dry bone collectors
follow slaughter of bison
bleached white on prairie
dem bones done walkin’
06 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in haiku Tags: bison, bones, prairie
all fall down
21 Oct 2024 12 Comments
in haibun Tags: cottonwood, deer, fall, grove, oak, park, prairie, river, woodland
Every fall, our family visits Oak Grove, a nearby park on the Sioux River. It covers five hundred plus acres of combined state and county conservation land with hiking trails, picnic areas, cabins and campsites. We park on top of the ridge and find a trail through the scrub oak trees to slowly make our way down to the river bottom.
The river flooded this past summer, changing the landscape. Sand and debris washed into the woodland, excavator tracks show where dirt has been redistributed and re-leveled. Ancient outcroppings of rose-tinted Sioux quartzite remain solidly undisturbed along the upper trail.
Reaching up, young cottonwoods glow golden in late afternoon. Scarlet sumac stunningly line the prairie grassland. The predominant oaks simply turn brown and drop large lobed leaves on the trail below their gnarly trunks. A few spruce and juniper stand green and ever verdant.
leaves blanket steep trail
hiker’s step crunches, slides on
dry patterns fallen
prairie path
31 Jul 2024 7 Comments
in quadrille Tags: cattails, goldenrod, grass, prairie, redwing blackbirds, sunflowers, wild bergamot, wildflowers
A summery quadrille (44 words) for dVerse where De is hosting…
summer shared on prairie
(local scene) seen as more than
one season if so pleasing
redwing blackbird pairs nest
best in wetlands of cattails
goldenrod bursts heady clumps
lavender bergamot follows thistles
whistles of insects through wild brome
sunflower beguiles smiles above it all
summer evening
29 Oct 2019 7 Comments
in haiku series, troiku Tags: crawdads, evening, fireflies, grass, minnows, moon, pool, prairie, summer, wind
longing for the grass
at the bottom of the pool
those fireflies.
© Buson
longing for the grass
blades wave under prairie wind
rustle in ditches
at bottom of pool
crawdads and minnows asleep
moon passes over
elusive fireflies
hide in long grasses near pond
flicker on and off
© lynn
Image and troiku challenge celebrating Carpe Diem Haiku Kai’s 7th anniversary!
prairie calls my name
10 Aug 2019 2 Comments
in classical haiku, fusion haiku, troiku Tags: bees, flowers, hum, mystery, prairie, summer, wind
windy weather
calling the flowers by name
each nods
depth of a flower
flying away with the bee
some mystery
© Jane Reichhold
My “fusion” haiku/ troiku:
wildflowers nod heads
while bees hum mystery song
prairie breeze summer
wildflowers nod heads
as gentle wind nudges clouds
sleepy afternoon
bees hum mystery
in honeyed depth of pistil
sweet nectar distills
prairie breeze summer
delivers pollen and seeds
native plants flourish
photos by lynn
to survive snowstorm
07 Feb 2019 22 Comments
in rubaiyat Tags: blizzard, cold, log, mug, prairie, snow, summer, warmth, winter
across this frozen prairie, winter blows
strong blizzard gale bullwhips up fallen snow
we shiver, polar-cold, wind’s frightful roar
and add thick logs to embers burning low
such fierceness could freeze creature to the core
if wait exposed; come, safe inside closed door
we offer mugs to drink in warming flow
and reminisce of summer sun-swept shores
Rubaiyat: The ruba’i is a classical Persian quatrain or double couplet of 4 lines and having rhyme scheme either AABA or AAAA. A collection of more than one quatrain is called a rubaiyat.
Edward Fitzgerald popularized the form in English. He chose iambic pentameter, generally 10-syllable lines with alternating accents, for the meter and used the AABA rhyme scheme. Having the unrhymed third line allows the poet to use that sound from the first quatrain as the main rhyming sound in the next quatrain, connecting the stanzas.
My thanks to Frank at dVerse Poets for this information on the rubaiyat form!
breathe after dusk
30 Oct 2018 Leave a comment
in magnetic Tags: dusk, earth, forest, harmony, prairie, river, sanctuary
oh give me a home
24 Aug 2018 Leave a comment
in music poem, tanka Tags: america, buffalo, cowboy, legend, plow, prairie, settlers
American folk music featured at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai…
american west
where buffalo roamed prairies
settlers wrote ballads
grand land larger than legend
tamed by train, barbed wire, and plow
a walking haibun
09 May 2016 24 Comments
in haibun Tags: beach, forest, mountain, prairie, walk
“Home is everything you can walk to.” ― Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl
To hike a mountain wearing backpack is divine; climb to cool heights with marmots, and drink in far vistas. To stroll barefoot along the sandy beach is mesmerizing; play catch-me-if-you-can with foamy waves, and chase seagulls. To meander with walking stick on fern trail through piny forest is refreshing; listen for bears, and follow a stony stream. To exercise with dog on rural mile is simple enjoyment; be led over gently rolling hill, push into prairie wind, and gaze at the wide expanse of sky.
walk down gravel road
see the farmer working field
pure ambulation
Come take a walk with the poets at dVerse !
november colors dakota
22 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in free verse, Uncategorized Tags: colors, Dakota, geese, prairie, soil
honk gray geese vee tattoo
across low-flying sky’s ceiling.
ice-edged blue pond fingers
reedy border of dry wild rice.
undulating green winter wheat field
interrupted by bare windbreak.
peely red shed leans lopsided into
prevailing prairie headwinds.
buff-brown buck grazes placidly
among herd of hardy range cattle.
flap black crow caws contrary to
silently melting snow pile.
tufted straw-gold crop debris
disk-mixed into fallow, fertile soil.
sunny silver beams gleam earthward
between radiant cracks in clouds.
inspired white church steeple points
gratefully back toward heaven.
love like blue mounds state park
28 Jun 2015 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: clouds, cottonwood, oak, prairie, quarzite, wren
rose quartzite cliff first beckons, then
bewilders inexperienced rock climber
merry wren on fencepost sings counter-
melody to deeper tones of brown thrasher
tall cottonwood and strong gnarly oak
together shelter and shade young nesters
gathering clouds on horizon bend to kiss
soft sloping shoulder of open prairie
Jupiter pulls Venus into closer orbit
two planets dance as only stars in sky
a poem in my pocket 
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