Fear – Page 11 – Iron Haiku

puppets to a one-
dancing to unheard music
hung from tangled threads
–
skeletal fingers-
pulling taut
the threads of fate

on a twisted branch
outside my window a crow
in the black of night
–
india ink-
an ebony feather
is my quill

midwinter moonlight-
hushed stillness split by the cries
of mother and child
–
nesting jays-
the silence of
broken eggshells

an old church graveyard
dogwood petals salt the ground
o’er the waiting dead
–
grey rain-
tumbled stones
on hallowed ground

clearing the tables-
the bartender stacks the chairs
yet we’re still talking
–
lost in your eyes-
waiting to speak
two simple words

grey unseeing eyes-
where do you go when you’re gone
far away from here
–
fields of lavender-
safe spaces
inside her head

a dank feeble breeze-
the rumble of the el train
passing my window
–
distant sirens-
my room awash
in a neon glow

ashen metal sky-
slowly rolling cattle cars
descend into hell
–
chain link fence-
the walking dead
in black and white

telling ghost stories-
embers on the rising smoke
mixing with the stars
–
distant howls-
another log
feeds the fire

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