El Niño tulips

El Niño bringing
tulips a month early —
the bay sparkles

a journey with paint

a Journal is a journey,
epistles with Paint.

The tourist will do well to equip himself with good strong boots.

. . . . . . . . .

Today's erasure poem/commentary, as always, comes from the OED's word of the day, 'equip.'

songfest

songfest in the reeds —
red-winged blackbird

howling silence

howling wind
and white caps on the bay --
silence in the woods

a spell of spring

a spell..

A sort of warm small spot in which spring rises
emerald after rain.

A party comes to Life.

. . . . . . . . .

Once again, today's erasure poem is from the OED word of the day. This one was made for the Northwest: soak.

BTW, the previous question about whether the OED editors throw a dart at their 17 volumes to find a word of the day has been answered: the WOTD for the first day of the Winter Olympics was 'salchow.' What are the odds? Which means they are, in fact, culpable for choices like 'lawyer.' Frankly, I'm disappointed.

pale wash

the pale washed-out blue
of the February sky —
denim jeans

garden blessings

chanted blessings
to open the garden —
a turtle suns itself

. . . . . . . . .

This year marks the 5oth anniversary of the Japanese Garden at the Seattle Arboretum. Opening day was celebrated with Shinto and Buddhist blessings.

lion dance

the thunder of
a thousand firecrackers —
lion dance

. . . . . . . . .

Some of the Seattle UrbanSketchers met up for the lunar new year celebration in the International District. The rain was no match for the exuberance of lions dancing and little kids drumming on pots & pans. I saw one business owner on a ladder outside his shop, hanging a long string of dark-red firecrackers that for a moment I mistook for a string of dried chilis! I tracked this lion over several blocks; a pair of them were dancing in and out of local businesses.

sculpture garden

the only sculpture
in the museum garden
a moss-covered rock

mid-february —
sun salutations confined
to yoga class