1.
Tiny increments
of time travel slowly
when we are stilled
2.
Our friends, who’ve passed on,
will we ever recognize their
souls, while in the dark?
#NationalHaikuPoetryDay
Nimble like deer grazing,
people walk upon the snow
and the traffic shines afar
like fireflies slowly moving
in the bluish mist of early evening;
the naked trees of the park
are black and tangled, showing
the fat flakes off. We tread
into the first snow slowly,
trying to get ahead to where
we are going in 2020.
Blessed by the lazy Saturday,
we snuggle in beds or do chores
as the snow continues on.
She takes her tea with milk
and eats Fruit Loops
every morning
Capable of love,
her muses are taking louder
at 4 am most mornings,
she draws flowers
with a felt-tip pen,
drawing until the kids wake up;
she brews coffee for her hubby
and pours more Fruit Loops
for her family,
dreaming of her gentle blooms
as she’s finishing up the accounts
at work. She wants to draw
over all the uncovered surfaces
of her desk with lilies.
She cannot afford to plant
her own private garden.
A couple of mint plants
flourish in tiny pots
in her tiny Kew Gardens kitchen
making perfect tea
for every morning.
Trying to quiet my mind,
but onions are frying in the kitchen
and he’s playing Ravel on the piano.
It sounds like water flowing—
I wish my thoughts
can sometimes float on the water,
but they stomp around,
trying to dance like lilac elephants
in the jungle; Disney music scores
and well-wishes can’t quiet these
elephants down, they leave
their huge prints behind.
Wherever they go,
I can’t sleep;
others tend to creep
along as if nothing has happened
& the water is in short supply
as the onion smell and piano playing drone on—
Gone are thoughts of forgetfulness,
there’s nothing more, or less.
I stopped by that place
we met years ago for one night
I saw the steps and the cafe
we used to sit, passing the time
until sunrise. But today’s light
made the sights look different.
Alone, I remember your warm hands
as I walked the cobbled streets
Your emotional marble in your head
was so big back then. What happened?
It’s now the Year of the Rat.
You got another woman pregnant
and you must marry her, even though
she doesn’t make your soul sing.
The light has changed everything
but I still feel the same,
a star lost in orbit, searching for a harbor
even if love or the light disappears.