April 25, 2012
Under yellow leaves
Stained glass-like golden light
A tiny chapel
© 2012 Thomas W. Cummins
Tags: Haiku, Nature, poetry
Posted in Haiku, Nature, Poetry | Leave a Comment »
April 24, 2012
An apparent pause
Pulls the trail to the bluff’s edge
Ancient, carved limestone
Overlooking the river winding far below
Loose gravel invites a peek
Beauty fills with fleeting terror
In my throat
A metallic tingle holds me still
Behind and away the path descends
Through deep forest ravines
A lone woodpecker’s distant tap
Reveals a welcoming and comforting silence
© 2012 Thomas W. Cummins
Tags: hiking, Nature, poetry, spirituality
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April 22, 2012
The vacant stare of broken windows
Empty sockets not seeing
Lifeless – no calls to passersby
No glow of lamps in the evening
Curtains no longer move in the breezes
Another crouching nearby
Disconsolate in weeds and glass
Wears a plywood blindfold
Nothing seen, nothing noticed
Weary of watching decline and decay
Where are the children?
Where is the laughter?
No mothers keep watch
From the front stoops – silence
Hellos and goodbyes long absent
A few occupied
Airless rooms where fear huddles
Barred and locked windows
Lean against the summer heat
Air conditioners, none or few – comfort
Youngsters work the corners
Cars quietly come and go
Some with the fun and excitement of a parade
Others, desperate, unwitting,
Ride in their funeral cortege
Time catches up
Years of rejection take their toll
Generations cycle
Two or three bring permanence
Permanence, but not hope
Those who could, left
Others, hostage to meager means, stayed
Role models of doctors, lawyers, teachers – gone
Many young fathers ran away or were taken away
Young mothers struggle to hold the pieces together
Society indifferent in its ignorance
Misery unseen, unfelt, unknown, unacknowledged
“Welfare queens” become real to the uninformed
Misinformation yields certitude of solutions
Certitude of solutions, but no action
© 2012 Thomas W. Cummins
Tags: poetry, racism, Social Justice
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April 21, 2012
In August, 1994, we visited the art studio of Donna Brown in Door County, Wisconsin. I wrote a brief reflection at that time on her working environment and the paintings hanging on the walls. We purchased one painting which hangs in our guest bathroom.
The cats looked like little rags
On the rocker near
Stretched out sound asleep
Yellow lab taking up
Rug by the work table
She sat there so peacefully
String trio competing
Rattling windows, bent hollyhocks
He sat painting – motionless
Hanging among the flowers
Golden hair peeking earlier
Under garage door saying, “Hi.”
Eating berries, cat held
Head by face full length
Down body hanging
Later “helping mom” at Hardi
© 1994 Thomas W. Cummins
Tags: Art, Door County, Paintings, poetry
Posted in Poetry, Travel | Leave a Comment »
April 21, 2012
From my desk drawer archive:
Moss takes over as
One might who owns these red bricks
Always damp, shady
© 1995 Thomas W. Cummins
Tags: Nature, poetry
Posted in Haiku, Poetry | 2 Comments »
April 20, 2012
Another blogger’s work reminded my of several haiku languishing in my desk
Mark Twain knew them well
Paddle-powered beasts of
Burden spewing ash
6/24/95
Tags: Haiku, Mark Twain, poetry, Steamboats
Posted in Haiku, Poetry | Leave a Comment »
In a dim light... 
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