Thursday, May 31, 2018

One, Two...

My first time, I didn't know what to expect. A chorus of angels singing hallelujah, perhaps. Or maybe even a high-five from Jesus. Instead, I stared at the ceiling, counting cracks.

early spring
some flowers bloom
before others

*

Parallel Lines

In my entire adult life, I've never been single. Heck, I've never even lived alone. At the age of 18, I switched hands from one older man to another - perhaps a gentleman's agreement to take care of "the wild one." Maybe it's the cold rain. Or the colder grip of aging. But I wonder how many pieces of my identity I've lost over the years, scattered between drops of still-falling rain.

sunrise
I shift my gaze
to the west

*Published in Haibun Today, vol 12 no 2


Monday, May 28, 2018

Blackout

Two, tonight.

white pills
the snow falls
in me

*

Cut & Paste

Every once in a while, I forget I'm steering the ship that is my body.

into nothingness
the clouds
the clouds

*

Nocturne

Yet again, the arms of insomnia hold me awake.

darkness
but only if
you listen

*Published by The Other Bunny on 5/28/18

Saturday, May 26, 2018

who's bold enough
to believe
in love or war?

I tell your lies
to the falling rain

*By Gabriel Bates and Tiffany Shaw-Diaz, respectively, and published in Vines #2

Saturday, May 12, 2018

improving
my inner dialogue
icicles melt
under the touch
of high sun

*Published in Issue #123 of Hedgerow: a journal of small poems

Monday, May 7, 2018

long shadows
over ripened wheat
the way
you twisted my truth
when I was a child

snow returns
after days of warmth
I drift away
into a dream
that was never mine

*Published in Volume 1, A of Ephemerae

Sunday, May 6, 2018

kiss of autumn
one tree
starts to blush

*Selected haiku, Seasons of Haiku Interpretive Trail at The Holden Arboretum

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

cherry petals...
between gusts of wind
forgiveness

*Selected haiku, NHK World Haiku Masters: May, 2018

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

sabbath

everyone else was attentive
during song and sermon

but I was too busy
drawing fantastical creatures
on donation slips

*Published in autumn deepens (the cherita book 12)