Life – Page 37 – 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

around my ankle
an invisible red thread
that binds me to you
–
a cardinal-
in the holly his mate
awaits his return

driftwood and clam shells
dried seaweed and rushes line
the high water mark
–
curling waves-
preening ducks
bathe in the surf

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

across an open lea
a small fox bounding over
sprays of wildflowers
–
rolling green hills-
freckles of
snapdragons

freshly brewed coffee-
the morning sky hidden by
pebbled leather clouds
–
warm blankets-
coyotes chatter
before sunrise

a line of turtles
asleep on a fallen log
as I float on by
–
flat water-
silently
making waves

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