Between – Page 28 – Iron Haiku

a cobblestone path-
the back garden gate flanked by
rose bushes in bloom
–
spring breeze-
the cloying scent
of honeysuckle

nestled in the snow
a single long stemmed red rose
rests on your headstone
–
cold rain-
in the gutter
a bouquet of roses

this taste of sunshine
after the dark dry winter
barely slakes my thirst
–
crokus blossoms-
eagerly defy the
lingering winter

under crushing debt
the future turns to ashes
swept by our children
–
wild fire-
fed by embers
on the wind

any hope of sleep
spurned by the approaching dawn
and a snoring dog
–
sleeping dogs-
the violent death
of a cardboard box

coruscating snow
slithers across the highway
hastened by the wind
–
morning sun-
cherry blossoms
in the snow

lives in transition
our time of death uncertain
until the next one
–
morning glory-
time enough
to live again

a vial of poison-
reminiscences of you
held up to my lips
–
desert skies-
reflections of death
in the watering hole

at once of two worlds-
straddling the razor’s edge
between life and death
–
winter sun-
the hawk’s shadow
grows smaller

blind and deaf old men
sit in darkened boardrooms and
beat the drums of war
–
black water-
death waiting
on the far bank