Fear – Page 29 – Iron Haiku

the pen freshly inked
yet hesitating over
whose name is written
–
falling leaves-
unheard, a hawk
passes overhead

howling in the night
a cold wind pounds on my door
straining the hinges
–
black rain-
branches scrape
my darkened window

under thick brambles
a stream runs through an arch
in an old stone wall
–
empty talons-
a chipmunk
avoids its fate

the smell of sea salt
carried on the inland wind
by dangerous storms
–
flying fish-
on the bowsprit
the sea in her hair

trapped in the darkness
never wanting to leave this
beautiful nightmare
–
hoarfrost-
webs frozen
on the moor

my temper flares up
in the heat of the moment
yet I’m the one burned
–
desert sun-
my ego buried
in the sand

hoping against hope
to stem the incoming tide
and still it rises
–
august-
forsaken
by the sun

thick solemn silence
dozens of flag draped coffins
lining the tarmac
–
echoes of summer-
shell casings
in a folded flag

cut from the same cloth
the two of us holding fast
lest it unravel
–
sheep shearing-
lost in thought
or so it seems

i look at myself
and listen to my own lies
praying that they’re true
–
reflections-
outside my window
a magpie