Poetry

A collection of Al's haikus and poems, exploring our inner-lives and lives together.

The details beneath,
Finger-tapping on life’s beat.
Haikus everywhere.


Connecting to the texture of our inner-lives seems important. To connect with not just the contents, but the emotion, the detail, the nuance. Rather than simply letting the world and our experience hit us like a ball against a wall, taking the time to reflect, digest and breathe it in. Living in contexts and environments that constantly draw us away from ourselves and out of our experience, it seems like a worthwhile endeavour to develop a way to re-connect with the bumpy, itchy, silky smooth, slimy and velvet texture of our lives.

Al practices writing haiku as a way to reflect upon, process and integrate experiences and thoughts that bring depth or perspective.

See Al’s post on How the Philosophy and Practice of Haiku Can Enrich Your Life. You can also see a live-feed of Al’s #dailyhaikus on his Facebook or Instagram page.

A small collection of Al’s haikus

The present moment.
Fleeting, coming and going.
The present movement.

A strong commitment,
I’m protecting space and time.
The muse will come through.

Not as I had hoped.
Self loathing or compassion?
A choice either way.

Moving through the pain.
Words only provide so much.
Silence and feeling.

Spring is in the air.
Buds blossom, eyes wide open.
We, too are changing.

When it rings, I swipe.
How can this tool own my mind?
Freedom in the pause.

Muse, I’ll let you through.
Flow through, without touching you.
I’m a garden hose.

Somewhere other than,
A mind fixed on the future.
Please may I be here.

New season, new seeds.
Inviting an easefulness.
What is Spring for you?

When my mind tricks me.
In the whispering body,
A deeper knowing.

Caught thinking, trying?
Nothing is more soothing than,
My hands in the dirt.

There is no self here.
A muddle of limbs and breath.
Feeling, breathing, love.

Wave of emotion,
Oh how I could act on it.
Pause, huh, catch myself.

Those who you move with,
Those you share so freely with;
Nurture them, love them!

Oh the Comfort Inn,
My own skin and expression.
Not ‘checking out’ here.

A sequence of beads,
Neatly strung like a bracelet.
In each, a moment.

As I sit here still,
The river teaching me ease.
To be in my wild.

Permission to stop.
Connect with the magic in,
The still space between.

Spring cleaning the house,
Dusting old stories away.
Let go to let come.

Am I stuck trying?
There is no need for chasing,
Breathing is enough.

Fighting with my mind,
When I need to listen in.
Permission to rest.

Absence of doing,
New clarity arises.
The undercurrent.

Us tender creatures,
Soft bellied, fragile inside.
Please can we be kind.

Home in my body,
Where I feel most connected.
If not here, then where?

Waves of emotion,
Coming through his fingertips.
Sound and light transports.

No-one really minds,
There is no ‘getting it right.’
May you let joy guide.

Doing shall not drive,
Being is not all either.
Presence in motion.

See more of Al’s #dailyhaikus on his Facebook or Instagram page.

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