47 HAIKUS
by
Tiel Aisha Ansari
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011, Tiel Aisha Ansari
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The cover image is adapted from a public domain image supplied by Wikimedia Commons. The original is located at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackboard_TH.jpg
47 HAIKUS
obsessed and homeless
standing awkwardly in line
at the soup kitchen
salt seaweed perfume
eager fishermen pull nets
caught fish flash in sun
deep-wrinkled willow
shallow sun-sparkling water
fickle wind loves both
bored naive soldiers
at every duty station
gossip about home
tomorrow my breath
will be wind through scattered bone
i will be distance
yearning for cherries
sweet flesh collapsing into
purple-staining juice
random scrawls record
ebb tide's negotiation
with the weight of sand
willow leaves carried
on wind-spoken sentences
flying green serifs
weary survivors pick
bloody glass and steel shards
from still pulsing wounds
brass gleaming like sweat
Dizzy plays bebop changes
in key of B-flat
quarter past midnight
clock hands at ninety degrees
thermometer too
ochre-tinged shadows
the sun's a tarnished penny
in a bowl of milk
a brash redneck saint
at the lube and muffler shop
holds forth salvation
on a busy street
a moment without traffic
the soft hum of bees
mannequins dressed in
sumptuous yet kicky clothes
fondle sleek torsos
mourners ring the graves
to the sound of muffled drums
flags blanket coffins
black velvet ribbon
wrapped around day-blossom stems
held by silver clasp
whispering like silk
spring rain falls all around me
i look up, startled
neglect offends graves
wind and lithe willow branches
sweep the headstones clean
bamboo windchime knocks
winter weather's initials
scratched on my front door
vague enemy glimpsed
in now-shattered windowpane
robin sings triumph
ignore falling fears
orbit weightlessly above
brilliant blue orb
edge of limpid pool
stark with vitreous debris
after winter storm
in warm safe waters
the toad king guards his treasure
nine strands of black pearls
average height, thick neck
long arms and heavy muscle
face scratched, bruised and scarred
jaded tourists view
night-blooming cactus flower
delicate and rare
gentle ocean waves
caress jagged coastal cliffs
ruthless erosion
parallel brick walls
echo mysterious sound
unseen balls bouncing
the water's so clear
pebbles kiss reflected stars
like distant lovers
patrons leave the bar
darkness weakening to dawn
like ink in water
seagull shadows glide
over the snow-dappled sand
and leave no traces
from factory walls
broken windows stare and blink
as pigeons fly out
in dim-lit back rooms
gamblers chainsmoke cigarettes
they cannot afford
the first northbound geese
wedge-shaped trace against the sky
splits winter open
half-erased traces
across an empty meadow
dog's pawprints in dew
radio racket
skipping stations in search of
original ads
framed against black rock
a single dead branch contains
a thousand poems
strings of glass wind-chimes
tokens of unasked questions
silent empty bells
from damaged canvas
saints gaze righteous and lucid
waiting for salvage
half-hidden in grass
a dead crow lies wingbroken
exiled from the air
wind redrawing sky
feathered brush-strokes of white ink
on clean blue paper
wind stroking sagebrush
painting fragrance into sky
above bony hills
crusader banners
shed gloom over kneeling ghosts
transparent victims
handful of dead grass
clutches at pale crescent moon
earth clinging to sky
empty exit ramps
ignored by highway drivers
frame desolate towns
glossy black feather
resting on the hot sidewalk
nearby crow caws twice
grey river flooding
Mississippi holds Memphis
in fathomless arms
About the Author
Tiel Aisha Ansari is a Sufi, martial artist, and data analyst living in the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been presented in print, online, and on the radio. She is the author of the collection Knocking from Inside, available from Ecstatic Exchange. You can visit her at knockingfrominside.blogspot.com