me to Shiki:/how far can i go/with haiku? (his possible answers)
me to Shiki:
how far can i go
with haiku?
his possible answers
heron equals
stillness
***
stillness–
we break the rules
***
nothing moves in the pond–
turtle
***
plum tree–
only when it blooms
***
only lotus flowers
in the pond
***
wind to bamboo:
how far
can whispers go?
me to Shiki:/how far can i go/with haiku? (and his possible answers)
me to Shiki:
how far can i go
with haiku?
(his possible answers)
heron equals being still
***
stillness–
we break the rules
***
not a stir in the pond–
turtle
***
cherry blossoms–
what’s wrong with fruits?
***
plum tree
only when it blooms
***
the jade Buddha laughs
long after sunset
***
wind to bamboo:
how far
can whispers go?
absolved (for One Shot Wednesday)
swallows burst into our crude mornings
their flight staggering on false winds
we gaze aghast
this fractured air birthed on false moonlight
unpredicted
our beggar voice fades into whimpers
fluttering splintered among fallen blossoms
the unabashed camellias bared
a scandal unmasked by a rude sunlight
our bleeding unabated
we slip into the brambles our sobs drowning
in the chatter of winds the river grumbles
about our tears
a sorrow tarnished by ageing stars
sputtering at dawn
a mourning heron ceases lending its grief
we recover our lips on pin drops of sky
the brambles open up for the wind
a chorus of ripples washes our bleeding
steps curl on our tears we rise
white among rhodoras
absolved
Copyright (c) by Alegria Imperial 2011
Posted for One Shot Wednesday at One Stop Poetry, winner of the 2011 Shorty Award for the Arts, the inimitable gathering place of poets and artists where they share their love for their art while nurturing each other. Come join us!
heron’s splash (published tanka)
heron’s splash
on river marsh rocking
the sound of water –
a mountain of wash
after he left home
First published in LYNX XXIII:3, October 2008
This tanka was first returned to me with a lovely note from the editor of a tanka journal, telling me to read more on the art form, work on writing it and perhaps submit again. She said though that first attempts don’t usually make it, nor the second ones. After reading a lot on tanka, I was convinced I wrote mine true to its form and so, I pushed my luck. I submitted the same batch to LYNX and lucked out on three of them getting accepted, one of them, the above.
summer returnees
1.
on the marsh
a heron makes a step–
sunset
2.
foam on the waves–
the hem of her skirt heavier
clings
3.
on ferry ride
the flight path of a seagull
ends behind my eye
My ‘jornal’? Memories in snap shots that keep returning.