Another Whirl with Robert Hass
The first line of each haiku or senryu is taken from poems in Time and Materials by Robert Hass.
This week’s whirling words are: ricochet, invisible, curvaceous, narrow, maps, lace,
dwindle, spin, warp, past, flooded, alcoves
I am the servant
of my Lady Ricochet.
(She’s had several men.)
~~ ~~ ~~
In the desert sky,
an invisible hand swirls
through the Milky Way.
~~ ~~ ~~
To see an iris
and its curvaceous petals—
wonder of wonders!
~~ ~~ ~~
In a compost heap,
life becomes narrow and dark—
and pungent and rich.
~~ ~~ ~~
We don’t know a thing
about how to read life maps—
no wonder we stray.
~~ ~~ ~~
To the woven flax,
sing, and to the crocheted lace
murmur words of praise.
~~ ~~ ~~
In the present tense
a life begins to dwindle
till there’s nothing left.
~~ ~~ ~~
The interpreter
knows how to spin a fine tale
with her fiery tongue.
~~ ~~ ~~
Nobody will ask
how to warp the empty loom
or how to weave dreams.
~~ ~~ ~~
Brushing off your coat,
I look past your left shoulder—
flickers of starfire.
~~ ~~ ~~
the delicious scent
of flooded fields at sunset—
this desert will bloom
~~ ~~ ~~
He bullies the girls
in the school’s hidden alcoves—
perfidious boy!
© 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 69
More The Poetry Pantry #110
Posted on August 11, 2012, in haiku, senryu, The Poetry Pantry, The Sunday Whirl. Bookmark the permalink. 24 Comments.
Some beauties here. I loved “warp the empty loom”. I wonder if you were not writing to the 5-7-5 form whether you would omit the occasional word: eg
To the woven flax,
sing, and to the crocheted lace
murmur words of praise.
might be better without crocheted? Should adherence to strict form take precedence over poetry? Erm: Viv get off your soapbox!
Oh, sometimes I struggle with the 5-7-5 form, but I think there are good reasons for sticking with the discipline of writing to it.
I don’t think it’s just a Sunday blue mood – but this is another grouping that is just so lovely I am tearing up. Beautiful! each and every
Thank you. I appreciate your tears!
Definitely true about life’s road maps. Straying definitely seems to be the norm! Learned a new word from your poems — perfideous (a marvelous word). So many beautiful haiku!
Visiting from PU.
All the stanzas are gleaming brightly … loved the combo
I loved each one, and enjoyed reading each one, I couldn’t decide on my fav.
Thank you for savoring and enjoying them all!
As always, each verse a gem! espec. loved the ‘life maps’ that no one can truly follow…
Thank you. I find it easy to get sidetracked, even with a map!
I love how you spin the wordle words. That first one about Lady Ricochet made me laugh.
These are my favorites:
In the present tense
a life begins to dwindle
till there’s nothing left. … A bit of painful truth.
~~ ~~ ~~
The interpreter
knows how to spin a fine tale
with her fiery tongue. … I love this one because I am an interpreter.
~~ ~~ ~~
Nobody will ask
how to warp the empty loom
or how to weave dreams. … Isn’t this the way? The information is available, but nobody will ask because nobody will believe in the magic.
~~ ~~ ~~
Brushing off your coat,
I look past your left shoulder—
flickers of starfire. … Don’t you just love people who are this electric? You can almost see an aura of fire dancing around their bodies.
I love writing haiku. It is often harder to write than longer poems, but the end result is usually more rewarding (and more beautiful, deep, and meaningful).
To this incisive comment, I can only say, “Amen!”
Another great series of haiku MMT … lovely read … well done.
I really like the iris one and the second to last.
Hoot hoot! I missed your Sunday work while I was on vacation. These are all fabulous, but I really like the interpreter piece.
You’re right. I know nothing about reading life maps. But I sure have a lot of fun trying. You’re really a whiz at haiku wordling.
Delightful. For my dailies, small observational pieces this month I am writing haiku, tanka and renga. Today’s was:
outstanding red bird
summer green boughs your backdrop
brief afternoon rest
My wordle is here:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/08/sw-69-acheron-9-for-both-b.html
A haiku a day keeps the doldrums at bay!
Such a beautiful love poem, from the wordl, but I hate how it ends in treachery.
I love what you did with words and form here, especially:
To the woven flax,
sing, and to the crocheted lace
murmur words of praise.
Magical once again in every way… sorry for my delayed response. But so glad to have made it by. Each word given its place to shine. Funny thing is I came via “a little piece of heaven” challenge over at Tina’s ( a wonderful pic by the way) and was surprised to find it was the same MMI that I know from the Sunday Whirl. Looking forward to this weeks words – xo teri
Thank you so much! I like these serendipitous encounters!