, signs shifting to new seasons.
All things in the natural evolution of time. A blue sky’s deception that all fares well,
natures twists that belay the false notion.
Spring’s battle to wrest itself finally from Old Man Winter’s grasp.
________________________________________________________________________________________
People share laughs and sorrow,
people wed, make love and try,
people live, languish then die,
people will wonder of the ‘why’,
life is only made up of what we want
from our tomorrows.
______________________________________________________________________________________
It is better to be thought an idiot in a fools eyes,
than to be the fool who thinks he is wise……
____________________________________________________________________________________
Ridicule often is the flattery of jealousy