working with neighbor's kids
"Dirty is fine when you garden"
her eyes light up

raspberries
hold promise in red speckles
next-door's cat glares

visit with nurse-
"oh, you have poison ivy"
as I show her my arm

morning commute
moon barely hidden
in white lacy clouds

the heron stiffens -
squelch of
the old man's leaky boots

overnight rain
has departed by first light
nasturtiums bloom

barbecue scent mingles
with children’s laughter
inside their fence
outside, two homeless kids
share a burnt burger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Disembodying image
another creation for my eyes
mind the clouds

the night’s token
on my window-
sleeping firefly

sunset -
a red ribbon
in her hair

wild strawberries
clustered around a stone bench
tiny hard apples

The white nights,
Hide in sleepy wood
Light shades

Longings

White cliffs of Dover
sailing through my blue sky
why travel?

My Hammock

here in my hammock...
mountain or sea can wait
my admiration
--------------------
..circa 2009; Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------------------------------

sea pinks
with their pom-pom blooms
mosquito larvae

first summer night -
a few stars at the bottom
of the jasmin


***

première nuit d'été -
quelques étoiles tombées
au pied du jasmin

yellow roses
drop petals on the grass
clematis blooms

slightly cooler day
no new brown patches
in the neighbor's yards

blue lobster
now in hot water
and red in the face

summer heat
our bodies move electric
in a sunset glow

between dusk and moon set
a lightening strike
our bodies rise

morning heat
the Victoria plum tree
sheds leaves and fruit

summer heat
pink and white crepe mrytles
explode into bloom

summer heat
bird walking in the shade

summer heat
the neighbor's kiddie pool
looks oh so tempting

wild strawberries
like tiny red hearts
green gooseberries

May ended
no signs of monsoon--
arms open

sticky heat
birds
flying low

late for work
she calls sick
soccer mom

World Haiku Review
Vol. 5, Issue 2, Jan. 2007

holding up the night sky
raspy love song

lone cicada

vista at dusk-
lightning filled clouds herald
incoming thunderstorm

garden tasks
the hem of my skirt
wet from watering

arc of blue
where dawn and dusk
almost touch

still scorching outside
cone flowers and say lillies
wave in the breeze

solstice-
watching the moon rise
as I lay in bed

solstice -
the moon waiting
for the day to end

late wallflower
a splash of yellow blooms
amongst the mint

Behind horizon,
There, where a red decline
Holiday of day

Summer in June.
Silence of blue lakes.
White nights

Solstice

First day of summer-
celebrating with bright flags-
laundry on the line

For photo click here

last rays of light
tiger lilies strain on thin necks --
fairy wands

9PM-
wondering where is
" the cool of the day"

midsummer
the land already baking
poppies wilt

not loving, the way I used to love
a negative sign
of aging
a positive sign
not hating, the way I used to hate

aloof and ready
to declare war, the turtle,
as the rabbit nears
------------------
..circa 2004..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
---------------------------------

short long short ...
an inchworm measures
my garage door

the sun peeps past
a steel-grey edge of cloud
thrushes chatter

on the rooftop
we inhale the moonlight
with the adenium

sports day -
swifts, swift
among the childrens' feet

oh, what pain...
I try to listen
to yesterday


http://resonancefm.com/archives/4411

weaving up the deck screens
racing the ivy
golden trumpet vine

early morning__
sleepy primrose
nod their heads

silent and deep
it overflows
Father's love


Check also this link to my poem
on my Dad's passing:

ODE TO MY FATHER

yellow roses
nod above tendrils of nightshade
sunlight through sycamores

Nurtured Roses

elegance blooms
when she smiles and her eyes
bless one
with the enchantment
of perfectly nurtured roses
--------------------
..circa 2008-9; Copyright Spiros Zafiris 2010
..channeled; spirit Harmony,
reaching into the poet's mind
-------------------

my blind neighbour
fingers each new bloom
...and smiles

clouds
glower at the earth
avian chorus

riding the night air
honeysuckle fills me
for a moment

open window honeysuckle and sea spray first embrace

garden of red roses
dark, forbidden
climbing trellis and gable

yellow roses
provide a home for aphids
lines of farmer ants

a butterfly
the rose a bee touched
earlier

breathe in the night
that bottomless black reviver
of the new day

house of white roses
heavy headed
tossed on the breeze

in the fourth watch
birdsing symphony
to the melon dawn

budding rose
lifting its face
to the morning rain

Thousand smiling faces
hailing from the green carpet
Daisy

an open window's
summery noises; all
popsicle words
---------------

..circa 2010; Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..mostly channeled; spirit Ram
---------------------------

herbaceous bed
lit by dappled sunshine
a riot of greens

red petunias
I see gnomes with their footballs
training for England

your cotton shirt
pressed against my cheek --
above us pine needles tap stars

(revised 6/17)

blue geraniums
sunshine on yesterday's raindrops
yellow poppies bloom

dimpsy
the quiet time
spent
with Barn Swallows
among drangways

S.Devon

.

dumpsy dark
the memory
of buttercups
and finding love
again
.

scorching afternoon
my garden and I chillin'
under the sprinkler

lavender brushes
wait to ripen in sunshine
tiny green pears

in the green ceiling
of leaves- blinking holes, quickly
filling with sky

morning rain
drops of water fall
from yellow roses

after midnight
the heat wave lets me
have a coffee
---------------
-----------------

..circa 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony;
reaching into the poet's mind
---------------------------

a wasp
buzzing against the window
morning birdsong

breezy morning
a hint of the day's heat
flows over my skin

.
quick break–
the Common Blue Damselflies
gliding in packs

. 

two blackbirds
carry worms to a nest
London Pride

O moonlight,
I hardly need
sandals
----------

..circa 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
-----------------

on my chair
daylight will come
if I don't mention it
-------------
..circa 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
----------------

keeping the beat-
one, two, three, four, five, six, light-
for a firefly

in a small freckled face 
the universe revealed --

Midafternoon. Two nine-year-old boys with hoses, visible
only as silhouettes given the sun's low angle. The light is
as brilliant as the sun is hot, reflecting in the spray of
their water weapons. And then I catch sight of my son's face.

the best thing about
this angle of light
is your glowing smile

blazing dawn-
sun moves up the hi-rise canyon
scrambling for words

horizontal rain
washes out the market
Blackbirds collect worms

cuckoo-spit
in the parsley flowers
purple chives

gardenias
fighting the rain
with bare sweetness

.

the station approach
a man and his dog training
for the world cup match
.

back again...
to the sparkling allure
of a flower
------------

..circa 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------------------

craving lemonade,
he settled for coffee
instant at that
-----------
..circa 2010
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------------

rain hisses
on sun-baked pavement
ants scatter

scorching afternoon
flies at end of picnic table
let our repast be

sultry weather
a rider on a horse
in the clouds

wild geranium
at the base of the hedgerow
blackbird's nest

.

wall hopping magpie
how can one be for sorrow
if I am smiling
.

the hiss of rain
and the crack of thunder
yellow poppy blooms

working outside
sweating in the hot June sun
cackling crow

Tiptoe on the lake
Swans take off
a faint rustle in my mind?

Wind To Help

will glory embrace
the small bird hoping to fly
hark, a gust of wind!
** **
..circa 2004
..Copyright 2010 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
-----------------

lavender
scents the night air
craneflies

.

last look at the stars
the warm night brings a hello
from a needlemouse

(The Japanese call hedgehogs needlerats or needlemice.  My Akita guests call them needlemice which I much prefer.)

on the path
a robin glares at the dogs
honeysuckle scents

grey skies threaten rain
a blackbird carries worms
to a hedgerow nest

hardly a month ago
I relished the smell
of newly mowed grass

rain and clouds
looking for sky residue
in the hydrangea

ants in the sun
the old lady waits
for her tortoise

dinner on the porch

we watch the rabbits eat too

soft, silent rain falls

snow-in-summer
borders the streetward steps
ants in the compost

.

first summer rains
a petal makes a typo
at a gravestone date
.