marlene mountain
one-line linked haiku
1978-79

marlene mountain   elizabeth s lamb   bill pauly
[mm esl bp = order of links]

one-line linked haiku    january 1978-january 1979

old woman's banjo

snow falling old woman's banjo slightly out of tune
   cat's cradle shadows on the wall
warming her hands at the cherrywood's tangled flame   
   oil cloth crumbs of burnt toast
sitting there in spring sun a black boy guts his 1st channel cat
   gulls--hawthorn fragrance blossoming
hitchhiker pauses  fingers the plastic bag in his boots
   rain pelting the girl's black poncho
old tune night swan pushing clouds across the pond
   semi flattens the turtle  willows
the silence of sunrise  coming down off the mountain
   she comes the stars grow roots
after cleaning his whiskers the long stretch of legs
   empty beer mug the juke box blaring
rain deep from the well a bucket of crickets
   freight train whistle rusty hairpin
circling hawk  old man stumbles in the dry streambed
   lightning on broomgrass  his breath
cold coffee in the waiting room  she awakens first
   another ambulance wails in
his berrystained hands  dark vowel of the whippoorwill
   l7 red-circled on the calendar
a shadowed moon ebbtide flowers on the black sand
   traveling broken monarch wings
faded jeans spread on a laurel  she paints herself
   fog hiding the duck blind
dry spell over pulling up the last onions
   alone  the steam of autumn soup
a sudden snow-shower blotting out the blue hills
   geese the rain in his footprint
run of apple butter the old reflection in her eyes
   the rocking chair rocking itself
all these winters together; wind through the oak limbs chafing
   firelight touches the infant's face
the music of bells how faintly through thick walls
   sub zero: the lodestar brighter

Cicada 3:2 1979; Raw Nervz Haiku 2:4 1995/96

note
perhaps the first published one-line linked haiku in english

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