Animal – Page 23 – Iron Haiku

glints of green and gold
hummingbirds in the neighbor’s
honeysuckle vine
–
lilacs-
delicious
in the wind

my soul recoils from
the cold skeletal touch of
the angel of death
–
twilight-
fireflies lead me
across the river

almost a year clean
yet I still have a hard time
passing by the spoons
–
closing time –
club soda
my paltry reward

as my eyesight fades
I think I finally see
my destination
–
a grey heron-
motionless in the
standing water

families asunder-
buzzards circling high above
the southwest desert
–
riding the smoke-
wild horses
in the distance

doe-eyed sycophants-
suckling at the teat of
this festering pig
–
overcast-
the lack of sunlight
goes unnoticed

lying in my bed
beautiful and poisonous
twisted in the sheets
–
african sun-
death lurks
in the tall grass

an empty porch swing-
lazy paddle fans disturb
the hot southern air
–
the forest floor-
dragonflies still
in the thick air

two dark silhouettes
framed in the open window
sitting side by side
–
tails twitching-
warm dreams
in the sunlight

verdant fields of grass
freshly cut into windrows
drying in the sun
–
migrant bees-
tend the
grape arbor