Whose Earth is this?
ask the trees reaching
to kiss mountainous sky.
Who cares for her?
ask the creatures all,
grateful for her bounty.
Machines rumble
forests fall – a stand
for progress answers none.
(Image my own. Poem first appeared here May of 2021)
Bottomed out
sanity failing
nerves MIA
mind akimbo
Ladder building
walls of abyss
lack footholds
airless desperation
Rung one: faith
believe in God
believing in me
climbing blindfolded
Rung two: children
a reason for living
grasping strength
carving a path
Rung three: writing
ink bleeding pain
expunging futility
clawing for purpose
Rung four: friends
holding space
remembering self
blotted forgotten
Setting goals –
minimize focus
count progress
millimetre milestones
Surviving:
knuckles scraped
ego bruised
perspective altered
Sinister motivations
thoughts cascade
emotional waterfall
Hope plants herself
on the banks of this torrent
like succulents, sturdy
I will ground myself
on solid shore – revive
this water-downed spirit
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)
The Queen is in the swimming pool –
oversized stuffy with a crown
The well is overflowing
and I’m afraid I’m going to drown
Children in the backyard
Stay away from all that’s wet!
The baby is a-coming
and I’m not ready yet!
Please feed the offspring
while I scurry hurriedly about
back and forth to University
trying to gain some clout
Today is my birthday
although you’d never know
I’m so busy skirting circles
with no real place to go
Never have I been so rushed
to get to I know not where
perhaps if I could sit awhile
I’d get from here to there
The Queen is floating upside down
her cardboard crown deflating
It’s time I called off the charade
give this routine an updating
(Image mine. Nonsense poem inspired by a recent dream – sums things up pretty well, I’d say. Not my birthday.)
Circling,
dancing,
caught between
idealism of expectation
and harshness of reality –
one has lofty goals,
the other invites limitation
I’ve excuses aplenty –
none that assuage ambition
Incomplete work dangles
from spider web threads
waiting for rescue
Talking to myself
unavailing – best
step out of this dichotomy
stop the whirling
(Sketch my own)
Thank you to Freya for publishing my haiku on pure haiku today. Thank you for checking it out.
Bright, full moon night
I am mesmerized, smitten
project a portrait –
memory etched in shadow
I listen for her refrain
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)
This ache,
this searching
how rawly
I feel your absence
Selfishly ignoring
your heart
reaching out
trying to connect
a lifetime of circling
without closing the gap
Ironic
illusion
of distance
Wildlife flirts
blossoms sing
air vibrates
sun and rain
Birds and bees
buzz in harmony
but a single note
thrills my senses
Canada Geese
squabble and waddle
while Mallard Mom
herds young into reeds
A splash signals
presence of beaver,
but my ear is fixated
eyes scanning green
For a glimpse
of brilliant orange
capped with black –
Baltimore Oriole
(Image my own)
Pain creeps into every corner
Doubt don’s construction boots
tramples on my backbone
threatens to undermine
I have purpose, goddammit!
A reason to rise, to feel, to live!
Cannot afford to cower
societal whims and
ensuing insecurity be gone!
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)
