July Haiku

-1-
wrapping paper scraps
in the wind
the smell of smoke
---
you come clean
the dusk
grows dirtier
---
secrets
I don’t feel like keeping
the wildflower you gave me

-2-
dog wading through corn
with no lead
a man shouts and wanders
---
the pluck
of cherry pickers
under someone else’s trees

-3-
rain
a sudden rush
I close the windows
---
I forget to feed the fish
the tench and the koi
carp

-4-
thunderflies
dwell on newsprint
we’re in for a storm

-5-
unlucky
black cat
crosses the car’s path
---
challenging the ace
all eyes on one white line
deuce      advantage          deuce

-6-
strolling
ominous clouds
reflecting in puddles
---
hand-me-down raincoat
she drains
the pockets

-7-
heavy rain
still driving down
familiar streets
---
computers give us such freedom
restart now
restart later

-8-
at the fallow field’s edge
bleached wheat stalks
rabbit bones
---
sussurating barley
still green
the rabbit doesn’t run

-9-
her wardrobe is inadequate
another shirt
tossed to the floor

-10-
hanging washing
still giddy
the line bobs

-11-
lunch out
redistributing
olives
---
horsefly orbiting
the boy orbiting
the pond

-12-
last light
glancing moths
rising from long grass
---
a passing car
hushes
the owl

-13-
hooked stems
of ripe barley
catching the sun

-14-
rain
tap dancing
on the neighbours’ patio

-15-
my shadow
skimming over fields
swallows
---
washing the car
three children dunk their rags
in hot water

-16-
inside
and outside
thunder

-17-
head held high
a rabbit
in the mouth of a fox
---
waiting for calm
seagulls plunging
between waves
---
beached
seaweed strands
scallops and crabs
---
sea salt
tints glasses
a distant mist

-18-
the colours of dawn
heather and gorse
on the hills
---
the screech of a buzzard
lingering
a sheep’s jawbone

-19-
under siege
defending the sandcastle
underwater
---
breakers
lap around
the ruins of a moat

-20-
tides turn
the mouth of the river
swallows
---
uniformed oystercatchers
guarding
the sandbank
---
bluer than sky
or sea
hydrangeas

-21-
speechless
he watches
the sleeping fox
---
hiding
in the bracken
the prickle of a thistle

-22-
exposed by a splash
the gannet
streaks across the sky
---
low tide
reveals
the noses of seals

-23-
cows
look out to sea
white horses

-24-
on the verge
rooks litter
telephone wires

-25-
startled by whirring
at my computer
a trapped butterfly

-26-
picking apples
from a branch
of Tesco

-27-
in the breeze
a cropped field
bristles

-28-
shaking from head to toe
the dog escapes
the bath

-29-
looking up
storm clouds coming
uncomfortably close

-30-
juicy
beneath the tree
fallen plums and gossip

-31-
caught in a trap
my foot
in my mouth
---
beneath
the dead tree
saplings