Peace – Page 63 – Iron Haiku

sandals dangling
water lapping at her thighs
her lover, the sea
–
billowing white clouds
salty ocean mists
kiss her face

clinging to the flames
my mortal sins escape me
carried by the wind
–
absolution
casting bread
upon the water

luminous, rising
from below an ebony lake
in her hand, a sword
–
sunlit hillsides
shadows rolling
slowly to the shore

traveling down this
river of asphalt toward
the vanishing point
–
maple leaves
swirling eddies in
a mountain steam

an eclipse of moths
dancing around the asters
joyful for the fall
–
october dawn
sycamore seeds
drifting in the breeze

aloft and adrift
floating ever so gently
just out of my grasp
–
innocence
tethered
by a string

wishing you all peace
in the hope and promise of
the coming new year
–
auburn leaves
a chestnut takes root
in the dampened earth

guiding my journey
walking with the ghost of you
on my chosen path
–
dripping boulders
surging white water
streams diverging

watching you watch me
through heavily lidded eyes
as sleep becomes you
–
brindle underbrush
a chipmunk rests
beneath the leaves

dressed in homespun
with an old straw broom, barefoot
sweeping the dirt floor
–
breaking sun
moist soil on
the coffin’s lid