Friends, I must say that am very proud to have my one of my haiku included in the latest THF Haiku Dialogue! The selections from so many wonderful multinational poets are a great pleasure to read! Check it out.
cypress buds…
multilingual chatter
of nesting birds
Al Gallia
Louisiana, USA
HAIKU DIALOGUE – Avian Adventures – Diversity (1)
In the cypress swamp the approach of Spring promises renewal of life and spirit, warming air and water, nesting birds, and budding trees and flowers; all creatures wait in anticipation of rejuvenation. The little blue heron stalks along lapping wavelets, watching… for careless minnows or frogs, its feathers ruffled by the southerly breeze. It is s good time to be alive.
a fresh breeze carries
Al Gallia
the smell of bedding fish…
nesting egrets
quivering sawgrass
Al W Gallia
focused on the same spot
we wait, the hawk and i
How gorgeous the red-shouldered hawk looks in the morning sun, so intent and alert to its environment! Yet it allows me to stare and marvel at its uniqueness and beauty without any apprehension. I am so thankful whenever Serendipity chooses to expose her hidden secrets to me as she did at this moment.
“A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors”
Henry David Thoreau
bare cypress quivering…Al W Gallia 12-31-2022
tireless wavelets scurry
before the icy wind
Lake Martin, Louisiana in the winter! Not an egret, heron, or alligator in sight. Sunsets, cypress trees, blowing moss, shadows… all provide such beautiful settings and colors for poetry and photos. Love it!
Last light of a hot summer day. As the hum of awakening mosquitoes grows louder in my ears, I pause for a last look at monotone surreality.
still waters…
Al W Gallia
hushed swishing
of heron’s wings
And I whisper, “Lord, thank you.” No more need be said..
(Image is AI generated)
A perfect autumn afternoon at Lake Martin, a short drive from home. The kind of day that brings a smile to my face, even when no one else is around, and chases stress and concern quickly away with beautiful earth-tones, stillness, and reflections, and life’s chorus.
a young gator waits
in dappled autumn sun
the frog moves closer
Al W Gallia
I treasure my time in Nature’s solitude; it is my direct channel to meditation and prayer where God is always present. Blessings and peace.
A tinge of autumn in the air this morning! How delightful! The Indian Summer days following will be filled with subtle color changes and countless dragonflies. I love the feel of this season…it promises a rebirth of Joie de vivre if we are just patient and have faith.
swaying cypress moss…
countless dragonflies flitting
over the lilies
©️Al W Gallia
You are made of almost nothing
But of enough
To be great eyes
And diaphanous double vans;
To be ceaseless movement,
Unending hunger
Grappling love...
Excerpt from 'The Dragonfly' by Louise Bogan
Blessings and peace, my friends
Nothing is more peaceful in the summer than a cypress swamp in the dead heat of day. The stillness is broken only by cicadas harmonizing, peepers chirping, and occasional egrets calling. Nature’s pungent perfume wafts on a random light breeze that gently moves a few lily pads. Sweat drips from my brow onto my camera. I love it! okay
in the duckweed
a gator’s eye twitches…
foraging wood ducks
©️Al W Gallia 2021
Thank you, Lord, for this moment of your peace in our troubled world.
A hot mid-summer day at the beautiful Cypress Island Wildlife Preserve near Lafayette, Louisiana. Not much is stirring on this ‘dog day’ as I walk quietly along, under hanging moss, listening to the cicada chorus in full voice with a random peeper chiming in. It hasn’t rained recently and the earthy smells of sun baked swamp, moss, and duckweed drift heavy in air.
feeding whistling ducks…
a nearby alligator quietly
submerges
©️Al W Gallia
Trickles of sweat run down my neck, but I am happy passing the afternoon capturing nature’s unscripted haiku moments with my mind’s eye and camera. Such moments abound as Serendipity exposes them one by one with each turn in the path. I loose myself in nature,.. some call it ‘forest bathing’.
blazing sun…
the soundless swish
of a gator’s tail
©️Al W Gallia
Finally I am reminded of reality when a mosquito buzzes my face and a nearby owl hoots! A peaceful stillness gradually settles with evening cooling as my day closes with a chug of much needed water and a silent prayer of gratitude to God. In evening’s waning light, a young raccoon ambles across my return path with hardly a sidewise glance and our eyes meet for a brief second. I smile.
Silence surrounds me except for the chirp of a flitting red cardinal. From the blue sky, February’s sun filters through the leafless cypress and tupelo trees, imprinting the still waters with a kaleidoscope of browns and blues. I drift silently along, feeling a cool breeze and breathing nature’s scent.
winter swamp
a canoe slips through
earth-toned waters
©️Al W Gallia 2021
Searching for Serendipity 