Saturday, September 30, 2006

October -
fragrant fresh shellac on
old snow shoes

Friday, September 29, 2006

Canada goose trilogy

high above
the funeral procession
geese fly south


high above
the wedding procession
honking geese


high above
the homecoming parade
migrating geese


with apologies to Gordon Lightfoot

Thursday, September 28, 2006

meadow's edge -
near the rusted harrow
a deer trail

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

hunting lodge -
a collection of game mounts
collects dust

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

hunting clothes
always a bit too clean -
Cabela's catalogue

Monday, September 25, 2006

fall morning
a thousand geese above
just out of range

Sunday, September 24, 2006

north woods tavern
above the bar -
all those antlers!

Saturday, September 23, 2006

drizzle at dusk -
the moss covered logs
unperturbed

Friday, September 22, 2006

classic hunting haiku #9

This is the ninth in our series of classic hunting haiku by Issa.

1824

老鳥の追れぬ先に覚悟哉
oi tori no owarenu saki ni kakugo kana

old bird--
even before the hunt begins
accepting the inevitable


Translator's note: "The old bird knows that it can't fly away from the hunters and their falcons.

"French translator Jean Cholley helped me to understand this haiku; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 219."


Translation and notes by David G. Lanoue, who includes the following note: "Translations based on Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 9 volumes. Some of the translations first appeared in Issa, Cup-of-Tea Poems and Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa."

Thursday, September 21, 2006

hunting photos
left by the window -
nursing home

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

tanka

battered map -
the torn folds hide a
secret spot
I hunted there once
but now can't find it

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

I set my sights
on the deer.....then
let it go

Monday, September 18, 2006

out for a walk . . .
a family of pheasants
at the fair grounds

Sunday, September 17, 2006

working a grouse
deep in the dogwood -
the dog

Saturday, September 16, 2006

the flavor
of the jerk rubbed venison -
empty campground

Friday, September 15, 2006

through binocs
he makes out some divers
. . . goldeneye

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

hidden from sight-
camouflage hunting clothes
in the hall closet

tanka

deer camp sink
full of last night's dishes -
the captain
turns up the propane lamp
and starts making coffee

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

unexpected snow -
hunters and guns drying out
around the wood stove

Monday, September 11, 2006

bird hunting
the abandoned air strip
- a grouse takes off

Sunday, September 10, 2006

thunderstorm
the gun shy dog sleeps
through it all

Saturday, September 09, 2006

autumn warmth
the deer sheds its
summer coat

Friday, September 08, 2006

not hearing
the alarm clock -
opening day

Thursday, September 07, 2006

early fall
making a mental map
of deer trails

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

September
we wait for farmers
to cut corn

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

empty sky -
the duck blind full
of chatter

Monday, September 04, 2006

fermented apples -
deer prints amid
chewed cores

Sunday, September 03, 2006

deer drag
me and the deer
out of breath

Saturday, September 02, 2006

opening day -
the predawn drive through
sleeping towns

Friday, September 01, 2006

every year -
confusion the night before
opening day