one dozen haiku
by strannikov
five is not the time
and the front door is no place
to be loquacious.
soft clouds at sunset,
half a moon fighting for life--
house exhales garlic.
strumming on the pipe
blowing into the guitar
drumming on the horn.
poetry is steak:
in the center always rare,
even served well-done.
strength has its own source:
steel's not as strong as silver
nor so near the moon.
not as if he weren't
listening but as if he
were deaf, couldn't hear.
whale gets sliced and flayed:
propellers unforgiving,
spilled guts float for sharks.
for tonight's dessert,
the core of Newton's apple
--how appetizing!
virus beats my head:
face swollen, ears burning, throat
raw: a simple cold.
long before he lands
ev'ry Icarus in flight
sees the ground approach.
when I see the rain
and hear it pour through gutters,
I can smell the earth.
devils you do know:
mephisto-sophisticates
and the Fausts they own.
it's okay to weep:
afterwards, once it's grown late,
your bones learn to dry.
|
9
favs |
1542 views
11 comments |
166 words
All rights reserved. |
Author's Note
Some inevitably handle juxtaposition better than others, sigh alas alack.
Other stories by strannikov
Tags
This story has no tags.
Comments
You must
log in
to post comments.
long before he lands
ev'ry Icarus in flight
sees the ground approach.
when I see the rain
and hear it pour through gutters,
I can smell the earth.
devils you do know:
mephisto-sophisticates
and the Fausts they own.
a nice dozen but these three especially.
I agree completely with Gary, which may seem lazy of me, but I really did try to find a couple I liked better than those three. *
A great set, Edward. I like.
Very good.
Great set! Especially the three Gary and Mathew mentioned, yes, and also the first two, and the one about silver and the moon, and the last one. I like that they're traditional, (which seems to be failing out of fashion?). Cool how you saved that 7 syllable line by contracting every to ev'ry, which also adds an interesting voice to the line.
*****
*******
*****
(By "traditional" I meant the structure: Three lines, 5/7/5 syllables.)
My eyes tumble over the sets too easily, unable to pick a favorite trio of lines from the rest. *
Thought I'd revisit. Two in particular- the rain and gutters ... half a moon and garlic - remind me of Yosa Buson. Good.
My favorite:
it's okay to weep:
afterwards, once it's grown late,
your bones learn to dry
*
"it's okay to weep:
afterwards, once it's grown late,
your bones learn to dry."
****
*
Gary has a good eye.
I like the last one too.