Chance – Page 42 – Iron Haiku

awake at first light
realizing far too late
I’m not who I thought
–
venus rising-
difficult memories
consigned to the fire

gilded double doors
open with empty promises
of false salvation
–
heavy leaden sky-
swollen riverbanks
poised to overflow

a torn cap worn low
collar turned against the wind
shrouded in darkness
–
a squalid doorway-
scant shelter from
the bitter cold

I’ve changed all my locks
somehow your keys still fit in
and still turn me on
–
cold winds blow
your call comes through
in the dead of night

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

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

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

jewel in the lotus
tibetan prayer wheels turned by
cascades of water
–
a winter dawn
snow skates across
the temple threshold

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

lingering on a
sea of empty promises
wet with resentment
–
dripping-
an eagle’s
empty talons