Age – Page 60 – Iron Haiku

stolen innocence-
inured to constant violence
and lost empathy
–
distant wildfires
a false sunset in
the eastern sky

the hours before dawn
weaving my way back home through
the thinnest of light
–
gently becoming
as one with
the winter sky

shutters hang askew
a cracked and peeling screen door
banging in the wind
–
fading laughter
shards of glass litter
the sun baked earth

come to me softly
slip off your shoes and we’ll dance
in the evening sand
–
mid morning sun
warm black sand after
the retreating tide

budding at long last
relationships long buried
exposed to the light
–
tawney pine straw
a squirrel caches
his winter stores

wet and matted hair
cold rain, hot blood, and cordite
soak into the dirt
–
a sparrow-
perched on
a ruined shell

bone tired, weary
driven forward all the while
dragging this baggage
–
shimmering heat
an old prospector
pulls at his burro

flooded rice paddies
on the roadside sheaves of straw
drying in the sun
–
high spring sun
nimble fingers
sowing wheat

an icy black rain
the autumn harvest freezes
while still in the field
–
a desert night
cold hard water
feeds the fire

living day to day
ignoring where I’ve been and
what the future holds
–
frost on the grass
awake in the dark
breathless and immobile