Category Archives: Robert Bly
Whirling with Robert and Me
The first line of each haiku or senryu comes from various poems in My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy by Robert Bly
~~ 1 ~~
We are still brooding
over the noonday shadow
that eclipsed our lunch.
~~ 2 ~~
Our ancestors knew
how to use needle and thread
to patch a torn moon.
~~ 3 ~~
It is not yet dawn
and already the old shoes
clamor for a walk.
~~ 4 ~~
In a dead man’s shoes
the women are sprinkling salt,
poems on each grain.
~~ 5 ~~
The potato bin
has other plans for winter—
emptiness, perhaps.
~~ 6 ~~
Why does the sleeper
dream of a desert landscape
here in Cozumel?
~~ 7 ~~
the smell of coffee
takes the old man’s breath away—
his trembling fingers
~~ 8 ~~
At any second
gravity may lose its grip
and send us flying.
~~ 9 ~~
The potato fields
sense that winter’s teasing them,
but open their skirts.
~~ 10 ~~
A thousand oak leaves
will not make a loaf of bread
or a jug of wine.
~~ 11 ~~
A year in heaven,
if you have an ass’s head,
is quite long enough.
~~ 12 ~~
Have nothing to say
to the one who sends for you
without a reason.
© 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl
Another Whirl with Robert Bly
The first line of each haiku or senryu is taken from “Living at the End of Time” by Robert Bly.
When a train goes by,
bound for Denver or Detroit—
heat and pounding blood!
~~ ~~ ~~
Hearing trains at night,
old men totter to the tracks—
Denver down the line.
~~ ~~ ~~
It’s all right if we
wish that we were somewhere else—
anywhere will do.
~~ ~~ ~~
To baptize the wind,
you will need to find a way
to still its keening.
~~ ~~ ~~
The Baptist has been
using his power again—
freshets of blessings.
~~ ~~ ~~
Pagan ministers
thread needles with golden silk
to suture the sun.
~~ ~~ ~~
At the end of time,
we may find within ourselves
what we were seeking.
~~ ~~ ~~
Is a gift from God
something we pay dearly for?
What do you think, child?
~~ ~~ ~~
We don’t know what the
women are doing tonight
behind the red door.
~~ ~~ ~~
There’s nothing we need
to repair our damaged skirts—
we shall dance unclothed.
~~ ~~ ~~
Say we are living
beyond the reach of iPhones—
will our thumbs survive?
~~ ~~ ~~
For a hundred miles
not a single flower blooms—
desert owl seeks prey.
© 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 80
More The Poetry Pantry #121
When a train goes by,
bound for Denver or Detroit—
heat and pounding blood!
~~ ~~ ~~
Hearing trains at night,
old men totter to the tracks—
Denver down the line.
~~ ~~ ~~
It’s all right if we
wish that we were somewhere else—
anywhere will do.
~~ ~~ ~~
To baptize the wind,
you will need to find a way
to still its keening.
~~ ~~ ~~
The Baptist has been
using his power again—
freshets of blessings.
~~ ~~ ~~
Pagan ministers
thread needles with golden silk
to suture the sun.
~~ ~~ ~~
At the end of time,
we may find within ourselves
what we were seeking.
~~ ~~ ~~
Is a gift from God
something we pay dearly for?
What do you think, child?
~~ ~~ ~~
We don’t know what the
women are doing tonight
behind the red door.
~~ ~~ ~~
There’s nothing we need
to repair our damaged skirts—
we shall dance unclothed.
~~ ~~ ~~
Say we are living
beyond the reach of iPhones—
will our thumbs survive?
~~ ~~ ~~
For a hundred miles
not a single flower blooms—
desert owl seeks prey.
© 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 80
More The Poetry Pantry #121
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