Distance – Page 9 – Iron Haiku

deep in the night sky
beyond the reach of the sun
lost among the stars
–
desert sky-
asleep under
the constellations

tongue already sharp
another shot of bourbon
hones the razors edge
–
rain slicked asphalt-
streetlights glare
in the gutter

approaching midnight-
hoping for the winds of change
to blow strong this year
–
fading daylight-
the future pinned
to our youth

dawn passes to dusk
giving rise to winter and
the fall of the year
–
on a cold wind-
another year gone
without notice

sitting on the stoop-
strangers walking past me with
judgment in their eyes
–
icy concrete steps-
wrought iron railings
rusted through

a day at the beach-
budding romance captured in
faded polaroids
–
sundown-
walking slowly
hand in hand

past a dark alley
a chorus of feral cats
and toppled trash cans
–
over the car horns
and the shouting-
more sirens

in endless circles
the moon dances with the stars
through the solstice night
–
an absent sun-
sleet clatters off
the autumn leaves

through endless farmland-
I suddenly see myself
in a passing train
–
ice tinged puddles-
a stranger lingers
in the water

another el train
rumbles by as I sit in
my open window
–
an ailing fan-
ninety degrees
at two am