Category Archives: Monday Wordle
Words in Flight
The first line of each breath-of-a-poem is taken from The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle.
~~ 1 ~~
whispering verses
in the sanatorium
to cure her own ills
~~ 2 ~~
No one is looking
as she hawks a gob of phlegm
into her hanky.
~~ 3 ~~
Nine days in a row
she walks to the barley field,
but no one is there.
~~ 4 ~~
A woman running
down a precarious path
stumbles on a plum.
~~ 5 ~~
ripening fruit trees
dropping rivulets of plums
to the orchard floor
~~ 6 ~~
with rooster feathers
making a watery soup
that no one will taste
~~ 7 ~~
Catching words in flight,
I tuck them into a file
to read six years hence.
~~ 8 ~~
in a land of heat
the sterile adulation
of the lizard’s tongue
~~ 9 ~~
for writing secrets
a handful of somber words
flicked across the page
~~ 10 ~~
a world made of wind—
how dull and uninspiring
for seekers of words
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Monday Wordle #76
Reasons
Each haiku begins with a phrase taken from A New Moon by Bruce H. Feingold.
~~ 1 ~~
towards a high plateau
her labor at this altitude
for the slightest breath
~~ 2 ~~
on a granite ledge
she attempts to justify
her reasons to jump
~~ 3 ~~
the darkest silence
broken by a single chime
of the druid’s bell
~~ 4 ~~
way-worn traveler
trundling down a twisting path
till it meets the sea
~~ 5 ~~
swirling in the dust
where a crevice meets the sky—
ecstatic dervish
~~ 6 ~~
the bright graffiti
plunging her into despair
this foggy morning
~~ 7 ~~
lying wide awake
she masticates dry saltines
for a comfort food
~~ 8 ~~
shoulder to shoulder
two old queers dressed in leather
shambling down the street
~~ 9 ~~
swallows skim the dusk
making no alliance with
bats or mosquitoes
~~ 10 ~~
the doves call louder
as though they have a vision
of impending doom
~~ 11 ~~
a green sea turtle
straddling a hole in the sand
where she lays her eggs
~~ 12 ~~
a final haiku
something more combustible
than the ones before
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Monday Wordle #48
More Small Wonders
~~ 1 ~~
banks of the canal
littered with Styrofoam cups—
last night’s wild party
~~ 2 ~~
a broken paddle—
her only means for forcing
the canoe upstream
~~ 3 ~~
A dent in the door—
the madman throws his hammer
at his hapless wife.
~~ 4 ~~
Even the maple syrup
drenching my morning pancakes
cannot still the storm.
~~ 5 ~~
improvised scripture
scribbled beneath a picture
in a children’s book
~~ 6 ~~
the old woman’s shawl
unraveling thread by thread
along with her dreams
~~ 7 ~~
ripples on the pond
where old Basho’s frog jumped in
following the crowd
~~ 8 ~~
elegance
of deserts waiting
for spring rain
~~ 9 ~~
languishing
in the oubliette
a traitor
~~ 10 ~~
her excess baggage—
hoping no one will notice
the overhead bin
~~ 11 ~~
the redwing blackbirds
petitioning the frog pond
for a midday snack
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Monday Wordle #47
Small Wonders
~~ 1 ~~
blustery evening—
by faltering lantern light
no path for her feet
~~ 2 ~~
in her small kitchen
a sip or two of cocoa
from a broken cup
~~ 3 ~~
indulging herself
cocoa sprinkled with nutmeg
Sunday morning treat
~~ 4 ~~
the farm hands at dawn
hoping that some warmth will come
to the onion field
~~ 5 ~~
seeking a way out
the imprint of her longing
on wool, foam and stone
~~ 6 ~~
the grindstone
waiting for a knife
to sharpen
~~ 7 ~~
nacreous handle
of the old woman’s mirror
her consolation
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Monday Wordle #46
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