all day sun
the left-leaning snowman drops
his M&M smile

virgin snow
the diary's first page
still untouched

outside, freezing cold and blowing snow...inside, warmth we all somehow seek...

housewarming
snowflakes sneak in
with the guests






___________________
Posted for Haiku Heights, Prompt: Instinct

first heavy snow...

snowy lawn
her kid flaps his arms
with winged strangers

____________________

Posted for Haiku Heights, Prompt: Stranger

steam room
the snowman slims down
by sunset 

melting snow
the warm-up limbers
the pine's stiff limbs 

icy sidewalk

new snowflakes cling
to her coat 

_______________

"From the Notebook," Asahi Haikuist Network, Asahi Shimbun (Japan), February 5, 2010.

fresh linen

new snow covers
squirrel tracks 

Snow fell last Tuesday. I learned later that day a friend from school had passed away.


falling snow
he returns to rest
on his shadow 

holiday mail
the widow opens the door
to snowflakes 

quick snowfall 
the white sheets fail to cover
her curled toes 

Times Square traffic
out-of-town snowflakes miss
New Year's eve 

A Happy New Year to all the good friends and readers of Haiku!


Haiku 010210*

Snowflakes
brushing her hair
winter grooming





_______________
*First posted in The Four Seasons of Haiku, Winter edition. The Four Seasons of Haiku is "(a) community of haiku poets recording their experience of the passing seasons in haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun, & senryu." The picture below is the image in the header of The Four Seasons of Haiku's home page.

white-out

snowflakes find my place
anyway 











_______________

*For One Single Impression, Prompt 96: Wanderlust ("a strong, inner desire to rove or travel about"). Please click here to visit other contributors to One Single Impression.

**Photo courtesy of lostintheattic.notepad.com

winter storm

the porch chimes announce
first snowflakes 












_______________
*"From the Notebook," Asahi Haikuist Network, December 18, 2009.

Haiku 032609

Red River*...
not every one
loves blizzards

(*A river in Fargo, North Dakota)

***************

Recently, we read the following:

BusinessWeek.com reports: "China Talks Tough with Call to Dump Dollar"

"Just over one week before President Barack Obama and other world leaders meet in London for a summit focusing on the global recession, China is making clear it wants a greater say in managing economic policies worldwide.

"The latest blast from Beijing: a call by China's top central banker to dump the U.S. dollar as the world's most important currency. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, in a paper released on the bank's Web site on Mar. 23, called for a new 'super-sovereign reserve currency' to replace the current reliance on the dollar….Not surprisingly, U.S. officials aren't welcoming the idea….And pretty much everyone agrees it's not going to happen….”

***************

And we thought:

.... "Talking tough." From one paper tiger to another! Posturing is really like shooting oneself in the foot ....

Haiku 032409

spring jackets
almost snowless
wet brown grass

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: "Geithner to ask Congress for broad power to seize firms, including non-bank financial companies"

“Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner today told Congress the administration will seek unprecedented power to seize non-bank financial companies whose collapse could jeopardize the economy, a move Geithner said would have allowed the government to bail out insurance giant American International Group at a far lower cost to taxpayers. The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

“Allowing the Treasury Department to take over a broader range of companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president's Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators….”

***************

And we thought:

…. This appears to address the seeming lack of a single, decisive locus of regulatory authority over financial institutions. As evidenced by the recent financial meltdown, the current financial regulation model, due to its inadequate oversight powers, engendered unbridled risk-taking and unscrupulous activities even by highly-rated and respected insurance companies, investment firms and hedge funds.

Geithner's proposed model should hence make messmongers think twice, we hope. It's a bit like students being better behaved and engaged when the principal manages his school by walking around and being visible -- and is perceived as personally involved. Hope the model's also been vetted enough to preclude unintended consequences….

Haiku 031809

new dawn
melting snow and ice
seeking the pond

***************

Washington Post: "Congress moves to impose hefty tax on AIG execs' $165M bonuses"

"Senior White House officials said last night that President Obama did not learn that bonuses worth $165 million were to be paid to executives of American International Group until Thursday, one day before they were issued and two days after his Treasury secretary was informed that the payments were going forward….

"As Geithner and other Obama aides continued to scramble to pull back the bonuses and calm the public furor they sparked, Congress was preparing its own remedies. In what they acknowledged would be an extraordinary move, leading Democrats proposed using the tax code to punish executives at the firm, in which the federal government controls an 80 percent stake, unless those payouts are surrendered voluntarily.

"Action on the legislation could begin as early as today in the Senate. A proposal from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the panel's ranking Republican, Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), would levy an excise tax on AIG and the executives who received the payments, adding up to more than 90 percent of the total of the bonuses. That tax would also apply to future bonuses awarded, either by AIG or by other firms receiving federal aid…."

***************

.... Isn't the U.S. at war? In Iraq and Afghanistan? Isn't there probable cause to simply charge these executives with economic sabotage and treason? They did help bring the country's financial system to the brink of collapse -- in the midst of a war! That should send a stern message....

Haiku 031509

sequined gown
on old snow mounds
glinting ice

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: "Investors See a Glimmer and Shares Soar Worldwide"

"A few clues that the economy’s downward spiral might be slowing galvanized Wall Street on Thursday and sent the stock market soaring for the second time this week.

"Investors searching for relief from a relentless march of bad economic news found wisps of hope in developments that, not many months ago, would have been regarded as alarming. The news, by and large, was bad — just not quite as bad as feared….

"Less bad was good enough. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 239.66 points, or 3.46 percent, to 7,170.06. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index leaped 29.38 points, or 4.07 percent, to 750.74. The Nasdaq composite index rose 54.46 points, or 3.97 percent, to 1,426.10.

"Since Monday, when the market fell to its lowest point in 12 years, indexes have soared roughly 10 percent, their best run since November…. A recovery is not around the corner, economists say, but there is a chance when it comes, the rebound will be fairly robust…."

***************

And we thought:

.... which certainly makes a lot of baby boomers a bit more hopeful about their retirement funds -- and the future of their kids and grandchildren .... And with stress levels a bit lower, maybe they'll not need their erectile dysfunction meds as much.... =)