marlene mountain
one-line linked haiku
mm links
[w/jean jorgensen]
1993-present

 

one-line linked haiku 17  august 23-september 8 2001

late august night

shell of a cicada 55000 disappeared women in america
old paintings in old photographs how did i think of such
glads dug for a neighbor is the tiniest full of hope
gaps in my concentration all sorts of things go unsorted and left behind
a string of notes from one wren cracks through the valley's humidity
taliban children dependent on mothers trashed by male religion
lucky in art trouble all the people some times some people all the time
no stocks or bonds no retirement plan no life insurance no credit cards
a sweet life water through rocks from somewhere deep in the earth
'puter problems at least we don't have to grind the ink
to do things right a spooky thought as leaves fall
rain all day stacks of old magazines closer to the door
on the back burner how to make it through winter
no hunting on the land a shot cracks through the bees' hum
'us open' does johnny mac ever go home
space made in the closet tubes of unpainted reds pull at me still
with junk human ashes & thievery anything's possible to promote
let milkweed grow they will come the monarch caterpillars finally

one-line linked haiku 18    september 9-20 2001

after the run-off

after the run-off dust covers the nymphs of what might have been
safe from chimes the wind the buck beneath the old apple tree
ten more years to sort thru this ware of a house an optimist i am
meeting on racism the return to racist countries
liberty bell & independence hall the closing down of 9/11/01
hang on to your hat eerie talk flying through the air
alone with clothes to hang out glued to the world
tomato on the windowsill not forgotten
quick as a wink a god for anyone's side
in an emergency mother nature where can you hide the mountains
yellow-phased a finch upside down within the dryness of stalks
names put to much of what i live with seem to ride off in his truck
enemies of the elder come to roost in the coop of the younger
jarred further as commercials creep into reports of havoc in capitalism
on the home front fewer moths find the light left on for moths to find
a circle of insecurity two ravens fill in the blanks
hidden in mist leaves to brighten as they die back
leave my 'swamps' alone drain some of that testosterone
note
36m 'mother nature talks back'

one-line linked haiku 19   september 21-october 6 2001

cool on the cheek

chills as 19-year-olds head out to parts unknown
yellowed an exhibition statement on art and life
pampas grass bends with the touch of autumn dew
the difficulties of poverty a scattered mind as people flee their homes
coffee from ice cubes a 1200-foot gravity-flow line gone desert dry
weather chitchat with the mail carrier the blues already fill the sky
the longest 2 weeks weeds seem harder to pull seem harder to call weeds
the wood shed half empty half full kindling still scattered on the land
oh to be a computer nerd & frustrated than this nonnerd approach to html
men of god disagree on god i just love mother nature
morning glory seeds gathered thrown into the wind
reign of terror who first did what to whom
pain dissolved in an afternoon nap reawakens
a time in life i've begun to enjoy time that's wasted
in the black sea fallen bodies headed for earth
october in the walnuts something now pitter-patters above the ceiling
a tale of woe on the phone eventually i get her to laugh at bits & pieces
a misty day without rain no words in or out of the new mailbox

one-line linked haiku 20   october 7-20 2001

so fear can prevail

so fear can prevail over freedom or is it the optimistic opposite
parades for columbus as propaganda flies beneath a crisp sky
hidden away the vice-president has he lost heart in a hospital
scattered frost in the garden in the mind in haiku
first fire in the wood stove a moment or two of comfort
anthrax scare in florida another plot thickens
computer solitaire even that's about winning
curtain open to the darkness to tomorrow's sun
jeez press conference after press conference
in the woods which surround more colors than i can imagine
a witch hangs in the bedroom from the halloweens for 'the burnings'
a time to transplant the weather runs hot and cold in the valley
the child's drawing of a house saved with my drawings of a house
sales of guns and gas masks up dramatically a new no hunting sign
a neighbor's goat in the back yard its white disappears into dusk
cooler by the minute a dear friend turns 58 ah youth
i wish ground forces meant forces within the ground
october blue on the line the green socks not quite a match
note
1m press secretary ari fleischer's 'so freedom can prevail over fear'

one-line linked haiku 21    october 20-november 1 2001

passing shower

old bamboo rake will it last the season
on the news rubble over there too
crazy about being at home no matter what
up late until it's early a haiku forms itself around one already written
as i wait for the patches to warm a computer painting of patches
details details just to run away from the worries of 'real life'
if only the remaining butterflies and i could be rained in for a day or so
the past almost forgotten no afternoon list of things to do next
money pinched for what winter brings for what blankets won't cover
i'd make a nest right in the dirt if humanly possible
in their 'hazmat' suits a partial government clean-up
a deeper cold though not that impossible cold
drought continues we depend on the evening dew
alone with a distant nuthatch part of the solution
commercials with bits of an old movie tossed in
a live update the men's war brushes off more 'collateral damage'
full moon the worry of halloween arsonists in these dry hills
from a red pen a moment of green before it slips farther into autumn

one-line linked haiku 22   november 2-11 2001

a few grasshoppers

a few grasshoppers and i squeeze out another warm day in the leaves
'ground zero' an ominous separation from earth even before 9/11
the sky's not falling but if just a little drizzle could find its way home
a full moon meaning what
new rake with more energy than i have left
it never ends one woman burned another burned-out
as i yell 'git' to the stray dog ducks fly from the pond
dishes washed fire built too dark too soon
afghan children not even a cave is safe
frost dissolves i sneak a few butterfly bush cuttings into the drought
not a care now that the prez is to rid the world of evil patriarchy
passive energy dubbed female by the oil/coal/electric powers that be
out of place a load of needles hauled to beds with no pines around
comfort in the phoebe day before yesterday comfort only in the insects
room for anything haiku which allow one to see beyond one's nose
i love the rocky road to the valley i love
against the wind an aster still full of itself
blue splashes between bare branches of the maple

one-line linked haiku 23   november 11-21 2001

a patch of frost

house shoes now taken seriously
two months & a day' a plane dies in suburbia
just to write something down maybe out
'no end in sight' to the drought a layer of it thrown on the compost
a new clock and a new thermometer not that i really want to know
where have all the protesters gone media back in the state's pocket
a mother and a daughter arrested on cops the johns unarrested
pampas plumes thinner at dusk clothes gathered from the line
no face-lift plastic stapled to the wood shed nailed to the kitchen
as women lift veils repressive policies in washington
pine shadows ripple through the hollow
ashes scattered on a dried-blue land
louise and thelma on the edge of the world
a quiet life as long as i don't think about stuff
murder trial of a millionaire cross-dressing doctor
mixed signals morning frost and afternoon heat chick-a-dee-dees
all about oil for our great way of life a little rain for the daylily roots
a little on this project a little on that project soon add up to a mess

one-line linked haiku 24    november 22-december 1 2001

wren at the window

wren at the window finds something tiny left by the night
cigarette smoke in a room full of thoughts left unsaid
five drained coiled tied put-away contrary green hoses
uphill toward the valley downhill toward home
tired a glance at the energy-saving light bulbs
canned dinner probably without vitamins
first cloning of an embryo 'life begins at forty'
wilted suddenly as last autumn pink caladiums
perhaps a new worm in haikuland with a Hampshire doc
homefront security the insecurity of lies & secrets & a military tribunal
still no rain to speak of we talk as if it's been a thousand years
my mind on lilies to plant as i proof a poem on lilies already planted
how far does one have to go to get shed of stress mountain mist
why bad things happen to bad people in this pseudo-moral society
late november a few dragonflies hang around the little pond
doors open but i've gotten computer-bound
in dc a tree smothered with all that capitalism can buy
how it's turned out life without him

one-line linked haiku 25  december 1-12 2001

a good meal

israel more suicide bombs and settlements
low sun and pines the clothes hung out to dry
one more color-coded website page half-done
before the trip to town rusty garden tools emptied from the rusty truck
heavy frost buckets of water above the smoky hills of stony creek
insulated from the world one would think a short poem in anger
for better or worse the afternoon crisp on the old spider web
crushed caves & people so far 2 women projected for the new regime
out of hibernation a box turtle too can't let these lingering days alone
late next year let's get a $3000 'ginger' scooter
perhaps each raindrop will amount to something
shadows take over until there are none
a postcard full of delusions almost worth a movie
red ink marks the mistakes for tomorrow
'don't get me anything just help out when you can'
books to read pile up a list to do undone the pull of unfrozen dirt
'tis the season i'd best love to giggle with 'mad' murray o'hair
a few garlic seeds gathered repeatedly scattered throughout my mind

one-line linked haiku 26   december 13-28 2001

sweet rain or acid

sweet rain or acid all the autumn colors appear greener
the 'smoking gun' tape as bombs still try to smoke him out
a lot accomplished at least in my tiny world of this and that
to leave my happy home happy to return
a case of poison ivy in december now that's life
revenge at a billion dollars a day for starters
to take the edge off worries a fire built at dusk
hidden in boxes what i need for the here and now
quiet in the valley a reaffirmation in the wind
tomorrow will be even longer wood ashes on the rotting leaves
tired from a rare nap from a rare dream that won't let go
pattern of a turtle's back crawls farther into the glass terrarium
sent packing with family skeletons to sort better him than me
pagan (country dweller) heathen (ditto) heretic (able to choose)
a cold land warms my mind the place where my heart resides
haiku from the early '70s no change in spite of change
the kidnapped baby recovered jonbenet still murdered
no complaints from clothes thawed and brought in dry


one-line linked haiku 27    december 28 2001-january 7 2002

through the freezing night

the media's extra revenue with that awful: breaking news
a soft voice i'm told not always a match with the poems
creosote on the outside of the stovepipe a long day
three maybe four layers of clothes the dishes left for a warmer climate
not another year to me just the continuing prospect of a tomorrow
two notes for the only person in the house: leave the tap water running
bright red next to bright green two-dimensional space plays my strings
oh dear 'out with the old' would take at least one eighteen-wheeler
first knuckles of the index fingers begin to grow in a gardener's life
almost a warm snap no appetite for what's predicted
second coffee no places to go no people to see
inspired by the bare poplar its roots in the earth
little tagalongs in the many 'over theres' & 'right heres'
below 32 degrees two of the covers wood-dried
macmouse problems the iffy arrow during a haiku
inside connected to the world drawn without by the odor of blue
foreign choppers over the chopped-up hills and caves and bodies
flakes gather on the ground cobwebs back in their favorite haunts

one-line linked haiku 28   january 7-18 2002

first mountain snow

full of what's left of itself pampas grass in the first mountain snow
dark 'holler' yet the sun finds the old tin roof and drips just enough
still gullible not nearly as gullible as in my '20s '30s '40s even '50s
prisoner of patriarchy the discovery channel
in this forever-war maybe a draft maybe draft dodgers
winter thaw a few iris tips on the move
hard to escape even hard times can fill a haiku
'washed in the blood' every two hours a woman rubbed out
young and unattached a crone and unattached
drift of days little ideas of green worm through the frozen ground
the curtains pulled back the cactus watered a quick game of solitaire
be careful of unchewed pretzels the prez says his mother says
they seem too thin legs of the carolina wren and only two at that
their journey from elaborate tunnels to cages in the caribbean
thanksgiving & columbus among the dates i refuse to acknowledge
decked out in a salesman's suit a guy selling suits
stockholders of enron left on the brooklyn bridge
front porch at dusk we beg her to play the banjo

note
16m domestic crime in america

one-line linked haiku 29  january 20-february 3 2002

curtains partially drawn

friends in a front-wheel drive into a hermit's life
no longer a pretty site the littered creek
soggy leaves raked from what appears
just not right but all kinds of green poke into my winter-worn eyes
nail holes in the wrong places centuries of out-and-out lies continue
money talks more than it listens i wonder what the crows hear
warm snap the dead weight of a dead battery pushed into takeoff mode
full of the ancient moon when women created images of each other
with no bin laden the american demonized and rushed to judgment
tubers heaved during the cold guided into their new mud
one clean coffee cup just enough for tomorrow
neglected the rough road farther into nature rougher
as stars appear the tangled lemon tree
there's considerable more to fear than fear itself
neighbor's brush fire blackens the pale land
a mossy stone slips into the pond newts paddle to the sunny edge
the promise of spring no doubts that mother nature's word is good
in a rare blue mood the commercialism of groundhogs rears its head

one-line linked haiku 30  february 4-17 2002

everyday haiku

everyday haiku some of winter rubs off in a short string of words
pregnant wife of american hostage danny says take me instead
plans for the foxgloves on hold while nature dallies in february
do-gooders give sweeping orders to shoot and mop up
capitalistic values in bed with money is god
so many women killed so many crime shows to prove it
comfortable in most of my skin a mountain view
lots of things alive in the computer painting
tired of undone house chores in plain sight
unsettling this long stretch between the rake and the trowel
frenzy in the shallow pond as more frogs come out of nowhere
blown from the truck bed debris headed for the compost heap
old poems he denied posted to correct the myth created without
new alert the attorney general accused of crying a 4-legged animal
chemical imbalance or the liberation movement or just plain evil
true love as the forsythias heat up
yak yak yak on tv while the land gets a good soaking
ragged blue straight through the pampas grass 

one-line linked haiku 31  february 18-march 8 2002

february melt

inside for the day where everything seems small
in need of paint the painting idea
spooky the veep's pointy wrong-headedness
toward a more perfect police state called democratic for the world
priest's 30 years 'privilege' with at least 130 underprivileged sons
the pond skims with sunlight a bud here and there in the breeze
clutter of paper so much past surrounds a nothing-special present
in the movie she tells him call me when you're back to two packs
the first crocus flares orange in the quiet of a late afternoon walk
farther into the woods with no art in sight
'jobs jobs jobs' other than in oil oil oil
between stuck windows up-and-down ladybugs
above the noise of the backhoe nothing
march starts out like a turtle in hibernation however
'the fog of war' and the murky cost of it
will it ever end the way lilies find themselves in places i'd forgotten
revisions on the telescope ten-fold deeper into mother's creation
a place in the cold dark earth the very best place i can imagine
note
9m john geoghan, first sentence 9-10 years in prison, 3 mandatory

one-line linked haiku 32  march 13-april 2 2002

a phoebe calls

a phoebe calls its name and i can't help but repeat it
brighter outlook for the chives as the sun comes full bloom
their lifestyle exposed parents of the little girl found dead
between me and purple crocuses uphill rain
after the press conference a clammy lied-to feeling
more pins from the indoor line move into the weather
the old bridge torn down still attached to it
stuck not in the mud i feared but just stuck
first butterfly where will it hide in predicted snow
a frozen tomorrow for this morning's evening primroses so red
one of the worries escapes in the shape of a hill rolling off at dusk
a jillion tadpoles do what they do in a perfect hole in the ground
freedom of speech dampened by the drought of my forgetfulness
hard to take for granted all these things that appear before may 10th
a violent road to peace especially when that's not what it's about
nothing like it a crow commotion in the pines
like a wilted salad but i trust each green will recover
i blinked first and the deer take off

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mm links 50-66


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