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The Cat’s Wisdom: A Haibun of Imagination
Yesterday at noon, when I opened my kitchen window, I looked out toward the clothesline, and saw the neighbor’s scruffy cat. “So, you’ve finally decided to wake up,” I said with a laugh. Instead of purring, the cat began snarling at me. It had my full attention! An intimate talk followed, although I will not tell you what was said. That moment stays between the cat and me, and I will hold onto it forever. Meanwhile, I’ve decided to listen. If anything can keep me from seeking the cat’s wisdom again, then I don’t deserve to hear its voice.
Fog envelops me,
yet I keep moving forward
on the unseen way.
Haibun © 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Whirligig #256
More Writers’ Pantry #10 at Poets and Storytellers United
More The Whirligig #256
More Writers’ Pantry #10 at Poets and Storytellers United
Winter Afternoon
A splintered tree on a winter’s day, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
~~ 1 ~~
Winter afternoon—
all his broken promises
come back to haunt her.
~~ 2 ~~
Winter afternoon—
her resistance to the cold
is growing weaker.
~~ 3 ~~
winter afternoon—
hearing the forecast with doubt
and great suspicion
~~ 4 ~~
Winter afternoon—
that clown of a weatherman
talks only in lies.
~~ 5 ~~
Winter afternoon—
her defiance of the cold
weakens by the hour.
~~ 6 ~~
Winter afternoon—
something in her soul demands
a bold new action.
~~ 7 ~~
Winter afternoon—
unafraid of the wind chill
she ventures outdoors,
embraced by the great white void
that erases her footsteps.
Haiku and tanka © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Macro Monday 2
More Sunday’s Whirligig #96
More Poetry Pantry #338 at Poets United
Tattered Tales
~~ 1 ~~
discarded boxes
sheltering homeless people
down by the river
~~ 2 ~~
journey into night—
your heart at the beginning
fluttering wildly
~~ 3 ~~
In a perfect world
there would be no mosquitoes,
neither rats nor lice.
~~ 4 ~~
an autumn morning—
walking a misty pathway
wet leaves underfoot
~~ 5 ~~
Everything depends
on rain, a red wheelbarrow
and some white chickens.
~~ 6 ~~
a long journey to
nowhere in particular
and then back again
~~ 7 ~~
Beyond the back fence
a world I have never seen
is waiting for me.
~~ 8 ~~
a short siesta
in the silence of her room—
insomniac’s dream
~~ 9 ~~
coffee for the guests
pouring again and again
until the last drop
~~ 10 ~~
rainy afternoon—
finding a place of refuge
in the library
~~ 11 ~~
finding a table
where we can talk till midnight
nursing our whisky
~~ 12 ~~
summer afternoon
the head of one sunflower
drooping toward the earth
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #259
More Sunday’s Whirligig #14
Christmas with Ted
Each tiny poem begins with a phrase taken from “Christmas Mail” by Ted Kooser.
~~ 1 ~~
the plaintive bleating
of a thousand frightened sheep
after shepherds flee
~~ 2 ~~
into the distance
always following the star—
resolute Magi
~~ 3 ~~
Wise men, the donkeys
with their sure feet and keen eyes
will guide your camels.
~~ 4 ~~
clopping of camels
how they perform their slow dance
for the manger child
~~ 5 ~~
Who chews and muses
after the right choice of hay?
Mary, do you know?
~~ 6 ~~
shuffle of sandals—
small talk before the manger,
the mother, and child
~~ 7 ~~
deep in the shadows
trembling at the presence
unwashed shepherds sweat
~~ 8 ~~
cup white as a star
no snag in the smooth surface—
she sips her latte
~~ 9 ~~
her Styrofoam cup—
as long as she clutches it,
no need to panic
~~ 10 ~~
perched on the dashboard
to help drivers in distress—
good St. Anthony
~~ 11 ~~
hint of hazelnut
in her vanilla latte—
hoping for a high
~~ 12 ~~
then a touch of myrrh
to burn the tip of her tongue
with mortality
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #232
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 192
