The Realization

I can only imagine that my future is forged of wrought iron --
tangles of metal looping and lacing upsides and downsides and sideswaybound

to twist and bloom into something else entirely.

Somewhere I forgot what it was like
to be heated and bent
cooled and sealed

and how these horrible sounding manipulations
seamlessly fit in the giant map of my lifeline
in the palm of my hand

and how comfortably the idea of a wrought iron, twisting life
hangs on my wall.

Squirrel's Eye View

An acorn--
and an acorn--
and an acorn--
and an acorn and (cheeks bulge)
then--
Is that--?
It is!

BARK!

Away! and Away! and Away! and
Jump! (nails cling) and
Move! and
Scamper! and
Hustle! and
(tail twitch) and
Climb!
and Gotta--
Hurry!
and Gotta get--

BARK!

To the top!

After Great-Aunt Florie's Unveiling Service

A white teacup saucer with small rosebuds
is sitting on the off-white carpeting
and I'm holding the small, matching cup in
my beauty-marked hand.

My undotted hand feels sore in two spots
where my teeth lie when I suck my fingers,
pressing my sign for "I love you"
against my small lips.

Mr. Big Bear and I are enjoying
afternoon tea with Grandma and Mimi,
stirring in plastic sugar cubes with pink
and silver tin spoons.

The women are sitting on my mother's
yellow and rust flower patterned sofa,
I am kneeling on the other side of
the coffee table.

I pour cold water from my tea kettle
very carefully, spilling only drops
on the glass and wiping them away with
my undotted hand.

Mimi asks me to pour the next cup with
my dotted hand instead, and I find
it's easier and I don't spill at all.
She is right-handed.

I look up at her and smile, sticking
my undotted hand's fingers into my
mouth, feeling pain, but sucking anyway,
enjoying comfort.

Haiku 4

BOOM!

and then another bomb:

Senryu 1

The old man
meticulously gardening and trimming:
nose hair.

Haiku 3

baseball stitching
unraveled caught in the broken
window pane

Haiku 2

cherry blossoms

pink cups of nectar

and histamines