Tanka Sequence
For Auld Lang
Syne
alive with a flock
of birds
resting from their flight
a pair of distraught lovers
discuss a reunion
lonely winter nights
without you by my side
the cold fills our bed—
outside the blizzard rages
the only movement is snow
when will the north wind
cease this relentless fury?
without heat or lights
the cold days and nights numb
my memories of you
So strange! the last scraps
of your letters burn brightly
warming my cold flesh—
I pray you are in a safe
and warm shelter far away
it's New Year's Eve!
alone, I raise my glass—
For auld lang syne
this cup of kindness, old friend,
I reach out to grasp your hand
Cinquain Sequence
Eulogy to a Poet
buried
six feet below,
his corpse has turned to dust—
returned to the elements, life
renews
his face,
once familiar,
blossoms as Spring flowers—
his well kept gardens, free from weeds,
profuse
precise
word images
shaped as cinquain, haiku,
sonnets, sijo—songs of the heart,
bold verse
he peered
into the depths
of our souls, probing words
that sing with radiant insight,
poems
his thoughts
etched forever
in words that will be read
ages and ages hence, artful
beauty
Haiku
on the garden walk
only the track of a hare—
sipping hot tea
Vaughn Seward, CA and John
Daleiden, US
Festive Expectations
Our last
delivery
this quiet festive eve—
hugs and cheer. |
/vs |
Coal and
ash for our stockings—
stomach in knots all night. |
/jd
/vs |
An empty
cookie plate
near the tree and presents—
Christmas Morning. |
/jd |
| December
23-24, 2008, No. 108 |
|
Notes: |
|
Read Additional Poems by John
Daleiden, US
Renku:
Backs to the Wind
|
