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No Going Back
Languid autumn afternoon—
does she know a loss is coming,
a loss so devastating
that longing to die will consume her days?
After it happens,
there will be no going back.
He hinted at this, the angel,
who told her she was exceptional
among women.
If only she could see the outline
of some small joy beyond what she will suffer,
then she could bear what is to come
and more.
Poem © 2016 and photo © 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #88
More Poetry Pantry #331 at Poets United
More Twelve Days of Mary at Recuerda Mi Corazon
More Sunday’s Whirligig #88
More Poetry Pantry #331 at Poets United
More Twelve Days of Mary at Recuerda Mi Corazon
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Cocoons
Indigo bush frames a desolate winter landscape, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
deepening winter
butterflies in their cocoons
longing to break free
Haiku © 2016 and photo © 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Fountain
Plaza de Armas, Zacatecas, México
With the same longings
people and pigeons gather
where the fountain flows.
In the quiet hours
stars slip into the waters—
those who drink them shine.
~~ ~~ ~~
“Come, thou Fount of every blessing…”
Text © 2015 and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Six-Word Saturday
More Shadow Shot Sunday 2
More Carpe Diem: “Fountain”
More: A Prompt Each Day: “Weekend Wordle #6”
Beginnings and Endings
~~ 1 ~~
A night with no wind—
the novice lights three candles,
dreading the first gust.
~~ 2 ~~
the sun for a while
hovering over the oaks
then plunging earthward
~~ 3 ~~
a night with no wind—
the sound of gravel shifting
on the garden path
~~ 4 ~~
The whore’s rose perfume—
for a while the prodigal
misses his mother.
~~ 5 ~~
a night with no wind—
grieving the loss of the last
white chrysanthemums
~~ 6 ~~
for a while at dusk
an unexpected longing
for him she once loved
~~ 7 ~~
a night with no wind—
hoping to find a willow
for a resting place
~~ 8 ~~
For a while at dawn
the tavern at the corner
shuts down for cleaning.
~~ 9 ~~
a night with no wind—
the young monk hoping to learn
something from the stars
~~ 10 ~~
treasure for a while—
three golden melon blossoms
melting in the sun
~~ 11 ~~
a night with no wind—
mice rushing through the melons
music in their feet
~~ 12 ~~
for a while the roar
of the melons in the field
startling the farmer
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #252
More Sunday’s Whirligig #7
More Carpe Diem: “Basho’s ‘For a While'”
More Sunday Scribblings 2: “A Night with No Wind”
Longing
Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
longing for something
other than these barren wastes
perhaps one blossom
Text and photo © 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Our World Tuesday
More Carpe Diem: “Shiba Sonome’s ‘Longing for Someone'”
An Ernest Whirl
Each little breath-of-a-poem begins with a phrase purloined from A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.
~~ 1 ~~
stretch of river bank
near the precipitous cliff—
her quavering heart
~~ 2 ~~
a bleak, windy stretch
with nothing to sustain her
but some cheap red wine
~~ 3 ~~
this cold afternoon
even the pigeons stutter
as they try to coo
~~ 4 ~~
Even the false spring
baffles the chestnut seller
on the rue Ampère.
~~ 5 ~~
pitiful old man
pushing a rickety cart
filled with rotting grapes
~~ 6 ~~
crowded market street—
her longing for fresh scallions
draws her to one stall
~~ 7 ~~
all of the sadness
leaking into her old bones
with the autumn rain
~~ 8 ~~
in the clear sharp wind
crows practising a language
to mock passersby
~~ 9 ~~
a cold windswept street—
running down a flight of stairs
to meet her lover
~~ 10 ~~
saddest part of town—
the absence of a taxi
to whisk her away
~~ 11 ~~
the public bathhouse—
through a rift in the west wall
old men ogling her
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #215
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 175
~~ 1 ~~
stretch of river bank
near the precipitous cliff—
her quavering heart
~~ 2 ~~
a bleak, windy stretch
with nothing to sustain her
but some cheap red wine
~~ 3 ~~
this cold afternoon
even the pigeons stutter
as they try to coo
~~ 4 ~~
Even the false spring
baffles the chestnut seller
on the rue Ampère.
~~ 5 ~~
pitiful old man
pushing a rickety cart
filled with rotting grapes
~~ 6 ~~
crowded market street—
her longing for fresh scallions
draws her to one stall
~~ 7 ~~
all of the sadness
leaking into her old bones
with the autumn rain
~~ 8 ~~
in the clear sharp wind
crows practising a language
to mock passersby
~~ 9 ~~
a cold windswept street—
running down a flight of stairs
to meet her lover
~~ 10 ~~
saddest part of town—
the absence of a taxi
to whisk her away
~~ 11 ~~
the public bathhouse—
through a rift in the west wall
old men ogling her
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #215
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 175
