Between – Page 23 – Iron Haiku

the ragtop put down
bare feet up on the dashboard
red hair in the wind
–
pacific coast highway-
california dreamin’
on the radio

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

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

white on shades of blue-
the day ends as sailors tire
of chasing the wind
–
moonlight-
sailboats crease
the black water

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

the sea my old friend
greets me with crushed oyster shells
rough beneath my feet
–
driftwood-
seagulls loiter
above the surf

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

catenary wires-
sparks fly overhead as trains
roll along below
–
rolling fog-
the warning whistle
of an approaching train