Category Archives: Poets & Storytellers United
Blackbird, Blackbird
Blackbird, blackbird perching in the tree,
What is this song you’re singing to me?
Where did you find it? Under a stone?
Maybe it came from the dead man’s bone.
Strange is the tune, and odd are the words—
Mysteries held by no other birds.
Blackbird, blackbird, the stories you tell—
Some are of heaven, some are of hell.
Everything’s cryptic, nothing is clear;
You sing, I quake with frissons of fear.
Blackbird, blackbird, will you ever cease
Singing dark songs and give me some peace?
Poem © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Shimmering Trees
Lockett Meadow Campground, Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Blue sky, golden leaves—
a perfect day in autumn
etched in memory.
## ~~ ## ~~ ##
Over the mountain a patch of blue sky
Catches my wandering, vagabond eye.
I look past the golden, shimmering trees,
And dream of sailing on distant blue seas.
Photo and poems © by Magical Mystical Teacher
When I Forgot My Morning Smile
When I forgot my morning smile, the fish reminded me
That every river wants to rush headlong into the sea.
When blackbirds carried messages beyond the barnyard fence,
Five famous people came to see—they paid but seven pence.
If shuffling gets me to my goal, I’ll shuffle day and night,
But barefoot I will have to go—my boots are much too tight!
Remember on the day I die: No wailing is allowed!
Now promise me that buttonholes will decorate my shroud.
Poem © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Nonsense to Celebrate Daylight Saving Time
Water spilling from a cup—
Will you help me wipe it up?
Grass is crying in the rain—
Watch out now, here comes a train!
Throw the broken plate away,
And then ask your friend to play.
Sing and sway, don’t rock the boat!
Just remember: Stones can’t float!
Poem © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Haibun: Some Wild Thing
Some wild thing roves outside my door. It always comes at twilight. It moves stealthily among the shadows, zigzagging, never in a straight line. It is so swift—like a meteor’s flash or the whirling rings of Saturn—that I barely catch a glimpse of it. But I know it’s there—a constant presence as night comes on. Does it mean to harm me or to help me? I’m not sure, so in order to sleep I check the door locks and chains once more.
The Book of Bad Luck—
why do I keep reading it?
I know how it ends.
Looking for My Mind
I keep looking for my mind, but looking is hard work.
Some folks watching me, I’m sure, consider me a jerk.
If I could find my rightful mind, maybe I could play,
Be lighthearted once again, and laugh the livelong day.
But finding minds ain’t easy; and mine’s been lost so long,
It would take a miracle to right this bitter wrong.
Poem © 2021 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Weekly Scribblings #59 at Poets and Storytellers United: “I’m looking for a mind at work”
Birds, Songs, and Longings
1.
As we near the lake,
geese arc over the water,
honking a greeting.
2.
Settling on her nest
at the water’s edge, a duck
keeps her egg clutch warm.
3.
Rippling mountain stream,
who composed the song you sing?
Surely not the crow!
4.
Drifting and gliding
over the ocean’s surface,
seagulls hunt for fish.
5.
Midwinter longing—
if I had wings like a dove,
I’d fly far away.
More The Whirligig #307
More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
More Writers’ Pantry #59 at Poets and Storytellers United
The Spiritual Godfather
An homage to Lawrence Ferlinghetti, with phrases found in his New York Times obituary:
At the end of his life,
aglow,
the spiritual godfather
at dawn
starts wailing:
“Fireflies!”
Sharp humor and social consciousness
dissolve
like Galilee,
like smoke.
