North Carolina

I realized I keep kinda writing these little haikus about my home state. I went ahead and just...combined them all. An ode to North Carolina :)

I would eagerly accept any comments. Please be aware I have gone with the "real" definition of haikus - that is, the 5-7-5 format is simply a "guideline." None of the lines will exceed 5-7-5, but some will have fewer syllables. The point of a haiku, after all, is simplicity, and adding a word just to fit in an extra syllable or two seems to defeat the purpose, haha.

"Haikus for North Carolina"

Thunder rolls--a dark,
heaving August dragon crawls
flaming toward sunset.


Last night's rain drifts
Heavenward, an old ghost
from the asphalt.


A ceiling of milk
tempts and teases, but
curdles, and sours.


A drop of water
seduces but leaves earth
parched as paper.


Moments before dusk:
silence fills the hollows
along the Blue Ridge.


We spend a summer
on edge--translating breezes
into hurricanes.


By night, the anger
of wet branches; by morning
just drizzles and wind.


A line of thick thieves,
rain-laden and steaming, lurks
into the rising night.