Category Archives: Stanley Kunitz

A Whirl with Stanley Kunitz

The first line of each haiku or senryu is taken from “The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz.

~~ 1 ~~
In a rising wind
skeleton-thin old women
stumble through the streets.

~~ 2 ~~

Scavenger angels
swirl through dark cathedral halls,
heedless of God’s voice.

~~ 3 ~~

Doubt the next chapter,
for each page of it is false,
written by strange hands.

~~ 4 ~~

To decipher it,
you will need a nimble mind
and a humble heart.

~~ 5 ~~

Live in the layers—
crave nothing from the dark vault
where untruths cower.

~~ 6 ~~

Already written—
days of joy and rapture,
no lumps in the throat.

~~ 7 ~~

Done with my changes,
I take the train to Denver—
no one knows my name.

~~ 8 ~~

Abandoned camp-sites
litter the lonely terrain—
prairie dogs rejoice.

~~ 9 ~~

In my darkest night,
willow wraps her supple limbs
round me, holds me tight.

© 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher

More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 111

Posted in haiku, senryu, Stanley Kunitz, The Sunday Whirl

18 Comments

Tags: haiku, senryu, Stanley Kunitz

A Little Whirl with Stanley

Dec 2

Posted by magicalmysticalteacher

The first line of each haiku or senryu is taken from “The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz.

When I look behind
at the fork I did not take,
I cannot drive on.

~~ ~~ ~~

Toward the horizon
I behold a manic light
hewn from seven stars.

~~ ~~ ~~

My true affections
lie smothered in desert sand—
I cannot find them.

~~ ~~ ~~

I have made myself
forlorn with desire for one
who contemns me sore.

~~ ~~ ~~

I roamed through wreckage
where two opposites did clash,
ending their affair.

~~ ~~ ~~

Though I lack the art
to fuse red wax with birdsong,
still I am content.

© 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher

More The Poetry Pantry #126

More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 85

Posted in Stanley Kunitz, The Poetry Pantry, The Sunday Whirl

28 Comments

Tags: haiku, senryu