Thursday, September 24, 2015

Black and White


Photo credit to Noell Oszvald



My tears fall silently
as half-moon recedes by redwood
The lone owl hoots
As I gather tallowed threads 
stitching days & nights to black & white 


~0~0~


Rasping breath
against black phone, then
ominous silence
sharp as rooster's crow 
on yellowed field of bones


~0~0~


Pewter sounds of rain-
drops pelting the roof tiles
I close your eyelids
gently as a petal fold
of last summer's blooming



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - We are writing Jisei or Japanese Death poems in haiku or tanka style.

Thanks for the visit ~

36 comments:

  1. Things coming to light in the black and white aren't always good

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful. I love the first & the idea of stitching to black & white. Really seems like a lovely vision of death.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Powerful lines. It flowed so well I read it again! Bravo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like Mary, your triple wakas all have different voices & perspectives. I dig the second one because it resonates with my own rough edges, but your third one reminds me of my closing haiku, with resignation & warmth. I like the lines:
    /ominous silence/sharp as rooster's crow/on yellowed field of bones/.

    ReplyDelete
  5. All of yours are superb, Grace. Enjoyed them immensely. The images brought through your words are stunning. "I close your eyelids gently as a petal fold"...such sweetness in this final, sad act.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are exquisite. The last made me weep thinking of my grandmother as my mother closed her eyelids when she died. Indeed, such sweetness and reverence in that. The images in all of these tanka are so vivid and well drawn. They are all of them truly beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the first part the best
    "as half-moon recedes by redwood"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Though three separate poems, I saw a progression in them. They reminded me of my sister's death -- they seem to come from the viewpoint not of the one dying but of someone who is watching them die and mourning the loss. Peace, Linda

    ReplyDelete
  9. All three are exquisite, the way death is void of colors, that image of black and white really resonated with me. A wonderful way to look at death.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the first one, stunning! The part "stitching days & nights to black & white" is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh.. the moment
    of death.. separation
    of light from dark..
    appreciating
    LiGht..:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. The third one starts out angry and ends with peace - quite a feat in so few syllables! But I really enjoyed the stitching together in black and white... mysterious and intriguing, but very vivid imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  13. So atmospheric, Grace. My favorite has to be the third one.

    ReplyDelete
  14. SOOOOOOOO beautiful! Especially the last one. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love them..'recedes with redwood', 'black phone', and 'rain on roof tiles'.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very evocative images Grace, so nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved all three. Each evoking a different emotion. Gently as a petal fold - that is exquisitely beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Quite elegant and powerful.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very elegantly written .. inspirational!

    in the leaden night
    a single ray of light shines
    as these eyes close

    Bastet

    ReplyDelete
  20. "As I gather tallowed threads"

    Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  21. If there is beauty in dying, you penned it...in black and white. The final verse is my favorite with the pelting of pewter rain and gentle petal fold of eyelids.

    ReplyDelete
  22. so many grey shades; a state of middle mean, where understanding ceases to exist
    this is quite stark Grace; and thanks for the challenge of today's prompt

    much love...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Black and white usage works well here, Grace. The last one touched my heart.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Delicate beauties, all three - the third is particularly poignant.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Although all three show the sorrow of death, I think my favourite is the third one...such a tender touch to that one. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is beautiful:
    "I close your eyelids
    gently as a petal fold
    of last summer's blooming"

    ReplyDelete
  27. Bloody beautiful (pardon my French)! :-) stitching days and nights into black and white? That was bloody marvellous (oops, pardon my French again).

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Like the 'as half-moon recedes by redwood' - magical... " silence
    sharp as rooster's crow
    on yellowed field of bones" -wow, what an image!
    masterfully done, Grace.


    ReplyDelete
  29. I feel the second one.
    I got a call today from someone telling me that a friend
    had passed. There was plenty of silence.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Beautiful and melancholy. Loved the stitching metaphor as well as the line breaks, which also looks like stitching to me.

    ReplyDelete
  31. The middle one was painful to read. Reminded me too much of my first husband's passing and me having to call his mom. Tough.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I close your eyelids... gently as a petal fold... I like that :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi Grace, a few fellow poets and I are compiling an anthology of Nature poems. Since you write so beautifully, often about nature, would you be interested in submitting a few Nature poems? If not, that is perfectly fine. Either way, can you pl reply on my blog?

    ReplyDelete
  34. And communicating the essence of the duty of the survivor very well in perfect pentameter. All three very very nice grace.

    ReplyDelete

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!