Monday, May 14, 2012

Senryū ~ Soliloquy 4


rescue

reluctant to save
but you do so anyway 
to put out fires

prickly

her thick thorny heart
almost impenetrable 
what a luscious fruit

reach

mesquite tree branches
she sat in and wrote her life
dark limbed and sturdy

hammock

swings slow in deep air
beds for weary travelers
rainbow safety net

baggage

we carry around
our pasts ~ in suitcases full/
fodder for future

........................

walking his footprints
she sees a flock of seagulls|
sailing over sand

piano

finger percussion
stretched strings rapid staccato
a different drummer 

spawning

spontaneous 
combustion a thrust from nowhere
birth of chaos 

confidence

hard to find edges
of bones that don't fit neatly
where grit meets shyness

qualm

salted wounds circumvent
tides of just jumping right in
truths that are lies

peel

out and down the street
pillaging and pilfering ~
take it off, all off

remedy

blue agave plant 
distilled into sweet nectar
dream dancing demise 

sparkle

glitter and glisten
in time for fun, and well wishing
season of lights

finish

tarnished rings, shined up
gleaming false teeth all aligned
rhymes of the dozens

pulse

her milky way wrist warm
small veins spider webbed star 
patterned after sky

plasma

mainlined mother's milk
silty ions and free 
electrons lighting stars

vanity

our human wishes 
to shine outside of ourselves
for liberation

exaggeration

magnified by slews
you in magna opera
not knowing you're there 

cinnamon

tawny colored sweet 
scent of his skin, rusty
rouge sky near sunset

drawer

tucked safe in darkness
her sox talk to her undies
not much in common

sleet

lacy ice pellets
headlong precipitation 
in a rush to fall

fade

an old school hairdo
sepia toned photographs
my love for liars

whisper

breaths through hushed mouths
muffled words caught in satin 
love-words in their ears

found

never discovered
shiny coins in couch cushions
something lost returned

test

proving the pudding
rested up from besting all ~
others, find answers

clasp

catch, clip or pin me
against your drum of a chest
in those arms of wings

misled

danced with Two Left Feet
then fell for the other guy~
by way of blind alley 

wicked

villainous and vile
greedy white collar grifters
graft ~ their drug of choice 

justice

it is said justice
is blind ~ but she thinks it is
only for the rich

deep/depth

underwatery 
a mythical treasure chest
womb from which life sprung

mistake

no take backs
can be forgiven never
forgotten always

sowing

seeds of self doubt
planted in fallow fields
may yield surprises

surplus

more than enough
to give away instead of hoard
to live simply blessed

walk

parsimonious 
with steps ~ painful in bound feet -
silent as a cat's

iffy

dubious drifter
without a doubt borderline >
shifts on a whim

honest

everyday~
following the golden rule
you lie you get lied to

tender

doe-eyed innocent~
not a bad bone embodied
Spring's newly sprouted

newborn

just born blue starbursts
sitting on red rooftops 
light rips through darkness

moss

love nourishes us~
after crying...our hearts rest
on lush green carpets

smolder

his mesquite ash eyes
the way they looked into her
their lips when they kissed

vast

her soul unfurled 
traversing universes 
wide-eyed and unwitting

final

irrevocable ~
our end begins with planting
to planting we go

robust

resilient resolve
full-bodied and able
a bouquet thats prime

sturdy

what used to be
before disposable~
upright society

prediction

seen in a mind's eye
or told in ears from far off
possible outcomes

natural

milky moon bath dawn
songs slipping in the shower
hummingbirds smiling

movie

pictures in motion
an elixir for boredom
life in fast forward

rainbow

a prism of light
through precious water flowing
our fading sky snake

rose

essence of beauty
velvety touch of sun's rouge 
breath of fresh air

tendril

fiber of beings
love at the end of fingers
our senses rooted

camouflage

there's no hiding 
pain knows no concealment /
tears flow in rivers

dovetail

we fit together ~
harmonized so perfectly
until we did not

now long lost to each other
we meet only in our dreams

gardenias

flowers most fragrant
like heaven on rainy days
when angels sing songs

blues

for GSH

the light past midnight
time right after time begins 
again minutes flow

like notes of a saxophone 
ready to spill its sad story

contrast

the constant this / that
beret instead of hat
rat tat tat - silence

profile

outline of your face
information true or false
a small trace of you

sign

from up in the sky
or posted on a big fence
a guide to action

converge

we intersect
collectively harmonic
in time to the music

tumble

rough and jumble
summersault bumble
melange of misfits

hidden

lurking just under 
behind those smiles so sugar 
sweet is the new knife

russet 

burnt red-orange the leaves
turning the forest fire
summer's almost gone

plummet

a free falling fix
on a wing and a prayer
dive bomb afternoon

usual

suspects leaving clues
falsetto fashionistas
singing out of key

chunky

well heeled boots to walk
from a bad situation ~
possibilities

liability

love gone bad again
grasping for the brass ring
sings we shall overcome 

junction

caressed compunction 
the place where guilt and doubt join
bones newly knit 

brick

sticking with it
even though the towel's thrown in 
the plate glass shattered

juice

nectar of heaven
the sun's sweat squeezed from an orange~
fruit condensation 

many

conjunctions can't cross
become one in their union
fun when they fit right

fabulous

beyond wildest dreams
shooting stars skid earthward 
fast cooling their heels 

satisfaction

winsome and winning
something to write home about~
a day with sunshine

swell

a situation 
rising proliferation~
a bulge on high seas

genuine

a sunrise sunset
best love can give aching hearts
knowing new days come

bucket

a bird bath
feels rich when there's a shortage~
water to the brim

warmer

those old wool sox
before you get too hot
worn and snugly 

nearness

close 
enough to be safely far
away

soothing

a smooth cool hand 
measured words to calm the nerves
on fevered forehead

replace

the latest model
it's beginning to look like~
go shopping at home

transient

between here and there
weeds grow under the freeway
a kind of living

denizen

of field and forest
things that scurry cross the ground
aching for asphalt

dreadful

mornings come early
alarm clocks scream through the house
we're out of coffee

mull

chewing it over 
ideas spring new flowers/
simmered over wine

windfall

as if he'd fallen
from a tree he sprang on me
now he's my husband

transparent

diaphanous
veil between here and there 
sheer white silk chiffon

sinew

cat-gut guitars
strumming out crazy rhythms 
down and dirty

thaw

glaciers softening
blue iceberg's beaks peaking
out from meltwater

paste

gooey stick flat
stuff made to catch in place
of flour water 

grave

it's not so deep
that hole you've dug for yourself
try laughing instead

train

been on one
deep throated song sung daily
stealing through your town

art

his homemade salsa
her singing in the shower
their lovemaking


hands

delicate appendages 
feathery or strong
our sense of touch 

fade

only a shadow
of herself, she puzzles~
puts back the pieces

fracas

standing outside
on the sidewalk talkin' smack~
at three in the mornin'

resplendent

in a sea green dress
her lips a coral red ~
heading up the shore

beside

on the night table 
next to the bed a small clock
radio blaring 

bird food

sunflowers smiling
in a garden planted just 
for you to feed on

decoupage

she covered blank walls
with cut-outs of her short life
varnished to shine bright

reach

on tippi toes 
only the top of her head
shows in the mirror

razed

everything gone
as if a razor sliced it 
from view 

bangle

armlets and anklets
tethered to fashion's fancy
jingle all the way

flippant

tongue in cheek showing
no respect for the mores 
today's smart alecks

jet lag 

fandango feeling
I'm not sure if its today
tequila time-line 

silent

snow flakes falling up
drizzle drifts ever sideways ~
butterfly cocoons 

rebus

codices and cave paintings
puzzles that subtract~ 
pictures plus numbers

humility

what makes us human
truly a triumph mastered~
letting others shine

blend

ice and liquid fire
elixir of the gods~
shaken and not stirred

blueberry

indigo nectar
inky juice in a moon pie 
color of night sky

kindling

a little fire
set on a moon sparkling night
igniting the dawn

granite

building blocks of life
pyramids can tell a tale~
coarse as crushed ice

paste

mash and blend
leave some pulp in your o.j. ~
tequila sunrise

cactus

spiny bodied 
green mean protein machine~
heart's a crush of red

sad

down in the mouth
a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl 
lunch on the ground

sonorous

on a white shell~
phone call to my ancestors/
reversed the charges

moon

bellybutton of the sky
under cotton wool/
opalescence 

child

s/he who we hold~
inside a nest for nine months/
most dear to our hearts 

chide

refused to chastise
mother smiled, then backhanded 
doubtful of repeats

hold

in the belly
ships treasures stowed silent
for the journey

baffle

perplexed dyslexic 
had no problem reading ~
wrote from right to left

dart

right on a bullseye 
a drone drowned in my coffee
it took wrong turn

transform

playing twister
she morphed into spider
all caught in her web

patina

false shine on a dime
skating backwards on a rink~
once on a blue moon

unexpected

a shooting star
first peak of venus at dawn
baby's first smile

jungle

heavy a silence
loud in jade green canopy
Ek Balam's eyes

Marisol

claimed by ocean
and the sun ~ she is a flower ~
smiling gold toothed wide

flittermouse

traverse darkest caves
navigate by radar
bat-winged wonders

ravine

a violent rush of sound
a gorge of a mouth/
slit in a mountain

serene

a blank page
the sway of a willow
in the midst of dreams

different

freak flag flying
nerd genius strange fruit loon/
not this but that

weak

a trick knee gives way
five hundred year old house/
buckles under

haze

purple sky gazes
towards other planets
as she does the dance of veils

bathe

birds and elephants
in dirt and river bottoms\
dancing to get clean

nibble

a gnaw and a peck
rubber neckin' the freeway
roadkill's in season

sit

unwound and chilled
posing for da Vinci 
La Gioconda 

relax

almost no pulse
something to do once you're done
takes mediation

bachelor

without a mate
no real cohabitation ~
or dates to speak of 

creak

stairs sound as she climbs
in her dream the house settles 
high pitched rendering

pearl

little blossom moon
it lingers on her finger~
sand turned into gem

table

day in the desert
flat-topped terracotta hill
beautiful vistas 

dobro

play me a ditty
on that jangle guitar
make me wish on stars

cone

over the top
two scoops slurp over the side
nose dive to the street

pretend

dress-up box is full~
dragons make their appearance 
crash land in the tub

primitive

before unipolar worlds
the empire struck/
foul ball in left field

conch

dancers circle
magical sea trumpet sounds
let the games begin

meat

eyes that only see
body parts and not whole\
living beings

medley

grabbag veggies 
my fav music intermixed/
sauteed on turntables

rock/stability

johnny on the spot
able to leap tall feats ~
always there when needed

lose/lost

begin again
oftentimes losing you win 
chin up

restore

put some past back in
a model redux\
oh virtual do-over

gift

most thoughtful gesture
a mouthful of red flowers~
to smear on my lips


reprieve

let off the hook
sides of beef's slid like jello~
last meal went stoned cold

safety

refuge from life's storms
good enough to cuddle up
to arms wide open

color 

azabache eyes
of the deepest dark mesquite 
chaparral headed

appeal

plaster of Paris
pastel paint splattered poems
a peal of laughter