~Haikus, Tankas and Rengas 2~

u

11 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

Green apple Thou chew,
Jealous my heart doth eschew,
Thy kisses it stole.

Warm Thou embrace love,
Jealous my heart time forsook,
Thy gentle touches.

Thou, dream of my dreams,
Jealous mind empties all else,
Soft Thy entreaties.

Midnight lover Thou,
Jealous day hides obscurely,
Thy rays light my eve.

Thou soft rug of days,
Jealous feet tread silken threads,
Woven Thy mist breath.

Thou,—for no one else,
Jealous can make my heart more,
Except for Thy love.

Thou art green soul's eyes,
Jealous, flashing at my glance,
Penetrating Thy . . .

Thou, longest blue dream,
Jealous yellow sparkles bright,
At Thy sky spread wide.​

 

deep beneath wine sea—renga

12 February 2005

Corpus Christi, Texas

brine-soaked shores: witness
to mermaid's landed demise;
Man's harpoon still wet.

wrapped in steel mesh nets,
gills dry out on man's seashore,
just a lump of fish.

gulls wheel overhead,
keening for their loved child,
while fish mourn in Sea.

waves thrown by sea breeze,
albatrosses skim lightly,—
no one speaks of loss.

sea foam scales adorn
exotic king's newest robe;
mer-fin soup is served.

purple from dark sea,
dying prince's robes ashore,—
death of those beneath.

fin and scales are gone,
but her heart, thrown back to Sea,
cradled & sun-kissed.

straddling shore & sea,
stripling's soul half this & that,—
straggling heart confused.

sun-god plights his troth
to lifeless mermaid, while nymph
still weaves her hair-shroud.

Neptune's court preens all,
Shining scales to glimmering,
Never gloaming see.

staghorn coral sheaths
her empty casket; mermen
sing tuneless dirges.

threnody to love,
i hummed once while i swam waves,
in deep ocean's wakes.​

 

u&i

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

Your soft lips,
Gossamer of love unveil,—
Soul's restless passions.

Black marks on Thy neck,
¿Was it vampires feasting late?
Strange this beauty mark.

I hate Thee too Dear . . .
But I love Thy Poesy . . .
(Think of you as fond posy)
(¡Don't you dare take it that way!)
Faery dusted words . . .

¿Think Thee that I know,
What this morning's breath wrote down,
'Pon some white blank sheet?

Inspiration's more
Than most give their truest love
Even though heart's sore
(Truly makes heart soar)

I must get up now,
Tend to chores and day's routine,
Yellow sun shines bright.​

 

brides, death & haikus

12 February 2005

Corpus Christi, Texas

white paper—brain runs,
broad prairie inhabited,
by our mad hare thoughts.

scribbled this & that,
¿what can it mean to her now?
she's so far away.

fond delinquency,
brought me back to writing this,
pleasure telling u.

¿u 4got him then?
pixilated memory,—
only looks at stars.

my Alzheimer's up,
can't remember who u r,
¿someone that i luv?

white,—for brides & death,
in Nippon they think it so,—
but haiku as well.

smeared ink on flat white,
tears besmirch love's passing quick,
don't know what to think.

maple leaves red brown,
pressed between two sheets of white,
rusted residues.
(passing impressions)​

 

Spring Zephyr—Renga

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

Wind chimes clang & clank,
Whooshing palm fronds susurrate,—
Mesquite moans low tunes.

Melodious steel,
Driving to & fro clear wind,—
Arrhythmic air's drum.

Each leaf has its sound,
Blending wines singing bird chirps,—
Gray smoke silent flows.

Distant & near barks,
At wind phantasm aghast,—
Big & small throats yelp.

Campanary wind,
Ringing notes inharmonic,—
Much like moon's lost dream.
Reverie moon-dreams,
Reviving moon's dreams,
Reverie,—moon dreams . . .

1,000 years hence,
winds will still be singing songs,—
even if man's not.​

 

Victoria—Renga

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

She loves to be groomed,
Looks at me—warm love brown eyes,
Faithful mistress mine.

Sometimes she's ashamed,
When she barks at gold full moon,
Werewolf ways run deep.

Black her stringy mane,
Funny once I thought it coarse,—
Now it feels like silk.

Patient,—she sits down,
Let me think & lets me do,—
¿Isn't that true love?

Shy,—abrupt her ways,
Especially when stranger's near,—
Though she loves all so.

Cigar puts her off,
So she's in while I am out,—
Rare occasion this.​

 

New Moon on Sea Shores

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

long span, lost love's search,—
kundalini moon alit,—
serene sea's warm wash.

heaven's scythe gold cuts,
stars from blue-black firmament,
puts them in love's heart.

love's kisses enter,
dreaming love, soft touching her,—
wonder and wander.

O—for her he pined,
Then she broke his heart in two,
With a song of love.

Round,—gold ring of love,
Surrounding & embracing,—
Poor soul lost at sea.

Gothic chants resound,
Hinting at what lies beyond,—
Only, I see love.

Sea mists sprays her soul,
Mystic waters heal red heart,
In a splash of love.​

 

bouvier—renga

12 February 2005

Corpus Christi, Texas

strange my quandary,
waiting for daughter to call,—
black dogs at my feet.

Bouviers like to roam,
sniff & smell all around town,—
so did i once 2.

cats or dogs,—¿which one?
feline royalty's fine,—but,
canine fealty.

men need dogs or cats,
or even a bird will do,
to keep their hearts whole.

short their lifetime's dues,
friendship, feelings—loyalty,—
guardian angel dogs.​

 

I'm not rubbing it in

12 February 2005

Corpus Christi, Texas

¿how do you like rubs?
up the front or down the back,—
though i don't use oils.

no, i don't scour harsh,
so don't worry 'bout soft skin,—
moisturizers cool.

ah, I'm such a tease,
can afford it a my age,
¿but then can you, dear?

some massages do,
what our hearts assuage ought to,—
but then love is blind.

in the orient,
most masseuses cannot see,
some time's best that way.

skin that's kneaded right,
loosens muscles that are tight,
sometimes restores sight.​

 

divisible me—indivisible u

11-12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

like be in even,
4 life's sometimes 2 do that,
abandoning prime's pretense,
probably 4 me the best,—
never more just 1 divide.

i like how u made
me even and you odd, but—
thought i was odd 2.

innumeracy,—
I've lost count of daily change,
or passage of time.

integrating bits,
still they don't amount to whole,—
life's spectacle wide.

broken senses try,
differentiating wholes,
still can't understand.

o-¡i get it now!
¡infinite's just play on words!
not meant for my mind.
or even the heart,
though at times for soul.​

 

Freak of Imagination's Renga

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

you wore a black mask,
when you thrust your dagger's blade,
deep inside my heart.

¿did then your grace fall,
for having killed another,—
no longer angel?

trust hath 4 letters,
¡love!—¿why doth thou swear thus soul?
chasing chimeras.

i had a button,
to obliterate mankind,
sewed it on lapel.

everyone's inside,
hiding from love's weirded ways,
¿can you blame them this?

¿how to reconcile,—
that you used me every day?
now my heart's rebelled.

raspberry patch dream,
drenched in purple both my lips,—
dripping blood thorn crown.​

 

sibylline

12 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

i see the finite
infinity: this concept,
my mind's acquaintance;
even, odd, imagined—life,
fey kaleidoscope of time.

clairvoyant your thoughts,
that makes of faeries numbers,
living their strange world,—
happy resonances sing,
each their individual pitch.

harmony of hearts,
series stretching infinite,
musical express,—
played with voices for a song,
written numbers adding up.

decomposed to sines,
dire complexity complains,—
!they're just simple notes¡​

 

without a ripcord

13 February 2005
Corpus Christi

to let go of mind,
to fall despite fear's bidding,
no hell love's abyss.

i dreamt that i flew,
soaring high above cirrhus,
holding someone's hand.

all our planned missions,
cobbled together soft wax,—
little bees hard laugh.
at our lacking true vision,
yet being able to fission.

dappled spring landscape,
looming—rapidly blooming,
tears—zooming wind—fall,
terminal velocity,
fast as you can freely go.

from a frozen land,
to a tropic forest glen,
¿what melts & what stays?

soft petal tendril,
proffered from a distant world,
white roses of peace.​

 

colored shards—renga

17 October 2004 & 13 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

Death only,—true makes,
Promises that can be kept,
Iron her firm will.

light lilting,
heart wilting,
winnowing

world's love,—
haunting
echoes

reverberating,—
uncontainable
chambers in heart's soul.

I've read it more than once now,
it still haunts me so,
this feeling of precision,
describing my soul.

I've looked
through broken lenses,
diffracted

colored diadems,—
telescope for soul
looks ethereal,—

past all heart's geometries.​

 

dancing

13 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

Zorba said that life,
Was simply but a jump dance,
In which we embrace.

trompe l'oeil you paint,
rich colors all splash about,
with folk melodies.

¿where's Bartok gone to?
he's out listening to songs,
that the gypsies play

Hungarian dance,
Brahm's delight caught improvised,
In a swirling flash.

sometimes accidents,
give us time to well reflect,
on activities,
that otherwise catch our soul,
moving body and heart too.

little Finn Land has,
giant's heart and fortitude,—
stood up to the bear.​

 

rank's devices

13 February 2005
Corpus Christi, Texas

appearance's thought,
we know who another is,—
discrepant our views.

¡you're the attaché!
¿isn't that in the papers?
can't believe stubble.

dressed in bowtie fine,
everyone respectful speaks,
but in jeans attired,
they just look past me.

rank i've known all life,
hierarchy is man's delight,—
loving his small niche.

for so many years,
i worked hard to ensure that,—
rank would not kill me.

a collar device,
cannot ensure leadership,
that takes a true heart.

respectful to all,
in that lies wisdom's true way,—
Lincoln—Washington,
but both learned it the hard way,
after many of life's bumps.

even little ants,
have a tale that we can learn,—
specially their sting.

rank's addictive vice,
so few know what teamwork is,—
backstabbing divide.​