Broken – Page 15 – Iron Haiku

a whole life reduced
to two dust covered and scuffed
satchels by her feet
–
cold desert night-
the tent offers
poor respite

the bathroom door locked –
water covers the threshold
soaking the carpet
–
echos in the hallway-
your phone goes
straight to voice mail

one thing is certain-
with the taxes completed
l just wait for death
–
lights dim-
a life’s debt
repaid

a deer in the woods-
the chorus of spring peepers
suddenly silent
–
midnight-
startled awake by
preternatural stillness

that thousand yard stare-
a private and the sergeant
standing toe to toe
–
noonday sun-
new recruit’s hair
litters the floor

the slow push of surf-
a lighthouse in the distance
obscured by the fog
–
distant foghorns
cairns lost
to the tide

tiger lilies bloom-
last year’s fallen leaves begin
dancing with the wind
–
crocus blooms –
a young robin
in my birdbath

rhapsody in blue-
the crush of humanity
just outside my ears
–
the subway shuttle-
a ragged busker
bows his violin

clutching thoughts and prayers
while we let those who suffer
slip through our fingers
–
predawn chill-
sleeping children
suddenly fatherless

horizontal rain-
fractured palms and broken dreams
tumble down the street
–
dark greasy smoke-
The sky lit
by falling embers