look up – see
the rocket of my wanderlust
white vapour trails
Delicate Hope
I bought gourd seeds
off a market in my land of exile
a highland fertile and cold
and when I got home
I planted them on my mother’s little garden
carefully watching their growth – two vines.
When I wasn’t home I sent word
to have them watered
and all I ever knew of hope
all it ever meant to me
Was on those large healthy leaves
On which was written promises of plenty
.
Then the petals opened in a foreign land
and my mother’s rocky kitchen garden
on top of a hill
was way too close to the sun
thus the shy gourd flowers
scorched dead and fruitless.
Yet the large green leaves
Remained just as healthy
With promises of plenty
Strong Leap
I finally did the one strong leap
and my legs long and graceful
went over the murky bog
down the cliffs of uncertainty
there could be sharp rocks down
there could be crocodile waiting jaws
there could be endless nights
and damp reed beds
but there could also be feather beds and silk sheets
there could be feather bed and silk sheets
Haiku #53
O noonday heat
the sun and my shadow
playing fetch
When You Think Of Me
when you strip down
before you take your bath
touch and hold dear
your cold naked body
and think of me
.
when sit to comb your hair
tear out your kinks in anger
feign the pain on the comb
bury your face in your palms
and think of me
.
when you oil up your skin
or moisturizing or cream
repeat unnecessary strokes on your neck
then pause a while
and think of me
.
when you try on your dress
straighten out the creases with care
run your hands over your curves
tilt your head to one side
and think of me
.
when you lie down to sleep
place your pillow between your thighs
stretch your wailing arms
on the cold empty side of your bed
and think of me
.
.
Painting by Michael Orwick
Haiku #52
a mushroom tips hat
to a leaving butterfly–fly true
we die soon
Pearl Diver
Somewhere in the middle of the ocean
An oyster bursts open with pearl–
whenever you smile.
The sea bed is strewn with treasure–
whenever am with you.
Come sit beside me my love
Let us make some pearl diver rich tonight.
Haiku #51
a sugar ant crosses
the book page am reading
the letters follow
Sea Shells Souvenir
A friend of mine was headed for the coast
and I begged him in earnest
to bring me a sack of sea shells
when he gets back inland
since I can’t afford the train ticket
I tell everyone I know who is headed for the coast
to bring me the same souvenir
of shells of all sorts and sizes
I shall know what to do with them
I have ideas in mind to the service of beauty.
.
None of my friends came back with shells
they dined and wined and swam with dolphins
they stayed in white walled hotels
and basked in the sun drinking coconut water
and forgot to kneel in the sand
and collect shells washed ashore
or left behind in the low tide
they wonder what I’d do with them anyway
they smile and laugh it off
like some sick joke
and the vast ocean of my imagination
remains restless and yearning
for colourful shells on its shores
Haiku #50
weeping willow bends
weaver birds nests on drooping twigs
happy tears
