Life – Page 55 – Iron Haiku

I hit a doorknob
or tripped and fell down the stairs-
I’m just so clumsy
–
an autumn eve-
the sky lit by
a house on fire

I don’t fall in love
but on a night like tonight
I’ll consider it
–
intoxicating-
licking the salt
from your lips

sunday afternoon
on the line the week’s washing
left out in the rain
–
empty bottles-
even the baby
has stopped crying

crawling out of bed
passing by the hall mirror
my reflection gone
–
the dead of night-
awaiting your
invitation

rumbling through the dark
long trains roll westbound under
thunder and lightning
–
drying hay-
the countryside
glides past

I may seem nice but
if I had my way I’d carve
the meat from your bones
–
desperate thirst-
lions in the
tall grass

trying to balance-
one foot on the precipice
of your adulthood
–
the arc of the sun-
change made
in a single day

a roadside vigil-
flowers for a young man turned
forever nineteen
–
sudden silence-
shell casings
in the grass

beauty and danger
your small delicate flower
surrounded by thorns
–
clearing haze-
following the trail
of blood diamonds

the magic kingdom-
selling scraps of happiness
at a fat profit
–
finally awake-
finding nothing
behind the curtain