Whirling with W.B. Yeats
I seem to have left my heart in Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature. The first line of each haiku or senryu below is taken from “The Shadowy Waters” by W.B. Yeats, one of Dublin’s enduring writers.
Let the dreams go by
with neither fuss nor fanfare—
others will come soon.
~~ ~~ ~~
I have deceived you
again, but no one need know,
save the two of us.
~~ ~~ ~~
She takes off her crown—
having nowhere else to go,
she weeps on her throne.
~~ ~~ ~~
Fumbling in a dream,
she could not help but wish that
daybreak would come soon.
~~ ~~ ~~
Were you not afraid
when the figure came to life,
calling out your name?
~~ ~~ ~~
I held out my hands
to prove I’d nothing to hide—
you slapped my left cheek.
~~ ~~ ~~
I could see a bird,
miserable and quaking
in the tomcat’s teeth.
~~ ~~ ~~
The birds are scattered—
hardly enough plump pigeons
to compose a pie!
~~ ~~ ~~
They will not follow
unless you take the straight path—
Boise to Cheyenne.
~~ ~~ ~~
My lasting sorrow
is still sweet enough for me
on bitter evenings.
~~ ~~ ~~
The only riches
that interest her are wisdom,
truth and righteousness.
~~ ~~ ~~
From the topmost shelf
the bust of Buddha crashes
to the kitchen floor.
© 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Poetry Pantry #135
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 94
Posted on February 3, 2013, in haiku, senryu, The Poetry Pantry, The Sunday Whirl and tagged haiku, senryu. Bookmark the permalink. 20 Comments.
Bravo. I didn’t manage to use bust – I should have tried haiku!
Beautiful set
I love the way you whirl with words !!!
You covered most of the senses and emotions here!
I love the notion that other dreams must come..and this was almost like travelling through time as well..my first image was a woman back a few centuries..then the Buddha crash bought me to a woman at a desk..maybe right now..
Well my brain is a-whirling with your images!! Virtuoso performance with the language, the form and your ability to evoke emotion, sometimes subtly but always there. Especially loves the first, the sixth and the last.
Love the last two haiku!
I do like that first one. And the crown/weeping. And the Buddah (pull yourself together, Buddah)
Sort of like saying to Humpty Dumpty, “Pull yourself together, old egg!”
Ah – I look forward to these – always a unique spin in a signature form – bravo
Enjoyable to read, as always. I’m particularly fond of the first six; they seem to me connected somehow – perhaps influenced by Yeats or by Dublin – or both.
Richard
Thank goodness, if one dream leaves another will follow.
Oh, the one with the bird in the tomcat’s teeth gave me the chills.
Indeed a person who has wisdom, truth, and righteousness will be a rich person indeed.
Another nice haiku set.
Thanks for sharing with us in Poetry Pantry.
That was a very cleverly done set of haiku!
Such vivid images… hard to pick just one as my favorite this week. = )
That lasting sorrow touched me. Lovely.
I always love your series of haiku. These seem especially potent. Oh the sorrow, and the poor bird in the tomcat’s teeth – and Buddha crashing to the floor. Wonderful, each one!!!! Together, they knock my socks off.
What a richness of observation is here in your haiku.
That could be very interesting an inanimate object coming to life…
The falling of Buddah, hopefully that does not portend ill luck.
As always a nice set of haiku. Thank you.
I was tripped up my the new Mr. Linky format. I’ll try it again next week.
My non-story verse is here:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2013/02/sw94-judgement.html
But I do have the story verse link in the reply section of The Whirl.
Your last one reminds me of the koan….if you see the buddha on the road, kill it. It is not outside our self. Perhaps the breaking bust was a signal to wake up. Love your work.
Lovely. So nice to read your haikus.
Impressive as always!