sedoka 5/01/13

a dark greying sky
pre-storm winds pushing warm air
in a place i've never been
feeling alien
as though every eye's on me
as the orange sun breaks through

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/01/13

NaPoWriMo's done--
how long can I continue
writing daily poems?


©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/30/13

surrounded by books
their presence eases tension--
local library


©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/2913

as the day closes
the hum of the dishwasher
is my lullabye

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu #4 4/28/13

"Pull my finger, kid!"
"I'm not falling for that one!"
It didn't matter...

©2013-Art Belliveau

Summer Cold

A summer cold is just the worst,
Because no matter how well it's nursed,
I'm not just sick, I feel like a fool--
For wasting this cold--I should have saved it for school!

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu #3 4/28/13

a frog's been stepped on--
on second thought, that's not right--
just me, breaking wind...

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu #2 4/28/23

just passed the exit
next one's fifty miles away--
now i have to poop...

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu #1 4/28/13

sometimes it seems like
all i ever do on here
is talk to myself

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku 4/27/13

a trickle begins
swells into a raging flood--
sweet morning birdsong

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/26/13

Friday's almost done
everyone waits for the bell--
teachers most of all

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/25/13

constantly talking
no one can hear instructions--
test day will be rough

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/24/13

half-empty classroom
you would think there'd be less noise--
not in middle school

©2013-Art Belliveau

2 senryu 4/23/13

frustration builds up--
pressure pounds inside my head--
soon, the explosion...

©2013-Art Belliveau


they never listen
hints given are plain ignored--
then they act surprised

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/22/13

Monday morning dawns--
before the alarm clock blares
I am already late

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku 4/21/13

the bird kept trying
to join mass through the window--
cardinal, of course...

©2013-Art Belliveau

shadorma 4/20/13

April showers
wind lashing the rain
vertic'ly
'neath awnings
soaking running students through
as they scream to class

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku 4/19/13

unlikely spring heat
temporarily cooled off
by April showers

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/18/13

you entered my heart
like an effortless burglar--
took it for your own

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/17/13

in a silent house
immobile in a blue chair
i feel time flow past

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/16/13

as the weather warms
and "the sap begins to rise"--
middle school goes nuts

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/15/13

pecking a steel plate,
a woodpecker won't get far--
i try to teach class

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/14/13

alone in the dark
body clothed, but soul naked--
my eyes fill with tears

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/13/13

i wait for the poem
in the early morning hour--
dawn comes again soon

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/12/13

during stormy times
i always find in your arms
my safe, calm harbor

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/11/13

at night, i reach out
my hand groping to find you--
so i'll know all's well

©2013-Art Belliveau

cherita 4/10/13

another sleepless night

as the stars dance overhead
and the wind whoops it up outside my window

snug in bed
under the covers
i read another book

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/09/13

another test comes
one more straw on the camel--
how soon till it breaks?

©2013-Art Belliveau

The Nameless Stars

I look up at the stars,
And I see them twinkle there.
I don't know the constellations,
Truth be told, I just don't care.

I don't need to know them,
To enjoy their beauty bright.
Sometimes I lay out on the grass,
And stare at them all night.

Then as the dawn begins to break,
As brightness fills the sky,
Quietly I go to bed,
Bidding my nameless friends, "Good-bye."

©2013-Art Belliveau

drum circle

RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum
RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum

sitting in the drum circle
surrounded by unknown friends

RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum
RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum

participating in the rhythm
of the beat that never ends

RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum
RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum

feeling cares and worries
lessen with the beat

RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum
RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum

as the rhythms rise up to the skies
from the people in the street

RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum
RUM-tum-tum-tum-TUM-tum

©2013-Art Belliveau

Not Quite the Last Minute

I brought my papers to Mr. Green's desk,
The pile was three feet high.
Mr. Green turned red, his jaw hit the floor,
He croaked out a strangled, "Why?"
I told I needed to bring up my grade,
Improve that F to an A.
I don't understand why he's so darn upset,
After all, tomorrow's the last day.

©2013-Art Belliveau

Yawning Trouble 4/05/13

My head's on my chin, precariously propped,
When I feel it coming--it can't be stopped.
It builds up deep inside my chest,
Cause all I want to do is rest.
The teacher is droning on and on.
Here it is--a ginormous YAWN!!!
It starts out quiet, but soon gets loud,
And really starts to draw a crowd.
The kids in the class all turn around,
At that intake of breath and sighing sound.
The teacher just glares from up at the board.
But, hey, I'm improving, last time I snored.

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/04/13 (sorry it's late)

hello, my old friend
insomnia's here again--
can't say i've missed you


©2013-Art Belliveau

splash of color

a washed out world
grey clouds leaching
vibrant spring colors
from the new grass and
fresh flowers

out the kitchen window
a cardinal in the back yard
scarlet plumage shining
radiating life

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

i try to teach you
breach the cool indifference--
you don’t even know

©2013-Art Belliveau

spring cleaning

spring afternoon
two weeks after the hailstorm
that decimated the
bushes out back and the
trees out front
i remember the smell
of fresh pine thick in the air
right after the icy deluge
warmish, but winterish
with the iceballs piled
so thick and high
i grab the rake today
and start to clear away
the halo of dead twigs and branches
in the grass
as supper cooks inside

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/01/13

i have decided
no NaPoWriMo this year...
Ha, ha! April Fools!!!!!

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 3/08/13

pandora playing
dishwasher hums in kitchen
my eyelids can't stay...

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 3/07/13

in your eyes
there is such laughter
it rocks my world

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 3/06/13

two inches behind
my slowly wrink'ling forehead
i am still eighteen

©2013-Art Belliveau

sedoka

quiet afternoon
low clouds with no hint of rain
shelter me from the sun’s heat
a mockingbird chirps
interrupting the silence
but improving it as well

©2013-Art Belliveau

shadorma

This one is a little over a year old.

you are gone
you’ve vanished like smoke
i wonder
where you are
what it is you are doing
why torture myself?

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

in the night’s quiet
i hear the dormant echoes
of lost family life

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

i’ve misplaced my smile
i’ve looked for it everywhere
it is in your eyes

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

i listen for God
hoping once to hear His voice
my daughter calls me

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

red, yellow, brown leaves
a murder of crows cawing
breaking the silence

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

it’s already here
lavender wisteria--
spring’s still two days off

©2013-Art Belliveau

swim meet senryu

chlorine in the air--
excitement and effort, too--
day at the swim meet

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

only one more week
'til my spring vacation--
it’s so hard to wait

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

falling through the void
spinning out of control--
who knows where i’ll land?

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

from red horizon
black clouds billow up like smoke--
dragonfire sunset

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

another “goodnight”
sing cardinals and sparrows
the sun’s not quite down

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

i am surrounded
by a sense of foreboding--
the sky is clear blue

©2013-Art Belliveau

Feb 29

every four years
we get this one extra day--
hope i don’t waste it

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

rains fell earlier--
filling up the dry creek bed
with laughing water

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

furious birds fly
flock screaming defiance
laughed at by the creek

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

rocks tossed in the creek
ripples start, but disappear--
engulfed by currents

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

a black silhouette
backlit by pale green-blue sky--
what will the night hold?

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

black clouds stain the sky
like an oil spill suspended--
waiting to descend

©2013-Art Belliveau

really?

the sun’s not yet up
birds are singing in the trees--
this early? really?

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

working on a poem
early on an Ash Wednesday--
where’s the inspriation?

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

spring in the winter
seasons have become confused--
i’m confused as well

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

sun-drenched afternoon
and darkness blooms within me--
an empty playground

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

timid little squirrel
shimmies up a live oak tree--
as he hears me come

©2013-Art Belliveau

playground dusk

the creak of a swing
chirping steadily at dusk
echoes of crickets
©2013-Art Belliveau

mass

gathered together
from many we all form one--
communion of souls

©2013-Art Belliveau

zzzzap

out of the clear sky
lightning strikes--rips me apart
the healing is slow

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

blanket of grey fog
obscuring my nightime yard
like a fireless smoke


 ©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

through the long leaf pines
the afterglow of sunset
no insects singing

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

full moon behind trees
shining for all it’s worth
til hidden by clouds

©2013-Art Belliveau

planning period

eyelids so heavy
drag down my entire head
to sleep on my desk

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

orange sun behind
pale full moon floating ahead
i’m in the middle


©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

missing church again
is my girl’s soul in peril?
we need some prayers

©2013-Art Belliveau

swim meet

hurry up and wait
long boredom/brief excitement--
another swim meet

©2013-Art Belliveau

friday!

week’s finally over
nothing gets me down today--
gotta love fridays!

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

a beautiful day
too pretty to be in school--
i’m playing hooky

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

grey clouds hover low
beneath them fog hugs the ground--
above them the sun

 ©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

with trembling hands,
he reaches for communion--
with a child’s pure faith

©2013-Art Belliveau

which way?

new horizons loom
the past unravels behind--
which way will i go?

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

it seems so like spring
a warm January day--
sign of days to come?

©2013-Art Belliveau

metaphor

it slips from my hands
smashes when it hits the floor--
i hate metaphors

©2013-Art Belliveau

hidden

i put on the mask
that keeps everyone at bay--
why am i alone?

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

i see them at mass
by and large they are strangers--
but we’re family, too

©2013-Art Belliveau

saturday classroom

quiet hall
empty this morning
weekend day
no students
tomorrow this will all change--
it will teem with life

©2013-Art Belliveau

murderer

where has the time gone?
i have thoroughly killed it--
and hidden its corpse

©2013-Art Belliveau

mayflies

never time to think;
mayflies live for but a day--
us, not much longer


©2013-Art Belliveau

swim practice

echoes of splashes
reverberate ’round the room
vicarious swim

©2013-Art Belliveau

insomnia senryu

another late night--
or should i say early morn?
damn insomnia

©2013-Art Belliveau

One Step Too Far

He healed the sick--
     They left Him alone.

He berated their hypocrisy--

They left Him alone.

He broke the Sabbath--

They left Him alone.

He treated women as equals--

They left Him alone.

He performed miracle after miracle--

They left Him alone.

He threatened their power--and their income--

by clearing out the temple.

They killed Him.

©2013-Art Belliveau

haiku

a dead long leaf pine
leans on its living brother--
how long 'til it falls?


 ©2013-Art Belliveau

Testy

The desks are set up,
Each row straight.
As we prepare for
The test we hate.
I doubt that this,
Is worth the cost:
Another day
Of learning lost.


 ©2013-Art Belliveau

Portrait Poem

I'm a grumpy old guy who's tired of the nonsense.
I wonder what it will take for my students to take their education seriously.
I hear students continually talking no matter what the consequence.
I see students wandering out of their seats as though they had permission.
I want them to care about what I am teaching. I want to care about what I'm teaching.
I'm a grumpy old guy who's tired of the nonsense.

I pretend that I still have some patience left.
I feel the temptation to softly and silently slip away.
I touch the limits of my endurance.
I worry about the ones who will never reach their full potential.
I cry out impatient, sarcastic shouts of vexation.
I'm a grumpy old guy who's tired of the nonsense.

I understand that there is only so much I can do.
I say every one of my students has the ability to succeed.
I dream that they will actually live up to that ability and use it to its fullest.
I try to get them to the point where they will be successful beyond me.
I hope they all live out their dreams.
I'm a grumpy old guy who's tired of the nonsense.


©2013-Art Belliveau

Pantoum--Friday Afternoons Are Deadly

Friday afternoons are deadly.
The week’s frustrations have built up pressure
Like a faulty radiator.
The classroom seems ready to explode.

The week’s frustrations have built up pressure.
We need to do something new and different because
The classroom seems ready to explode.
And that isn’t good for anyone.

We need to do something new and different because
We all are stuck in the same old rut.
And that isn’t good for anyone.
Least of all me, the teacher.

We all are stuck in the same old rut.
No one wants to be here.
Least of all me, the teacher.
We need to blow off some steam.

No one wants to be here.
Like a faulty radiator,
We need to blow off some steam.
Friday afternoons are deadly.

 ©2013-Art Belliveau

tanka

feeling trapped again
life, a bear trap, biting me
i see others fly
my own wings long to break free
all it would take is courage

 ©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu

the scratch of my pen
as i write in my journal
a sound from the past


 ©2013-Art Belliveau

teaching? --a senryu

i no longer teach.
i "deliver instruction."
that's very diff'rent.


©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 3/2/13

i reached nine hundred.
i stopped without explaining--
even to myself.


©2013-Art Belliveau