Shadow Side

Full winter moon:

the icicle

the icicle’s shadow

Geraldine Clinton Little

————————————————

Up the hill

Onto the peninsula

Up the driveway

To the cottage

Snow is everywhere

We walk to Rutland Water

Past rooftops

Past church spires

Past the thatched house

With icicles, long icicles

Hanging from the window frames

Hanging from the door frame

Then on past trees

Past the post box

Through the fields

To the shoreline

With poachers acting as gamekeepers

Fishermen being as children

The frozen, icy water

Offering play for everyone

haiku mind

108 poems to

cultivate awareness 

& open your heart

is by Patricia Donegan

Dreams

in dreams

and in awakening—

the colour of the iris

Shushiki

————————————————

As if at the very end

The final dream

Before the final awakening

As if the need for explanation

Falls away

With the snow or the rain

Either will suit me

A last chance to smile

At the loss of my environment

Only then for the piano to be played

The brass band to form a semi-circle

And the pub singers to strike a chord

All to bless the pork pies

The cheese and pickle sandwiches

And the very finest Farmer’ Blonde real ale 

haiku mind

108 poems to

cultivate awareness 

& open your heart

is by Patricia Donegan

Children’s Innocence

shown a flower

the small baby

opens its mouth

Seifu-Ni

————————————————

On the very day

When I saw photographs

Of a happy smiling baby

On the other side

Of this grand old world

Her mother

And her grandmother, are flowers

Who radiate the beauty of happiness

Joy begets joy it’s true

Love of life is love itself

haiku mind

108 poems to

cultivate awareness 

& open your heart

is by Patricia Donegan

Vulnerability

moonlight—

through thin clothes

to naked skin

Hisajo Sugita

————————————————

Is my male body

More appealing

Or more vulnerable

When one can see its nakedness

Through a thin veil

Of linen or mercerised cotton

Is my male mind

More alluring

Or approachable

When seen in its pure emptiness

With a cover

Of no substance whatsoever

Is my male skin

Then so inviting

As your unveiled female skin

Are we not equals

More or less

In our obvious powerlessness

haiku mind

108 poems to

cultivate awareness 

& open your heart

is by Patricia Donegan

Cutting Through

splitting

the stone of a white peach

with the edge of a knife

Takako Hashimoto

————————————————

I don’t have the skill

Or the speed

Or the presence of mind

Or the heart

Or the wherewithal

Or the desire

Or the need

If I soak it

In a tumbler of water

Will it grow again

Or does it need

To be opened

By the swift stroke

Of the sword brandishing

Samurai’s daughter

haiku mind

108 poems to

cultivate awareness 

& open your heart

is by Patricia Donegan