Death – Page 44 – Iron Haiku

don’t gamble on me
there’s far too much at stake and
you don’t know the score
–
what you see
I choose
to show

freshly mown spring grass
a frog hops to the safety
of an old stone wall
–
the bull frog
peeks out from
behind a stone

drowning in darkness
heaved out and left on the rocks
gasping for the sun
–
sinking…
yearning for
the surface

I wake intent on
fighting an uphill battle
I know I will lose
–
high tide
a turtle shell
lies empty

bandaged wedding vows
broken trust slowly healing
despite all the pain
–
loss…
mostly
regained

a feather’s tip nicks
the torn paper’s ragged edge
bleeding bright black ink
–
an obligation
the contract
signed in blood

a dying ember
brightened by love’s final breath
at last extinguished
–
autumn
the last robin
falls silent

deeply search your soul
and when the darkness calls you
choose not to answer
–
evil
waits for an
eager listener

watching while you sleep
your gentle breath, warm and sweet
so easily stilled
–
echoes of
silence spread
throughout the night

who I am is just
in between who I was and
who I will become
–
my future
hinges on keeping
my past promises