Age – Page 33 – Iron Haiku

her worn threadbare coat-
piles of bread crumbs spread between
the bird lady’s feet
–
a park bench-
sparrows land
on my shoulder

tiny ballet shoes-
waiting for the curtain in
crinoline and lace
–
sunday afternoon-
long hours
at the barre

the village emptied
bodies lay unburied with
no one left to mourn
–
tumbleweeds-
sun scoured bones
picked clean

ghosts of the future
block my way and haunt me with
all I could have been
–
heavy rain-
our great oak
uprooted

building my fortress
I bury my emotions
beneath the first stone
–
cacophony-
late night frogs
in my stone walls

alabaster skin
flush with the pain of pleasure
however fleeting
–
lilacs in bloom-
bees harbored
in the blossoms

out with the mistress-
his rose garden wilting in
the seething sun
–
my delicate rose-
thorns buried
in my skin

hiding from the sun
living in the shadows while
I curse the darkness
–
the moon obscured-
my ancient thirst
unslaked

my sins behind me
wrapped in white linen steeped in
your divinity
–
under water-
the surface
receding

afternoon hours spent
talking laundry off the line
ahead of the rain
–
the laundromat-
hard plastic chairs
and ennui