migraine

it’s all about

warwarwar

*

dawn

the pedophile

straightens his tie

*

Father’s Day

I scrub my hands

until they bleed

*Published in Issue #53 of Failed Haiku

quarantine nose ring

it’s been six weeks

or maybe ninety (i have, admittedly

lost track of time) since i left my home

without fear

of breathing the air

that you have breathed or touching

the places that you have touched

so i have contemplated

perhaps a few times

what it be like to pierce

my septum

with the limited tools

i have in my possession, simply

to shake up

this achingly dull routine

*Published in The Alien Buddha Contracts Covid-19 Act 8

we stumbled over an unmarked grave. Her eyes

*Published in the May 2020 edition of is/let

Dawn, with Bullet Hole

I have never

studied wars,

but I wouldn’t

be surprised

if behind every

major conflict

there’s always that

one asshole

who does that 

one asshole thing

right before

the first shots

rip souls,

like the one time

you asked him

if he really

did that thing

to me,

and by that thing,

I actually mean

his regular insistence

that I share his bed

with him

when I was only

thirteen.

*Published in Rogue Agent issue #62

Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect

Apparently, it takes 10,000 hours to master something. If that were true, however, then I would have certainly mastered the art of being human by now.

wingin’ it

the pigeon

and I

*Published in Issue 1 of drifting-sands-haibun

don’t give up

when you freeze

in that all-too common

grip of fear

please remember

no moment

is ever permanent

you will heal

you will survive

*

life on pause

like so many of us

who are forcefully homebound

I have begun to listen

to the birds

who continually voice

their thoughts in song

to the leaves

who sweetly dance

with an ever-present wind

perhaps I would have missed

these beautiful things

had I not slowed down

*

together

I think it’s safe

to assume

that we are all

filled with anxiety

so let’s take

a restful moment

to breathe slowly

just you and me

inhale

exhale

*Published in Cantos: A Literary and Arts Journal, 2020

like magic

I often wonder

if anyone else

has wished

if they could hold

the moon close

then blow it away

with a kiss

*

ouroboros

the wind has stopped the rain has stopped and even

time herself has stopped but I cannot stop

reliving my sins

*

dedication

to the darkness

who unsheathed her sword

perhaps hundreds
or thousands of times

only to miss me

again

and 

again

and

again

*

priorities

no matter

what happens in this life

I can rest assured

that the squirrels

outside my window

will continue to bounce

to and fro

completely blissful with

a mouthful of nuts

*Published in Cantos: A Literary and Arts Journal, 2020 

lullaby...

the wind takes me

through the stars

*Published in the April 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku

lockdown

in theory

there is light

some have called it

golden or warm

you might wonder

why i have not seen it

which is a natural

question to ask

so let’s say

i live in a home

and the walls are

so black and thick

i find myself isolated

thus filling with ache

and let’s say this ache

is quite monster-like

spawning long tentacles

that entomb

my body like a mummy

cloaked in darkest night

*Published in The Ekphrastic Review’s Guillermo Wiedemann’s Writing Challenge on 4/24/20

it’s just the law dividing willows

*Published in the April 2020 edition of is/let

thorn

our last

words

*Published in Wales Haiku Journal, spring 2020

deepening

my faith

storm’s end

*Published in the April 2020 issue of Cattails

dieting

is overrated -

strawberry cupcake

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 8: Afternoon Break)

lukewarm rooibos

more news

about COVID

*Published in The Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Haikuist Network) on 4/17/20

I press

my brush to paper

a streak

of dark red paint

says what I cannot

*Published in Chrysanthemum 27 along with a German translation

the scent

of honeysuckle

last night’s dream

*

a twinkling

of stars

the muse returns

*Published in the 2020 issue of Under the Basho (Modern Haiku section)

silent film

clouds move across

my thoughts

*

an Oscar

worthy performance

dying rose

*

brighter days

the chickadee’s call

awakens me

*

spring

your gentle

encouragement

*

all my luggage

packed

road to freedom

*Published in the spring 2020 edition of The Bamboo Hut

contagion

your truth

becomes our lie

*

like any other Tuesday mass shooting

*

your rape a number nothing is holy

*

trending

during the pandemic

#ThingsYouSayWhenYouCum

*

whitewashed the earth continues to bleed

*

the news behind the news our last shards of dignity

*

witch trial

no one ever

believes a prophet

*

kids in cages they say hell doesn’t exist

*

history repeating what bullets never solved

*

clinging to faith night still unfolds

*

hope in darkness a hymn I used to know

*

doomsday

you still act

surprised

*

wherever peace is no crosses burn

*

blackened sky our new normal is death

*

bombs over Aleppo

press that like button

and subscribe

*Published in my second e-chapbook: filth (Proletaria 2020)

pi

making sense

of this life

*Published by Harusame on 4/4/20

dear humans

i beg you

i beg you

i beg you

do not

under any circumstance

forget

your humanity

*Published by Dayton Artist Stream on 4/3/20

change of season, still a night owl

*Published by The Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Haikuist Network) on 4/3/20

When the Earth Stood Still

In regards to this pandemic, I have no idea what the future may hold. However, I do, at least, know this for certain: tonight’s sunset, once again, temporarily righted my soul.

broken

time slips through

my breath

*Published in Issue #52 of Failed Haiku

sunrise pulling out the glass in my bones

*

fist of wind I have lived in stranger homes

*

moonrise

some tears

just are

*Published by Heliosparrow on 3/31/20

how quickly normalcy        day moon

                    slips

*Published by Heliosparrow on 3/26/20

opera...

all the birds

in the neighborhood

*Published in the March 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku