blackbird's song
drifts from the garden hedge
the neighbours, shouting

post brutal shift
waked by a thunderclap
for a hot second

summer heat
gives way to cool clouds
petals fall

phlox are blooming
my tears fall

rising from her bed
she washes nights love away
dripping on the floor

water chimes
over stones - so quickly
the summer passes

shift break
listening to the moonlit rain

Tanka..cantaloups too

this nocturnal bliss
is a fine magic carpet
one extols seashells
as soon as it is written
then, cantaloups lay claim
--------------
------------
..(C) 2011 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Harmony
-------------------

convolvulus trumpets
a mirror in the flowerbed
reflects the clouds

trout flashing jump high
a journey to renew life
begins with the end.

late garden run-
last bag of soil for the season
avoiding half-priced plants

late raspberries
are pimples in the hedgerow
blackberry blackheads

the sound
of running water -
so sharp it
cuts the thick and
heavy heat of the day

9PM shift start-
walking into a sauna
disguised as a plant

low clouds
slug trails across a
garden mirror

morning chores
weed battles, pruning dead blooms
enjoying the garden

delicate flowers
of ladies' slipper orchid
flattened by dog

magpie
scolds from a silver birch
erubescent rowan

black flags
flap across the garden
sunrise

the garden
draws everyone...
a true magnet
--------
--------------
..(C) 2011 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
----------

spikes of lupin flowers
become crooked towers of seeds
foxglove spires

checking the animals
to see if
they are still alive--
no a/c

Oven door
the heat pours in
from the outside.

Fourth watch
after the briefest respite
the heat's under the doors

damp morning air
burned away by the sunshine
desiccated slug

Lip lock

salt in a kiss-
the mercury reads
103


he smiles,
remembering the taste of
honeysuckle


your kiss tells me
we only have tonight-
summer twilight

sultry afternoon
birds walk across the street
squirrels under the sprinkler

rain drizzles
out of a darkening sky
crows

Japanese Maple

I'm dry under
the Japanese Maple
watching rain

Phot Japanese Maple 1 by saynine

petals gather sunlight --
lucid moment in this heat

a bunch of kids
squinting at the fan-
time machine

buddleia
nods with indigo racemes
lavender lavender

weak sunshine
between rain storms
sparrows singing

eventually...
the leaves will zing
our steps
----------
--------
..(C) 2011 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------

Hot sun burning
light green leaves
almost shadow

v  Shadow and almost shadow my book and relaxing chair, yes very nice J

wild cabbage
on the cemetery compost
willow herb and brambles

blink of summer
view from the mountain
face of the moon


Treptaj leta 
Sa planine pogled
Lice meseca  

poppy petals
scattered on the path
wood pigeon calling

it's still there
a solemn promise to keep
in our minds
we talk intimately
and sleep back to back

Surprising summer night
abundance of stars
under French sky

v  Discovery by my nightly tours

family reunion-
will it be great or not
how much rum should I bring?

the cat finds
shelter from morning rain
lavender bush

For me

Field Mouse sit quiet still
eagles circle in the sky
light and shadow

v  The Field Mouse we acquainted was though safely around our tent

cooler day
extra time in the garden
walking on lunch hour

toadstools
appear for just a day
frog in the pond

sultry evening
slowly walking the plant floor
wishing for a breeze

cloud canopy
like an upturned basin
peppercorn swifts

night shift
heat baked building
doubles as a sauna

the last raspberries
appear on the canes
a belt of irises

steamy heat waves roll
over our smooth taut bodies
your lips cool on mine

one for the karma bank
eighty-six degrees in the kitchen
cooking for my neighbor

No AC in the house.

bumblebees
explore the slipper orchids
toadstools bloom for a day

lavender
perfumes the morning heat
the cat, sick

evening treat-
trenching out a garden bed
then filling it

cabbage whites
on the geraniums
raindrops

rose petals
bleached by the sun
torn deckchairs

today's to-do list
clear the hostas
plant pops of color

I ate the melon
and I drank some ginger ale
it must be summer
---------
----
..(C) 2011 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
-------------------

raspberry canes
turn autumnal yellow
lavender blues

my eyes catch
the sudden quiver of leaves -
summer rain

south wall of

Notre Dame-- the rose

draws me in

two pianos

resound into twilight...

summer heavens

afternoon to-dos...
garden tips with a neighbor
picking my salad

buddleia
flowers with deep purple blooms
a bank of lupins

sunset
the old rabbit's hair
shining with colors

holiday afternoon -
trenching out a garden bed
cooking for a neighbor

summer's leaves
swept away by chill winds
swifts' twilight screeching

we are young but once
time is fleeting
the rest of our days

American Haiku

Paradise

purple-blue hydrangeas
lush full
paradise in my garden

raspberries
go unpicked on the canes
discoloured path

after the rain

one bird, then another

singing the all clear

summer breeze
lilies swaying in the air--
of shakuhachi strains

grey clouds
over the rooftops
sparrows dart

one ice cube
twice the surrender
...endless O mes
-------------
-------
(C) 2011 Spiros Zafiris
..channeled; spirit Ram
--------------------

last drops -
a bee back
in the lavender

***

dernières gouttes -
une abeille de retour
dans la lavande

morning heat haze
toadstools in the garden
dissolve

Bamboo

green shade -
bamboo stalks
carvings

dappled sun reins over the shady side if street
I stretch my long legs faster and faster

running the neighborhood
I seek summers riches
clouds of purple hydrangeas


July brings hot summer rays
heating my house beyond living
then, I seek my Air Conditioned room

summertime brings lazy days
humidity ruins all

summers clear blue sky's
happen only in June
humidity fill the rest of days

buttercups
brimming
with sunlight

faces to the sun  -
father mother children
daisies

self-seeded parsley
grows through pavement cracks
fish in the shallows

week's end-
plans for a ginko
during the fireworks

late honeysuckle
fills the evening air
sparks from the chimnea

midshift break-
enjoying the sunset
on a coffee run