Time – Page 54 – Iron Haiku

in the deep end
endlessly treading water
lest I slip under
–
sand hill cranes-
a bicycle rusts
amid the cattails

stone temple ruins-
echoes of ancient bronze bells
call the monks to prayer
–
summer sunlight-
wending through
the splintered roof

who will stand and speak
when there is such injustice
if not I then who?
–
angry seas-
ramshackle rafts
adrift and lifeless

turkey tail mushrooms-
beauty found within decay
and reclamation
–
in the dark-
nimble fingers pick
the mushroom harvest

living on the edge –
tasting the forbidden fruit
and consequences
–
future regrets-
I send a drink
down the bar

a rusting iron gate-
beyond the overgrown path
crumbling headstones
–
bristlecone pines-
deeply rooted
to the earth

my journal entry-
today I start another
lap around the sun
–
willow branches-
a crack appears
in the robin’s egg

all the leaves scattered
standing despite itself but
rotten at the core
–
a forest altar-
oaken pews
standing empty

hundreds of candles-
an unlit testament to
this empty vigil
–
tumbled stone-
autumn’s first light
warms the piazza

a warm summer eve
mists gather in pools that drip
from the temple roof
–
temple stairs-
stone dragons
cloaked in moss