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Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry

edited by Clayton Beach

Details

last train home-
you wait among the stars
for me

raking leaves-
you clear your throat
for a talk

evening star-
the rise of your chants
over cricket chorus

moonlight night-
your hand upon
my fevered brow

frangipani-
your last breath rides
on the morning breeze

Details
Augury
 
wandering
in a strange wood
astride 
a moonblind horse . . . 
the future gallops toward me
 
I cast
a fistful of sweetgum balls
on the earth,
try to read their pattern
like the Book of Changes
 
one leaf
suspended in the ice—
if I could see
as clear as frost ferns
the nexus that enfolds me
 
the creek half-frozen
half running free
I toss 
into the water
my second thoughts
 
an altar stone 
beside the brook—
dapples 
of light and shadow 
pass by, pass by
 
 
++++
 
Arbor Mundi
 
a wolf tree
reigns over the meadow
sheltering
an acorn forest,
a wandering child
 
I took root there 
long ago . . .
a hollow 
in the heartwood
still admits the sky
 
saplings
dappled with light—
the message 
of the mother tree
rising in their veins
 
the whole story  
of root and branch—
the touch
of a blind sparrow 
on a young girl’s hand
 
birdfoot runes
imprinted in the snow—
I read 
the windblown passage
of seed and shadow
 
 
++++
 
 
Riddle
 
unspooling
a strand of silken thread
from the body
of a smiling china doll . . .
this snarled skein of self
 
man is but
a thinking reed . . .
then what am I 
but blue-eyed grass
whispering a song
 
a mockingbird
jousts with his reflection—
I slip
through the looking glass
of his yellow eye
 
I am the osprey 
and the fish it seizes
scattering
sparks of light
from the lake within
 
a grey rabbit 
in the portico 
of a dream—
her body hollow,
her eyes full of light
 
 
++++

Details

primordial hum
in the Buddha garden…
morning rain                           

lost in plum blossoms
the sound of a bee                       

tupelo wine
my sudden laughter
as we tango                                  

a pause in our footsteps
on the wooden bridge                

dormant evergreens
beneath the weight
of the Cold Moon                                

deep snow in the city
the homeless man's dream           

***

morning traffic 
outside the coffee shop 
two friends chatting                         

a balmy breeze, your scent 
through an open window                   

on a park bench
where lovers once kissed 
rustling leaves                               

a spotless fawn listens 
in a field of golden wheat                  

Gilmour's guitar solo   
the eagle's long flight
over a sunlit stream                         

spilling over the edge
the youth of a thousand years             

***

bear claw scratches
in the old oak tree…
traces through my past                    

into the deep cave 
echoes of a storm                           

gilded age
she changes her name
to Moonchild                             

loud summer wedding  
the march of ants                      

on temple steps
signs point the way
to purification                     

steep mountain trail…
the monk's silence                 

***                                                                      

rock concert 
the river ice melts     
into a song                                         

from the center of two flames
midnight blue                                

our first hug 
on a long journey
the blur of a train                             

dissolving in the overstory
all the straight edges                          

oat stalks sway
around a rusted tractor 
Harvest Moon                                  

evanescent shadows
a turn in the labyrinth                             

***

steady drumbeat… 
rumbles
through a canyon                                 

a trumpet solo's fading note
summer sunset                                 

sunken treasure
kept in eternity
the day’s remains                      

grandma’s ashes…
the first day of spring             

in a meadow
of daffodils
will we meet again?               

dim lights on the horizon
the endless sea                         


Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA

Details

teatime no worries about the clock

flood stage three
she grabs her cat
and her teas

teacups sometimes fairies visit

he invites me
for afternoon tea
I never leave

steeping exactly three minutes

evening tea
chocolate
in the cookie

witches at the cauldron tea

divorce
they split up
their teas

Darjeeling I drink in the steam

stirring
rounds in our
evening tea

sharing tea as the ship sinks

wrap-curled oolong
black dragon
of teas

slicing lemons for our tea

we shop
for Earl Grey
I fall in love

tea skills wisdom from the masters

Details

ochre rock
ground to a paste
spirit shadows dance
from the flames

from a rotting log
the quoll
begins its hunt
crescent moon

a black beetle’s
long journey
climbing
the mountain ash

milky way
the light of stars
in the lens
of his camera

those indigo skies
the nights we spend
gazing
into moon-washed hills

Details

dawnlight
droplets of dew
on pink plum blossoms

garden pond
a frog turns into stone

dusty mirror
another déjà vu
in V formation

lights out in the valley
the elder tells his story

soft lullaby
as she cradles her baby
the scent of honey

summer sunrise
father sips a cup of coffee

warm layers
the first snow
bathed in moonlight

under one blanket
rose oil on her skin
rising incense…
two lovers share
their secrets

morning fog
the forest fills with birdsong

call to prayer
my skirt fringes become one
with seagrass

combing the old stray cat
winter wind

faint whispers
the subway rattles
in the dark

plucking a guitar string
the room fills with tension

wedding day
a butterfly flies between
the groom and the bride

under the silk chuppah
candles glimmer in a breeze

glimpsed behind
drifting storm clouds
harvest moon

pumpkin patch
so many faces in the crowd

orange streetlight
a wrinkled leaf falls
without a sound

melting into a shadow
the doe’s eyes

half-open window
an orb spider rebuilds
her web

a dreamcatcher spins
above his pillow

nascent breath
in Sakura blossoms…
the birth of a star

spring evening
the child scribbles her first poem

 

Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob Salzer, USA

Details

Ephemera

no leaf stirs. . .
yet mist rising
from the water's surface
. . . . . . . .swirls
in slender vortices of light

a feather
floats from empty air
into my mind
the desire comes
to live as lightly

mayflies
on a sunlit stream . . .
riding
the earth’s soft breath
into a single dusk

grass bows down
before the wind
and grass rises . . .
the valves of my heart
open and close

the wind harp
in my narrow room
sings
on a whispering breeze
harmonics are enough

 

Quicksilver

in old age
I dream once more
of horses
opalescent as the mist
wheeling around me

dappled
with moonlight
a mare stops
to touch my hand . . .
velvet breath

I twine
my fingers
in the wind’s
wild mane . . .
follow, follow

crossing
a river of starlight . . .
the current
carries us swiftly
toward the sea

a glint
of fools’ gold
as we reach
the farther shore
the scent of thyme

 

Spindrift

a swirl of birds
across the winter sky . . .
I sing
the shifting shapes
of star and starling

my song
has no words,
or only one—
the syllable that seeds
both emptiness and form

no name
for the no-thing
that flings up foam
and draws it back again—
this froth of stone and oak

I am a leaf
caught in an eddy
singing
my way downriver
to the distant sea

silver fish
dancing on moonlit ripples
don’t die
when the wind dies down. . .
they were always water

Details

delicate sounds
of the early spring
taking time
to melt the waterfall
shining in the sun          

sound of rain
outside my bedroom
morning lullaby             

soft drops
of humidity
in Tokyo
no one notices
my tears                

shall I go. . .
                    shall I stay?
the absence of thunder    

pouring
your favorite
blueberry tea
under the stars
scent of firewood

cloudless skies
seedlings after
last year’s ashes

    by Mariko Kitakubo and Deborah P Kolodji

 

Details

wiping off
and wiping off
the dark. . .
footsteps
in the cloud

foggy morning
searching for a ray of light
within the gray

I can't see
my fairy shoes
in the weeds
trapped by gravity
within the haze

blurry-eyed
a bee dusts
the pollen 

loving
your crossed 
fingers...
a bottle of mead
across the ocean

outstretched wings
the scan beep
of a boarding pass

        Mariko Kitakubo & Deborah P Kolodji

 

Details

warm breath
catches at the door . . .
too much night

            flicker of recognition
            before the power outage

plenty of time
to tell stars from planets
thick silence

            singles night
            at the stardust ballroom
            his ring

driving till dawn
no other lights

            dark galaxy
            caught in the cloud
            of lies

Ann K. Schwader & Deborah P Kolodji