he’s all talk

 senryu

his gutter, moral

he loathes poverty’s milieu

cheats you with his words

D an Eagle

D an Eagle

eagle ceremony

grandson honored for hard work

in community

stand down and stand by

 elderly now we

watch rather than live for

as our progeny work out

their own mistakes

and hug their chosen in triumphs

observers now of what we gave life

and fought to nurture

we are left to learn

our own eternal being

luxuries

haiku

jet set not alone

in comforts, running water

electric fans, hope

stoker

haiku

eight days of intense heat

relative cool of pre-dawn

quaffed by fireball sun

even an ‘if’

 rejecting guilt does nothing to heal damage or to reverse

what we are doing to harm

even an ‘if’ i am part of what is happening

might make us aware of what we could do to help

forest fascinations

sunlight filtered to lace

glimmers in moving patterns

on dense forest floor

self hope

 haiku

 warm laughter’s promise

heals, transmits love, care, support

gives basis of self

know thy place

at the shore of trillium lake

with mt. hood reflected

in its majestic semi-snow of july

takes one’s breath in awe

as nature should when she

displays her beauty

or her power

communication

if truth is not valued

if proof is not required or heeded

how can we speak together

and honor what is said and thought?

or each other?

blackened scream

haiku

 blackened stick-figure

pines on columbia’s cliffs scream

fool boys play with fire

timberline lodge

haiku

massive stone fireplace

four stories high, three open

grates to warm skiers

            mjNordgren  7/19/2022  Gov’t Camp

anticipating autumn

anticipating autumn

haiku

pines bend to the wind

gossip mountain laurel will

soon bare soul—and branch

            mjNordgren  7/20/22  Welches

nielsen

john nielsen hunches over the piano keys, caresses a single note, sways

with its reverberations, lifts and allows

each hand to find the music message to bring forth and share

with our congregation with tinkling patterns, runs, bursts

of loud and soft, healing and stirring joy so deep within it fosters memories

of moments of peace with beloveds now long gone from us

sermon without words

earned trust

earned trust

haiku

knowing her deeply

recommendation comes true

spring rain for concerned

like mama, like fawn

inquisitive doe strides the yard

sniffs at the flower bowl bird feeder

rejects (thank goodness) the taste of nasturtiums and birdseed

and moves on to further inspection

toddled after by tiny fawn, no longer speckled but as curious

as mom and startled to look around finally to find her gone

it scampers after

wind-driven stars and stripes

 awing, what a piece of cloth can say

curling, whipping upwards like a flame

twisting, unfurling to full banner in the wind

silently relating history and sacrifice

pride, hope, people striving for better

extending white and red as though to reach for freedom for everyone

showcasing stars, that, like celestial bodies above, shine on all below

long may it wave

la sin duh

haiku

lingering dislike

breeds fault finding when

i can’t walk away

putting on airs

air galivants, twisting, spiraling

flipping directions in all curved corners

of a sphere we cannot see

except as it pushes playfully

or with malice against limbs

furling, flaming, flaunting flags

causing whispered murmurings in pines

whipping dust up into devils

dropping in gray-purple funnels

as tornados or gleefully lifting birds

on unseen highway thermals

air is an active creature we humans

pretend is still until it blows us over

wind-animated stars and stripes

  awing, what a piece of cloth can say

curling, whipping upwards like a flame twisting

unfurling to full banner in the wind

silently relating history and sacrifice

pride, hope, people striving for better

extending white and red

as though to reach for freedom for all

showcasing stars, that, like celestial bodies above, shine on all below

long may it wave

            mjNordgren  7/4/2022  Blue house, Lincoln City