Poem: "Around the Year in 50 Birds: A Haiku Collection" (original) (raw)

This haiku collection is spillover from the January 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. (I oopsed a book again.) It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Srubjayspeaks. It also fills the "WILD CARD: The Peacock Fan" square in my 1-1-25 card for the Public Domain Bingo fest. This collection has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette.

Around the Year in 50 Birds
-- a haiku collection

a bush warbler
returns from its winter home --
its song breaks the ice

* * *
white herons fishing
in the river give the sign:
water is flowing

* * *
the swans on their way
north to Siberia stop
to rest in Japan

* * *
flocks of bullfinches
in weeping forsythia
bring warmer weather

* * *
the peacock fan spreads
beauty and fertility,
opening in spring

* * *
warbling white-eyes
flock to sip from the flowers
of plums and cherries

* * *
a singing goldcrest
amidst the cherry blossoms --
such fleeting beauty

* * *
the barn swallows swoop
through the air as they snatch up
newly-hatched insects

* * *
wings in the willows
flit -- flitter -- almost hidden --
ah! it's a greenfinch!

* * *
in the open fields,
the green pheasants come to bring
us prosperity

* * *
a skylark gathers
milk-vetch and dandelion
for lining its nest

* * *
red-flowering quince
conceals the meadow bunting
except for his song

* * *
sacred lotus buds
rise from the muddy marsh where
little egrets wade

* * *
the cuckoo bird sings,
longing for his lover in
the heat of summer

* * *
cormorants diving
for sweetfish in the river:
the taste of summer

* * *
pairs of blue robins
nest in the crape myrtle trees,
feeding their hatchlings

* * *
a water rail wades
where thickets of roses ring
the drying marshes

* * *
the northern lapwings
forage the blooming fields of
morning-star lilies

* * *
a flock of great tits
make black-and-white dashes in
the red peonies

* * *
a streak of color --
a blue-and-white flycatcher
in the China rose 20

* * *
moorhens are looking
for water in a field of
opium poppies

* * *
high in the bindweed,
a pair of loyal doves have
built their nest of peace

* * *
in the plum orchard,
the crows have fledged their offspring,
proud of their spread wings

* * *
in the dying vines,
a white-cheeked starling hunts for
the seeds of snake gourds

* * *
flocks of common snipe
wander the rice paddies as
the stems turn to gold

* * *
best hurry to pick
the pomegranates before
siskins eat them all

* * *
the wild geese fly,
honking, across the round face
of the autumn moon

* * *
even the swift shrike
cuts short the lives of its prey
at butchering time

* * *
the little quail strolls
in her autumn kimono
under red maples

* * *
Japanese waxwings
rustle among the blooms of
the cotton-roses

* * *
brown-eared bulbuls fly
through the heavenly bamboo:
better times will come

* * *
pink resting on pink:
the long-tailed rosefinches are
perching on cockscomb

* * *
Daurian redstarts
in bittersweet bushes and
a bittersweet time

* * *
rustic buntings hunt
the last of the insects from
the final asters

* * *
drumming on oak trees,
the white-backed woodpeckers claim
victory at last

* * *
in the crimson leaves
of the Japanese creeper,
dusky thrushes call

* * *
hardy begonias
hold up the golden pheasants:
beauty and power

* * *
in their barnyard pen,
the roosters crow up the sun
later each morning

* * *
chrysanthemums lean
over the garden pond where
a green-winged teal lands

* * *
amidst fringed pinks and
balloon flowers, gray wagtails
warn of the winter

* * *
crying, the plovers
run along the beaches, but
the sea is frozen

* * *
over the harbor,
black-headed gulls call after
the boats that have gone

* * *
in frozen marshes,
ducks lose their mates in the reeds,
quacking frantically

* * *
a grove of pine trees
protects ungrateful Scops owls
from the falling snow

* * *
a northern goshawk
discovers how to balance
courage with kindness

* * *
the tree peonies
have sheltered the winter wrens
from the chilling winds

* * *
a crane spreads its wings,
flapping, and the white feathers
fly like flakes of snow

* * *
a single falcon
soars over the frosty fields
searching for its prey

* * *
in a frozen land,
nothing moves but the sparrows
scratching after seeds

* * *
the Mandarin ducks,
defiantly happy, wait
for the daffodils

*************************

Notes:

This collection is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.

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