~Haikus, Tankas and Rengas~

Judgment Day—Renga

8 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Men glance up and down,
Women see micrometers,—
Suspect symmetry,
Always picking miniscule,
Finding errors to a dot.

Men's first look—fair face,
It was Helen's that once launched,
One thousand ship war.
Rosy cheeks are bloom's first fade,—
Skin's the petal smooth of youth.

Men's second—wide hips,
Child bearing ampleness swinging,
Dance rhythm rounded.

Then, intelligence,—
If peeps of witticisms,
Pour out of red lips,
Ecstatic beyond himself,—
¡Dumb man declares a hat trick!

Pernicious woman,
Nit-picks each little detail,
Suffering each one,
Scheming to surpass her friend,
Therefore gain attention's spot.

Believes she's evil,
Because nature propels her,
To find perfection.

Superficial man,
Looks for beauty in woman,
While she schemes to make,
Every little detail right,
Even those he cannot see.

My poor head hurts me,
Explaining sly Mating Game,—
Go play for a while,
Tell me how well you fared,
I'm tired and off to sleep now.​

 

¿But Love?—Renga

9 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Her question—¿Where's Love?
Hidden Heart's interstices
Bloom eternal pink,—
As the cherry in fresh Spring,
As the rose buds in fair May.

Despair not—¿Where's Love?
Rounding out each day's clear joys,
Sounding out each soul,
Full of harmonies and songs,—
Most never sung by man's voice.

Doubt not with—¿Where's Love?
It's just round the square corner,
That dark time displays,
Moving kindly with the moon,
Singing softly with the sun.

Decry not—¿Where's Love?
For eternal its clear mark,
Lives inside soul's house,
Creating huge monuments,
Inspiring huge sacrifice.

Believe then—¡Here's Love!
In each day's prayer of Thanks,
When the snow fills white,
When a child feels and learns new,
When life offers a bright day.

For Love,—Present felt,
More than lust between just two,
Yellow flowered blooms,
Dwelling in all little things,
Abiding ever in Heart.​

 

¿Where's Heart?—Tanka

9 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Pounding rhythms hard,
Fading inaudible soft,—
¿Where'd her heartbeat go?

¿Why does she despair—live so?
¿How will she purge hate—sow love?​

 

Sun & Planets—Renga

9 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Average yellow,
From a sister sprung our life,
Daily happiness.

Flitting messenger,
Fluid, silvery and quick,
Melting near the sun.

She can't seem to find,
Anyone that will love Her,—
Sweet poison Lover.

White clouded blue-green,
Orb that is man's beautiful,
¿Can we learn to care?

Rocky Horror Show,
Vampire warrior black laced,
Draining with a bite.

Ancient Titan's son,
Swelled beyond normality,
Swallowing what's near.

Moons or rings—¿Which One?
Crowned in fields translucent cold,
Tilting in the sky.

Aquarius's friend,
Spinning sideways—gas-giant,
¡Forty-two year Spring!

Cerulean spin,
Jet stream ripping methane clouds,
Uranus's twin.
Great Dark Spot mysterious,
Shifting from the South to North.

Midget sized planet,
King and ferryman abide,
Eternally twined.​

 

Chapman's Latin Hymns—Renga

10 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

I heard Chapman,
Latin hymns—sacral voicings,
Wind ascending Heart.

She opens songs's breath,
Through soul's throat sing themselves,—
Vessel for their voice.

As a diamond—God,
Man's belief the light reflects,
Multifaceted.

Memory resounds,—
Centuries—Echoes—Churches,
Voices—Counterpoint.

Vaulted cathedrals,—
I remember singing choir,
¿How can life stop sound?

Hymns—natural sound,
Man's universal language,—
When seeking out God.

There's breath at the end,—
Even after hymn has stopped,
Deep the breeze from soul.​

 

Centaurs

11 September 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Half-moon rapid beats,—
Half-horse warriors sail plains . . .
Mare's milk—blood propel.

Horses—hordes—hammer,
Khan to the edge of the world,
100 mile days.

Steeds's milk—blood—gallop,
Pacific to Atlantic,
Swallowing the World.

Across vast deserts,—
Across Pyrenees,—
Almost consuming Europe.​

 

Customs's Costumes—Renga

Perception my Dear,
Just gets you a reception,
Just don't try to sell,
Your wares on life's cold, hard street."

10 November 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Four tankas about costumes

You are what you wear,—
Uniform.—Bow tie, so rare, . . .
¿What 'bout being bare?
When you see me in costume,
You assume I have posture.

You swear what you wear,—
Reveals what beneath— you'll bare,
¿But, what's in your heart?
Covered by layers of lies,
Shadowy truth slowly dies.

I look like a bear,—
Bare boned—hibernation's fare,
¿Do you fear my claws?
And yet, you know that my jaws,
Would for you break all man's laws.

She slides off silk dress,
Sly slithers, unfolds—Mistress,
Clear breeze's redress,—
Gently undoes Her long tress,
Golden spears—sunlight Huntress.​

 

Ineffable—Renga

11 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Words so slippery,
Lead us here and there wily,
Even at times lye.

Never to our Soul,—
Symbols's and illusions's cares,
¿Where does Lotus lay?

Heart is consonants,
Emotions's but voweled song,
Feeling's Queen is both.

Verbosity the King,
Dominantly trumpeting,
Tells us of his ring.

Quark and boson live,
Quiet world no words to strife,
Never scream like fife.

Wordless wars of old,
Lay dead just as cold,
Now man feels misunderstood,
When his life is not foretold.​

 

Ocular Scry—Renga

11 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Eyes—the gate to Soul,
Green, Brown, Blue—Just like the world,
Whirl and change daily.

Brown sometimes yellows,
Under sun's slant reflections,
So goes year's Autumn.

Brown with circle grey,
Strange these eyes grandfather used,
Mesmerizing sight.

Clear turquoise endless,
Great aunt's eyes looked at the world,—
Like the full moon's gaze.

Cousin's violent green,
How I loved her long black hair,
Memories of youth.

Mother's ebony,
Profound like the well of soul,
Never ending strength.

Father's brown fertile,
Mind's profusion scripted well,
Literature's ground.​

 

¿Questions?—Renga

11 December 2004

Corpus Christi, Texas

After life—Heaven,

Have no fear in world's fighting,

¿Life is eternal?

¿How do you know it?

Someone wrote it in a book.

¿How long do books last?

¿How oft must books be copied?

¿How oft does transcription err?

What of my insights,

¿Why aren't they God's gift too?

¿Who will certify?

¿How to verify?

Inverted Sun-Earth,

God-Man—Faith-Reason— Blue-Brown,

Mind's creation bold.​

 

Dear, I Left—Renga

11 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

I used to believe,
That if I left it'd hurt less,—
What a sad mistake.
No one can that hunger slake,—
Inconsolable sad ache.

Without knowing why,
Subtly grew morosely shy,—
'Til all gray was sky.

Sometime love does think,—
Sometimes Love fades in a blink,—
Residues of pink.​

 

Tsun Tsu—Renga

12 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Soul that knows itself,
Man that knows his enemy,
1,000 battles,—
Can never be defeated,
Will always find ways to Peace.
¡Brutal honesty!

Sly deviousness,
Subtle subterfuge and spies,
War's not a nice game.

Undermine the will,
For without it there's no war,
All resistance stops.

Clausewitz was right,
The easiest things are hard,
When fighting a war.

War's true art is Peace,
Readiness—Freedom's steep price,—
Faith & love of life.​

 

America—Renga

12 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Reinventing man,
A thousand religions,
¡That's America!

Every problem has,
Quick remedy or real cure,—
¡That's America!

There's no task too big,
¡We are young and can do it!
¡That's America!

Education's key,—
Or mind's sly device,
Or hard work precise,
Or sometimes even vice
Rags to Riches—Million times,
¡That's America!

Every man is free,
Makes the choices for his life,
No nice safety net,
¡That's America!

Nothing holds you back,
New horizons always come,
¡That's America!

A heart that gives all,
Sometimes to our perdition,
¡That's America!

Land of immigrants,
A thousand cultures agree,
¡That's America!

There's no dress code here,
Appearances can deceive,
If you judge with eyes,
¡That's America!

Wide and free and bold,
With a heart as big as life,—
¡That's America!

Red courage of Soul,
White for purity of Mind,
Blue for honor's Heart,
¡That's America!​

 

Flower'd Language

3 October 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

§"•"§

Sometimes you try words,
But feelings don't have symbols,
Ineffable soul.

U-Nike hyacinth,—
Small differences compiling,
Catalogue of soul.

Nike—¡Victory!
Swooping down upon man's battles,
O to see Thy flight.

Hyacinth flower,
Sprang from accidental blood,
Beloved of Zeus.
Now set as resplendent stone,
That when clear is called jargon,
¿How to decypher?

§"•"§​

 

Dandelion Wine—Renga

14 September 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

…—""•""—…

Dandelion blooms,
Make enebriating wine,
Just ferment awhile.

…—""""—…

Potpourri our Soul('s)
Drink('s) life('s) Dandelion Wine,—

Potpourri our Souls,
Drink life's Dandelion Wine
Potpourri our Soul's
Drink, life's Dandelion Wine
Potpourri our Soul,
Drink life, Dandelion Wine

Flower'd happiness.

…—""""—…

Our Soul('s) potpourri,
Dandelion Wine imbibed,
Flower'd happiness.

…—""•""—…

Ray Bradbury's book,
Childhood memories and more,
Proust's pralines fill Heart.

…—""""—…

Potpourri packet,—
Flower petals, perfumes, herbs,—
Spicing up our life.

…—""•""—…​

 

Eden's Garden—Renga

14 December 2004
Panama City, Florida

8,000 years gone,
Catastrophic flood—Black Sea,
When the ice gate broke,
Thunderous the roiling fall,
Echoes to us as Noah.

Lightning & thunder,—
Electric pulse—sonic shock,
Platypus senses.

Platypus's beak,
So much more than just duck quack,
¡Senses electric!
¿During the flood, why didn't
Noah take platypus too?

Man is imperfect,—
Eyeball wiring is backwards,
Nerves make a blind-spot,—

Octopus perfect,
Sees the sphere's all-rounded world,
Evolution's many tries,
Evolution's many eyes.

Low frequency sound,
High resolution eye sight,—
Sea Lion swims surf.

High frequency sound,
High resolution nose smell,—
Canine runs and barks.

High frequency sound,
Low resolution eye sight,
Fruit bats fly and squeak.

¿How could Eden be,
Anything but Amazon?—
Profusion—Life,
Life's Profusion,
Sun's Ever Verdant,
Ever Verdant Sun.​

 

Lotus Wine—Renga

19 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

On a voyage long,
Wily man survived onslaughts,
But he almost drank,
That which would make him forget,
Why he fought and struggled hard.

Penelope true,
Sure fidelity and faith,
Life's endless trials,—¡Endure!
Though reason makes hope's rose fade,—
Waiting patiently her love.

Take this draught,—¡Forget!
Kisses perfume'd,—May's rose blooms;
Heather 'pon sweet lips;
But, wake from penumbral sleep;
To find love's allure again.​

 

Haiku Echoes 19Dec04—Renga

19 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

To see so deeply,

With just once glance from two eyes,—

Is a lifetime's sight.



In a shard of light,

Backwards images are sent,

Unrecognized right.



Automatic days,—

Body moves in habits old,

¿Where's the thought in this?



Irony of life,
Man-automatic being,
Awakens—¿And, then?
Creates robotics,
¡In his image This!

¡Stop—Automatic!
¡Start—looking! See Universe.
¡Live—Life's full brightness!

One sip at a time,
Little insects drink-up life,—
As a little wife.



¿Only 7 sins?
Mine innumerable seem,—
¡101!

Envious gluttons,
Angrily lust after greed,
Slothful their great pride.



You burst upon me,—
¡Orthogonal to my path!
Problematical.

Heart deludes our soul—
Tells it, instant can life fill,
Passion measures naught.



Inconsolable,—
You—Uncontrollable me,
¿Where's the middle ground?

Death beckoned early,
Crepuscular dementia,
¡Calling with a caw!



In the little things,

Dwell so many feelings warm,

For those that we love.



Heart upwells and cries,

Clearing out soul's residues,—

So fly all our lives.​

 

Brief Response—Renga

20 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Heaven's gentle kiss
Lulls simple dreams of sleepers...
Souls ignite in flight


¿If dream's dream is life,
Does man's heart float heavenly,—
With a soul for guide?

¿If each is complete,
How can two hands meld as One,—
In heart's mystery?

Beats dance to rhythms
Where chaos was, beauty lives
Life's eternal song
(By twilightwriter07)

Unbeknownst to heart,
Other pulses mark life's time,
¿Can they synchronize?

Strange start—Spark of life,—
Autocatalytic state,
It sprang up—¡Voila!​

 

21 December 2004
Corpus Christi, Texas

Such things conquer time
Sharply real, silver divine
Life falls into place

All life's little things,
Insignificant details,—
Flickering eyelash,—
In the blinking of an eye,
Soul gathers up, (All heart's light.)
Soul gathers all heart's delights.

One step at a time,
When con—fusion mis—directs,
Welcome—future—intersects,
Path is but a way.
¿Where's the road's foundation firm,
If the soul lacks a compass?

I hadn't known time,
Mercurial would vanish,
Into argent pools,—
Mirrors of wan heart's desires,
Thoughts about what truth aspires.​