[x]

Birdlike the soul findsFrown of frustration from him;
she savaged the self crafted.
A drop of sweat almost hit the ground,
but the feathery arm was quite a surprise.
Perched, it was no struggle to take off,
and I met you while making loops in the air.

Highly placed,
transfixed by the refinement of brick, wood.
Then, gliding between buildings,
the power of the draft,
the grandeur of building.
Our day ended atop a telephone pole,
seeing the bright orange and rosy pink fade away.

We don't have a song.
All we have is a natural strength
from an unnatural happening.
You almost left your burden in tears
before you were on that skyscraper,
searching.

EyesLike a mosquito,
her eyes spoke hunger, leaving
only freezing blood.

ExileDexterous turn of phrase -
silver moonlight, summer's lake,
illuminating nothing.

Frustration with dA"Thanks for the watch,"
then nothing else.
Polite, meaningless words.
Of course we know
not every stroke can be stared at,
not every noun can be analyzed.

Not every one can be friends.

I remember giving treats
to an old, deaf, ailing dog.
I remember bearing its smell
in order to pet it.
A cat saw this. The cat would
jump in front of me,
trying to get my leg to rub
against its fur.

Animals may not know to be grateful,
but they don't take for granted
what is good.

TemporarySterile light, greasy diner.
Chatter at the other table -
two encouraging each other.
No work, no desire to learn,
yet he deserves a girlfriend.
(Not his female listener,
of course.)

One almost feels sorry
when she recounts the significance
of every game of house
played in preschool.

Love eludes my friend and I.
Our table has never graced
a double date. Rather,
fried shrimp, coffee, steak.
One day, he'll eat healthier.
I'll be happy for him,
strangely missing this place.

SummerRipples – murky pond -
fanning out against the dark
the color of chalk

If you want a new beginning...If you want a new beginning, consider investing in a mechanized suit of armor

Streets shattered as giant robots
strode in the city's center to duel.
They aimed pulse guns,
hit everything but each other.
That was the day I knew I had to move.

A limb of steel and wire
fell and smashed the garage.
Salvaged my old journal,
plans for a new design.

Papers flying out of skyscrapers
reminded of drawings you sent.
I stopped by your house;
in your absence left a letter.

Finally, about to evacuate,
an eyelaser wrecked the highway.
Border of concrete and fire for miles.
Sorry, right now I'm trapped in my fears.

One day I'll sneak into a

Painting NightsDear Emma,

The truth is I'm not a painter.

The truth is I followed you here from that flower shop on Whitmore Street, two and a half months ago. Please, keep reading.

You actually took my breath away when I glimpsed you holding a bunch of lilies in your slender hands at the flower shop counter. You stunned me. That's never happened to me before. I was watching you turning the bouquet left to right, you seemed in awe of the flowers' beauty. Your eyes, your perfect smile, the way you held yourself. It was not a conscious decision to follow you here. I think I was in a trance. I know how it looks; I know it sounds like a

JusticeFor my students – not everything I've learned. Just most of it.

Maybe there's some realm
where you're tougher than everyone
and all recognize, scatter.

More than likely people plot.
The many cut down the one -
a red sun falls and reigns.

"Wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
Over the wails of the sick and dying,
the silence of the imprisoned,

I hear you. I think about her.
How her portly cat rolled,
how she flooded her garden,

how she sacrificed for even the deserving.
I know the final test is not what you do,
but who you are. Why that last moment matters.

JulyJuly was a month of a capella nights,
Red heliotrope scores and blanched
Methadone eyes.

A singing of nerves hewn to a cry:
Fine-tuned and skinned
To carpal ascension,

The quivers of a quaver
Due to crescendo.

I hovered, wing-like, on the husk
Of schizocarp dreams,
But sprang forth undone
By chorus and synchrony.

On Philosophy and Wisdom TodayA small shop opening (tr. Hass & Blyth)
Yosa Buson

The short night -
on the outskirts of the village
a small shop opening.

Comment:

1. It seems fantastic to say philosophy is the discovery of wonder. What an arrogant, nonsensical claim! No field or mode of inquiry has a claim on wonder; all men wonder. In fact, it is because men wonder there is philosophy, no?

2. This is Mijakayo, the short summer night. That night's light, heat, noise: is nature resolving into something? It seems so, and the curiosity is "the outskirts of the village." Why did the natural not become the village outright? Why a small shop, something we could romanticiz

Fallterminal—
my grandmother, crumbling
leaves

For My MotherMarigolds tried to eat his leg,
lilies wrapped around his arm.
Gardening almost collapsed into chaos.
He stepped away from the marigolds,
watered the lilies.
Consoled the piranha plant
with the googly, tearful eyes.
Even got a wheelbarrow
to collect from the money tree.

In kindergarten they get bigger quickly -
toys still lie scattered.
Caretakers make us wonder
when they can be shown care.
A sun with a smiley face
always lets happy plants and resting gardeners
cast playful shadows.

5 Stages of Griefone. Kissing your knees. You have eyes on your palms
crying, you are saying 'No,' firmly but nothing changes.

Telling your children 'let go' means nothing.

two. Begins after you haven't laughed in a year.
It has been three years, four months and five days.

three. Shooting yourself in the foot. Shooting yourself in the foot
makes the pain dissipate from everywhere else. Hammer to the
hand, head and neck.

four. Jerusalem, I love you, Jerusalem, you are mumbling
on your knees and weary. The wooden pew is making you look
thin and boney. Thin and boney, like a chicken ready for sacrifice.

five. Stage five is living in a house with no

DisappointmentOver before it started -
my long sigh a gentle, slow exhale.
That knowledge fit perfectly into the world,
notching into place.

You couldn't escape your old habits.
No helmets or seat belts,
only the comfort of Jim Beam.
Smoking around a gas tank,
even thinking the image itself
cheats its star.
Caution cast out:
proof of you is your
arm wrestling Hercules.

There is nothing to say.
But, like code, there are solutions.
Find an elegant line that fits -
risk in order to know -
and we can begin the process
the picture
of friendship.

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Unwanted EndingsThe changing wind reminded me
of lost control of life.
The trees shed leaves, sun sought to set:
a season's resolved strife.

Those hurt do seek resolution.
But feeling all would end
was forest, wind. Surrounding self,
collapses, turns and rends.

FlameWhite candle, alight
as a daffodil always -
what prayer now answered?

RestrictionHumidity hangs;
find myself staring out there.
Inside, a window.

Xenophon's AnabasisEncamped in Persia searching for
the city Plato made.
Armed glory, Spartan friends, regret:
The loss of homeland gained.

Lack of Focus (haiku)Failure to study -
a fungus upon a log,
looking like a frog.

FearSilence over grave's
mere grass, set tombstone, flower.
Am only here now.

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We see the sky where it is skyless

by *akarra, May 8, 2012, 5:57:32 PM
Literature / Poetry / General Poetry / Free Verse

Not the crystal with the bluish tint,
nor the dark wisps rising from cigars.
Another realm entirely. There,
day ends in royal purple, fiery orange.
Gray walls hold those colors for an instant.
Air places dew drops upon grass,
as if to say the world begins afresh.
Birds fly together, each supporting the other.

Now the sound of change striking the sidewalk,
the smell of dirty pigeons collected.
Noting the white of the closed blinds of hospital rooms.

We see the sky where it is skylessby *akarra

Literature / Poetry / General Poetry / Free Verse

Title and inspiration from =thetaoofchaos and *NightGrid's amazing work, "souls high kites with holes." This is, at best, a different sort of subtlety.

If you like this, please don't hesitate to read some of my commentary. A sample, on Maimonides.

love 2 2

joy 3 3

wow 2 2

~~mad 0 0~~

~~sad 0 0~~

~~fear 0 0~~

~~neutral 0 0~~

`LiliWrites Jul 11, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

I've read this two or three times now, and I feel like "Birds fly together, each supporting the other" would work better as its own line. Not only would it have more impact, but it would allow the reader to linger over "world begins afresh" before moving toward the hospital rooms. Just a thought.

Congrats on your feature in Writers with a Promise!

*akarra Jul 11, 2012 Student Writer

That's a possibility - thanks for bringing it up. The reason why I didn't do that was the observer's vision rising and falling. Granted, that rise is a "flying away:" you definitely get what I at least was going for.

~kika567 Jul 8, 2012 Hobbyist Photographer

This is amazing and really descriptive, I like your style of writing!!!

~Miss-Mad-Hatter94 Jun 26, 2012

So descriptive!

Love,
Maddie

*akarra Jun 26, 2012 Student Writer

I didn't get a DD for this (got a DD for "Disappointment"), but this might be my best poem.

~Miss-Mad-Hatter94 Jun 27, 2012

I like it quite a bit.

Love,
Maddie

*EquinoxWalker Jun 17, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

'Now the sound of change striking the sidewalk,'

That's a brilliant line. I can imagine so many things, from children drawing with chalk together to protesters marching in the streets. Keep it up!

~Serelenntidude May 30, 2012

I know this isnt necessarily about the poem, bit from what I;ve read it seems like you're someone who is looking up, metaphorically and literally. Is that crazy?

`LiliWrites May 21, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

Definitely glad I watched you.

The title is fantastic and the work supports it brilliantly. I especially like "Air places dew drops upon grass, /as if to say the world begins afresh." It simultaneously conjures hope and despair, depending on which view you're seeing those drops from.

Excellent work.

*akarra May 21, 2012 Student Writer

Title is a quote from a work by =thetaoofchaos and *NightGrid. Yeah, I do like this poem. "Birdlike" is my personal favorite right now, though.

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We see the sky where it is skyless

We see the sky where it is skylessby *akarra

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