After Bashō

by Margaret Dornaus

at home—

hearing the woodpecker

I long for home

I long

for the lizard

as well as the woodpecker

at home

where the wind brings me

other sounds

longing sounds

I hear sometimes at night:

the whippoorwill;

the owl; tree-frogs;

the echoing chambers

of cicadas

hammering

through trees—I long for

more days

more nights

like this day, this night

when we both knew

how to listen

with our hearts to hear

the winged song of a cricket

First published in Red River Review #52, August 2014, page 24. See also Margaret Dornaus’ Haiku Doodle blog.       +