Tag Archives: Poetry

First Half of May’s Haikus

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5/1/2012
A month’s worth is shorn
Cycle of four weeks again
Soon the need will end

5/2/2012
Sleep used to elude
Now comes fast to carry me
You’re the antidote

5/3/2012
Postponing the new
Keeps the future far away
Only for moments

5/4/2012
When we were children
Our youthful exuberance
Invincible shield

5/5/2012
As we grew older
Foolishness opens our eyes
A Buddha is lost

5/6/2012
When late nights creep up
I welcome them with gusto
More time together

5/7/2012
I’m often surprised
When you seem to read my mind
I’m a simple read

5/8/2012
Together we move
Harmonies in the background
Possibilities

5/9/2012
Is the new normal
Infernal headaches that sting?
Frustrated today

5/10/2012
Wasting time with you
It’s an investment in life
Practice for heaven

5/11/2012
Some powerful words
From a leader can mean much
Equality soon

5/12/2012
Running with the wind
Towards a spot to meet you
Such great incentive

5/13/2012
On this Mother’s day
I’m still baffled by anger
Where did that come from?

5/14/2012
Their eyes full of fear
They know to be nice and smile
It is just business

5/15/2012
Streams converge swiftly
A river grows towards the sea
Our canoe ready

Second Half of April Haikus

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4/16/2012
Tears ran down their cheeks
Feeling slighted, no reason
I’m a therapist?

4/17/2012
During those late nights
When the travel interferes
Rescue me again

4/18/2012
My head surrounded
By impenetrable fog
Will there be an end?

4/19/2012
At the pool we stay
While my spirit does rebound
Your laughter cures it

4/20/2012
In the sun we move
Towards a new adventure
Time to let it go

4/21/2012
While eating dinner
The thought comes to me in waves
When will time be right?

4/22/2012
Waves crash over us
Playing as if we’re children
The truth of our life

4/23/2012
Warm hand caresses
When the cold descends on me
Green eyes shine like stars

4/24/2012
The Strange Museum
Where my words sit bare, alone
May your eyes bless them

4/25/2012
La vida normal
Encuentra una gran verdad
Todo es nuevo

4/26/2012
To open my eyes
And see your beautiful face
A blessed man, I am

4/27/2012
A simple comment
Knowledge deeper than mere rote
Your brain astounds me

4/28/2012
Searching for meaning
In the sweet chaos of life
An eye for detail

4/29/2012
Your knife deftly cuts
Heat transforms flavors quickly
Your skills sustains us

4/30/2012
Duty comes calling
Lovingly, you support me
Your patience abounds

First Half of April Haikus

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Last month one of my readers suggested I break my monthly summary of daily haikus into two. Here are the April 1st to April 15th haikus.

4/1/2012
The streets of our town
Lost the meaning they once had
Forgive me, my friend

4/2/2012
Flowers bloom in Spring
Life swells green below our feet
Vibrations of life

4/3/2012
Your laughter warns me
Like a meditation bell
To appreciate

4/4/2012
When you say my name
My heart soars above it all
You catch me grinning

4/5/2012
I love to watch when
Your hands dance as you speak
You are not Latin?

4/6/2012
Chasing history
Has never been this much fun
Are you surprised too

4/7/2012
Car rides together
When you break into a song
Are a dream to me

4/8/2012
When it is all done
What makes a true holiday
But your hand in mine

4/9/2012
Sometimes I am scared
That the ringing in my ears
Becomes all I know

4/10/2012
What a silly pup
You brighten every morning
With your carefree ways

4/11/2012
I run to stay fit
The truth is much more than that
It’s meditation

4/12/2012
People make choices
How do they arrive to them?
No one is the same

4/13/2012
Pressure in my head
Threatens to rip it open
Make too much of it

4/14/2012
From the other room
I hear you tell life stories
It’s a symphony

4/15/2012
I irritate you
I never mean to do so
Can you forgive me?

The Tiger

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I was an old man when I heard about him
My peoples’ lives had been saddled by
Two thousand years of hatred and confusion
To the Deer Park I traveled
To get a glimpse and to understand
What had been forgotten with time
I heard him speak of open hearts and minds
I felt my soul stir at his mere presence
So I decided to stay and learn what others have
I sat beneath the Bodhi tree as he once did
But I did not comprehend
I shaved my head and donned saffron robes
But I did not comprehend
I walked miles with begging bowl in hand
But I did not comprehend
I took the four noble truths to heart
But I did not comprehend
I followed the noble eightfold path
But I did not comprehend
As I grew older and weary I decided
To go back to my ancestral Rome
For clearly I lacked what was required
On the way I met a fellow traveler
A tiger she told me she was
She could show me what I could not grasp
I laughed and told her that I was too old
The path for awakening is left to those
That have their heart and their wits
She jumped and clawed me with her sharp paws
And I began to comprehend
She toyed with me as I tried to get away
And I continued to comprehend
She growled fear into my heart and soul
And I continued to comprehend
She grabbed me by the neck and took my breath
And I continued to comprehend
She devoured me in one swift move
And I finally understood
There is nothing and everything left
I am her and there is no me left
The old man is now part of the tiger
We roam the forest looking for souls
We tell them the truth and show them
That there is no me left and there never was

.

Note: I wrote this piece a few years ago. It’s my favorite piece, but one that no one else has liked. I’ve submitted it for publication several times and has always been turned down.

Have you?

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Have you ever had the aftertaste
When desperation subsides?

Life has kicked you in the teeth
You were flat on the ground
Swallowing your pride
And a good dose of blood

You looked around to see
What hit you so hard
Standing there wearing bloody boots
Was yourself smirking back

You are not what you thought
There was only one person
That could have taken you down
And it would always be yourself

Have you ever looked around
And found insanity waning?

You look in the rearview mirror
And see carnage behind you
What could have done that
Yes, it was you and you alone
But you are too good
You have thought
Turns out you were not
You are all too human

Have you ever reached out
And found another landscape?

You find that the calm
Means something else now
All that once was is gone
A new world stands there

You want to crawl back
For what you know
But that is long gone
Even if you can still see it

Have you ever been deafened
By the silence between heartbeats?

You die every second or so
And every breath is your last
And you are born again
Only to die once more

There is always calm
Somewhere and sometimes
There is always turmoil
When you least expect it

Image

March Haikus

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3/1/2012
Moving your own space
Even when it is not far
Unexpected toll

3/2/2012
Doors open each day
Clouds pass by above our heads
That one looks like love

3/3/2012
You blossom each day
Inspiration at close range
You are a beacon

3/4/2012
Please hold me, I pray
I falter away from you
Show me our future

3/5/2012
How quiet it can be
I still worry all the same
Are you satisfied?

3/6/2012
Doer was my fate
Ideas stole me away
I’m grasping at straws

3/7/2012
Relief for tasks done
Only to jump to the next
Enjoy the journey

3/8/2012
Welcome warm weather
The seeds awaken ever so
Promise of light soon

3/9/2012
Coming home to you
A promise that delivers
Revive me, I plead

3/10/2012
Halfway through the day
I recalled what this was once
Bittersweet it’s now

3/11/2012
I woke up achy
My body is rebelling
How to bring order

3/12/2012
Food sustains us all
The art of cuisine is lost
To a sorry world

3/13/2012
Patience is a gift
You practice it with aplomb
My awaken one

3/14/2012
The audience filed in
My mouth dried like the dessert
Become another

3/15/2012
Snow capped peaks reach up
Lazily we cruise, it seems
A flight over clouds

3/16/2012
Slight changes transform
A life driven by routine
For better, I hope

3/17/2012
Below me unfolds
Geography so alive
Dragons engulf towns

3/18/2012
Music brings to life
Happiness and a longing
You and I just dance

3/19/2012
I am told my role
How strange that I become it?
When did comfort grow?

3/20/2012
It seems very odd
Surrounded by those like me
They all say my thoughts

3/21/2012
Away from our home
We both want to just go back
We miss our sweet boys

3/22/2012
Never saw Texas
This little corner is fun
Keep Austin weird, y’all!

3/23/2012
It’s back to the grind
Returning to regular
Means harried clean up

3/24/2012
A day filled by plans
Prepare a new surrender
For soon I move on

3/24/2012
Once this was all new
Today is a new future
Time to clean and dust

3/25/2012
I sit back in awe
I’m sure I’ve said it before
I’m drunk on your love

3/26/2012
With her arrival
It’s time to let go once more
A small death of sorts

3/27/2012
It’s all very strange
Suddenly calls from afar
Tell me they want me

3/28/2012
I hear loud ringing
Like it’s an emergency
Worry starts to grow

3/29/2012
The pounding starts slow
Becomes a cacophony
Threatens sanity

3/30/2012
I decide it’s stress
Even when I feel relief
The mind, a wonder

3/31/2012
You are like the lamp
The light that you can emit
Makes this place our home

February Haikus

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2/1/2012

When you headed out

I fell back to sleep quickly

Think you could wake me?

 

2/2/2012

Of all the things said

You always know how to soothe

And make it all right

 

2/3/2012

What were you dreaming?

You moved slowly but peaceful

Have you remembered?

 

2/4/2012

Come closer, it’s time

To tell us the assembled

Mean or happy thoughts

 

2/5/2012

In the light of day

My dreams come true every day

Life is as it should

 

2/6/2012

I read a fortune

Get what you deserve, it said

Lost or meaningless?

 

2/7/2012

In the cold winter

Thoughts rattle around my brain

Without ways to grow

 

2/8/2012

Words are tricky tools

Once wielded in abandon

Upon a poor fool

 

2/9/2012

A day in advance

Time ebbs and flows like water

I am quite confused

 

2/10/2012

Became a new boy

Lost in the woods near his home

Convinced day is night

 

2/11/2012

That day in my mind

I cannot ever forget

Would you be able?

 

2/12/2012

Never to forget

Find ways to always be close

My love, me and you

 

2/13/2012

Way out there, ahead

You smile broadly at how we’ve

Discovered our truth

 

2/14/2012

Me and you are here

And we come closer each day

Gave of each other

 

2/15/2012

Me and you are there

Everything around us knows

Back there they’re waiting

 

2/16/2012

And at the center

More of our lives will be there

How sweet it all is

 

2/17/2012

Can you understand?

I keep running out of words

Ever is just now

 

2/18/2012

Repay what you owe

This day and always, we must

Debt is not comfort

 

2/19/2012

Teach me how to dream

Me in the clouds near your soul

To rise above all

 

2/20/2012

Accept what happens

What doesn’t kill you makes you strong

We are our own proof

 

2/21/2012

Have you said goodbye

Without feeling sense of loss

Examining life

 

2/22/2012

It all reminds me

To be present in now lest

Death breaks us apart

 

2/23/2012

Show me your desires

Me? I only have the one

How do you not know?

 

2/24/2012

To know what is next

Be it tomorrow or not

Myself and yourself

 

2/25/2012

And in the sole end

Just what we have now it can

Be more than everything

 

2/26/2012

Love is what makes us

Me, you, our whole family

The truth is simple

 

2/27/2012

Way in the future

Only the Fates know what’ll be

You know my full hope

 

2/28/2012

Can time wait enough?

Love drives all our desires

Me and you and who?

 

2/29/2012

Hold me tightly, please

My world spins so very fast

Hand steady on mine

January Haikus

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1/1/12
On those restful days
When we do nothing at all
I feel we connect

1/2/12
I like our ritual
Even when you’re not around
Just coffee binds us

1/3/12
Cold has descended
To remind us it’s winter
How odd weather is

1/4/12
Tell me what you need
I’ll do my best to serve you
I am truly yours

1/5/12
Coming home so late
Disrupts the rhythm we have
I love your patience

1/6/12
Yes you wanted cake
And in a flurry it came
Fastest cake ever

1/7/12
Another road trip
Our only goal is sharing
and maybe some food

1/8/12
Your hand on my chest
Soothingly you say “relax”
The world stops for you

1/9/12
It’s time to prepare
As we go on a journey
To visit your world

1/10/12
The thought of flying
Never occurs to me here
It’s drug addled brain

1/11/12
Politics aside
Republicans disgust me
It is their dead eyes

1/12/12
True friends are comfort
There’s no judgement, only this
Shared love experience

1/13/12
A day of stories
Families are such fodder
A fascination

1/14/12
When I look at you
It’s the sense of home you bring
That keeps me happy

1/15/12
You don’t dance, you say
But I see you every day
All you do is dance

1/16/12
Your face glows brightly
Your touch heals the deepest wounds
Your lips sweet reward

1/17/12
Sleep comes to take me
I’m aware of you near me
I rest easily

1/18/12
It’s a mystery
How these past few years have flown
Yet time isn’t enough

1/19/12
It’s a dream come true
But it’s a reality
That I never dreamt

1/20/12
It’s the ease of it
How our togetherness flows
Even miles apart

1/21/12
More time for just us
We are deliciously trapped
Snow covers outside

1/22/12
Awareness alone
Improved my outlook on life
Wise one, I thank you

1/23/12
Never be alone
I am always in your soul
Just reach out to me

1/24/12
Days pass and we build
Without knowing our love grows
We get closer still

1/25/12
Yesterday a dream
Today nothing but heaven
Tomorrow all hope

1/26/12
Pensive I see you
You tap your foot to a beat
That only you hear

1/27/12
Reach out to me now
Hold me close I cannot sleep
I’m restful awake

1/28/12
Another morning
That was priceless in my book
You’re the one for me

1/29/12
Can’t remember when
The thought first came to my mind
Very glad it did

1/30/12
How quiet it can be
But I haven’t known silence
Remind me of it

1/31/12
Truth is always here
None of us can hide from it
Just let it happen

December Haikus

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12/1/11
December is here
With freezing temperatures
And festive spirit

12/2/11
Your lips I dream of
Even when they’re within reach
Sweetest sweet I know

12/3/11
Being near you each day
I’m filled with inspiration
To be the best man

12/4/11
It’s early Sunday
We are sitting side by side
I love watching you

12/5/11
Today in traffic
Suddenly I was cut off
I calmly forgave

12/6/11
The feeling of dread
Autumn always seems to have
Winter’s cold wipes clean

12/7/11
No matter what’s done
I cannot elude a cold
Each year at this time

12/8/11
I am always struck
By the patience you posses
You’re ever loving

12/9/11
You feed my body
It is my soul you nourish
With your loving food

12/10/11
Popular adage:
“Charity begins at home”
You bring it to life

12/11/11
He shows up sometimes
To remind me of “could be”
My own flesh and blood

12/12/11
Holiday season
Wasn’t like the rest of the year
With you it’s year round

12/13/11
To give you credit
For my own success at work
Is imperative

12/14/11
It’s interesting
How tactile focused you are
It’s delicate love

12/15/11
Some forget kindness
When dealing with those close by
That is never you

12/16/11
Yes, you were bothered
By today’s activities
But I’m proud of you

12/17/11
Your hands gesturing
Hold my eyes captive, bewitched
Enamored in time

12/18/11
Time slips away quick
But I hope there’s enough nows
To last forever

12/19/11
Sweet kisses from you
Envelope my whole being
Like nothing else can

12/20/11
Your very actions
Write a poetry unmatched
By any writer

12/21/11
Embrace me today
I feel a torrent of doubt
Remind me of us

12/22/11
When you are amused
The light is sharper, brighter
For you are the source

12/23/11
No one has to ask
Generosity abounds
When you’re here with me

12/24/11
It’s what you’ve shown me
Family is important
Your love astounds me

12/25/11
The future’s open
But it all scares me sometimes
Don’t want to ruin it

12/26/11
I’d have never thought
Home to be anywhere else
But it’s always you

12/27/11
Many words arise
When I’m thinking about you
But all lead to love

12/28/11
Ask me what I want
There’s nothing more to say
But your lovely name

12/29/11
Now happens again
I can’t get enough of it
It’s featuring you

12/30/11
Days may pass quickly
Becoming a masterpiece
Our lives together

12/31/11
Year’s nearly over
Maybe just another day
Excuse to hold you

November Haikus

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11/1/11
Landing in Madrid
I expected the yearning
To have its sole place

11/2/11
The weight of a god
That despises you for being
Brings you such sorrow

11/3/11
You are happiness
Even when you’re surrounded
By Madrid’s dour ones

11/4/11
We now leave Madrid
Foreign to me as before
Sunny skies ahead

11/5/11
I like Catalan
A nicer version of French
It’s Barcelona

11/6/11
Even when you’re ill
You can light up any room
You, admirable

11/7/11
Closer to my heart
Left Barcelona behind
For Sevilla’s sun

11/8/11
Hand in hand we walked
In the land of the bullfight
You shone like the sun

11/9/11
We ate Cuban food
Under a bright Spanish sun
Can life get better?

11/10/11
The journey begun
Takes us back to usual life
Hopefully wiser

11/11/11
I am still amazed
Everyday you open doors
Once closed shut to me

11/12/11
Still, sometime the guilt
Grips me with infernal claws
Distracts me from us

11/13/11
Tomorrow I’ll work
I am planning to miss you
Because I will be

11/14/11
How quickly it ends
Felling possibilities
No more vacation

11/15/11
It was few mere days
We held hands in Sevilla
As if it wouldn’t end

11/16/11
A glint in your eye
Momentarily I catch
As love reminds you

11/17/11
Very full of life
I find you as we embrace
Don’t want to let go

11/18/11
Routines rule our lives
In our case they’re heavenly
For they include you

11/19/11
’twas an unplanned night
Of romance and silliness
Investment in love

11/20/11
It feels romantic
Going to run together
On different paths

11/21/11
I feel like a teen
When a simple text from you
Makes my heart beat fast

11/22/11
I heard your sweet voice
While I was away, alone
Happiness rushed in

11/23/11
I’m worried about
The time spent away from you
You are in my being

11/24/11
Reflecting today
I’m thankful for you the most
A drink for my thirst

11/25/11
Nothing feels like home
Like being in your embrace
Not about a place

11/26/11
Do you ever think
If fate brought us together
Or are we just chance

11/27/11
I’d do anything
To make you a bit better
When you have a cold

11/29/11
When changes come fast
I find respite in your arms
You are my compass

11/30/11
When I lose myself
A simple act brings me back
Just reach out to you