Lunch room

Prawns and Celery Chapsui with Thai Noodles

Picture credit:   Gloria of Canela's Kitchen

at the office lunch room,
i try not to inhale deeply other people's food -

tuna sandwich, slice of leftover pizza,
green salad and mashed potatoes -

because its not polite to peer beyond the
free news daily and magazine glossy covers, camouflaged

flour-fried fish and chips, chicken cream on noodles -
all from the pre-packed frozen trays at the grocery store 

busy, running behind the schedule, traffic at free way, because ...
a million reasons, as I eat my beef stew, warm from my kitchen 

bicycle-loving young fair lady loves Asian spice and flavours,
eating with chopsticks,  must be so love with her Indian boyfriend

two ladies share their food, even down to pineapple
upside down cake, immersed in their problems, an island in table of six

while thin-reed woman complains she over-toasted her beef patty, 
and I tell her - you can have my yogurt cup -

she smiles her thanks, voice subdued in room, I always hear
her voice, strong and high-pitched above the office din...must be tough to be a widow, 

i turn to finish my salad, 30 minutes came fast like summer season 
and i am back at my cube, looking outside the window,  trying to catch   

each maple leaf, each shrub swaying in cool autumn


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics, 6 billion others - Hosted by Brian Miller

Pink blooms

© Joy Ann Jones


enamoured: 
yellow bee tangled in her     
flowered-pink skirt  
   
~0~0~

pink petals 
falling one by one,
i come unhinged -

~0~0~

broken, her words flew 

across mud-stained walls - still   

softest blooms    

Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads 

and Haiku Heights:   Free  - Joining you for the last day of September Challenge ~ 

Sleep

your words like

warm chocolate cup,

evening lullaby

~0~0~

your lips tasting of cinnamon,
turns me into a

restless tide

 

~0~0~

folding wings,

you nestle close to me -

black butterfly

Posted for Haiku Heights:   Sleep

picture credit:   here

Pears

For Haiku Heights:  Paradox

three golden pears
unwashed, untouched, unpared dessert;    
she wanted apples 


For Real Toads:   Sevenling (Pears)


in the fading light, he clings to her image:   
autumn leaves falling on hair, 
ripe pear cheeks and laughing eyes  

in the kitchen, she slices the fruits, 
soaking them with spiced red wine and sugar 
concoction, and drizzling cinnamon dust 

beside the homecoming dish, she waits for the call     



Posted for Haiku Heights and Real Toads ~  Thanks for the visit ~  

Street Art

Picture Credit:  Franco Cignelli

splashing colors,

wall comes alive with stories,

haunting stormy sky

~0~0~

in the fading light,

he paints his soul on the wall,

flaming dragon

~0~0~

red and blue oils

mingle with sweat and dust:

art for everyday man

Update:   I am pleased to announce that this poem has been included in the Second Issue of Nain Rouge.

Posted for Haiku Heights:   Birth

and Haiku My Heart

I dream of the sky

under my burqa, world is small as my hand,    
        but with my pen, hidden under the folds, i dream of the sky.    

~0~0~

why can't i choose my love,
        i am not made of stone nor dry straw dusting the ground.

~0~0~

kill me with your hands,
        but my words will live, setting my henna-inked sisters free.

Written for Real Toads:   Landai poems are mostly voices of Afghan women.  They are two-line folk poems that can often be humorous, sexy, raging, tragic and  also deal with love, grief,  war, exile and Afghan independence. The success of the poetry form is attributed to it being easy to memorize, which is really important in a culture where women are poorly schooled and forbidden to write or read.

An interesting Article:  Why Afghan Women Risk Death to Write Poetry

Also shared with:  Flash Fiction Friday - 55 words for the G-man ~
Picture credit: Afghan Women's Writing Project  

Poetry for the Firefly Jar

Gull Lake@Everyday Amazing 

to grow steadily:

deep roots, upturned face, open hands,

amidst stones:  grass

to brim cup:

bright words, green colors, music,

amidst desert:  water

to yield gently:

storms, skyfall and changing roads,

a strong oak

Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads:  Sunday's Challenge

and Haiku heights:   Grass

Bittersweet

her love poems,
sweeter than lemon cake
topped with fresh strawberries

~0~0~

his parting words
grated like lemon rinds on cake,
bittersweet fruit  

~0~0~

chocolate dessert,
warm as honey, drips slowly
her hardened heart


Posted for :  Haiku Heights - Creation - Happy Friday ~and Haiku My Heart

Picture credit:   here 

Old letters

Vicki Sheehan

old lettters

scented with lavender lace,

story of undying love

~0~0~0

mother's words

lingered on frail paper,

our bold inspiration

~0~0~0

family secrets

hovered on frayed threads

in time:  sands in the wind

Posted for Poets United:   Timeworn

and Haiku Heights:   Revelation

The coming days

Gull Lake@ Everyday Amazing 

and now it has come to this:    

faltering days and sharper evening air

leaves will surely fall in coming weeks 

not of bitter parting but of acceptance and grace

softly embracing the soil, the womb,

its humble journey, back to where life first pulsed

this is a season of beginnings

not of harvest, but of seeding and planting our feet

new job, new chapter of the book,

another milestone to be reached, all await our hands

to knife with precise strokes,   our words

to modulate with fervour and might,  our voice

not to mellow in shadows but to be calmer in storms,

not to shrivel with fear but to be more open to change, 

not to coast along the tide but to steer with renewed energy     

towards the night that burns our chest

never forgetting the voice inside,  vibrant and strong, growing  

Posted for OpenLinkNight of Real Toads (Monday) and D'verse Poets Pub (Tuesday)

My thanks to D'verse Poets Community for making this possible:   

Urban Dreams, Nain Rouge, Sept 2012 Issue, page 21. This is my first humble offering, so you can imagine what this means to me:   Yes, I am dreaming, smiles.

Pepper

her laughter

like black whole pepper,  

crinkled over bowl of noodles  

~0~0~0

his lecture 

woke up the sleepy audience, 

slice of orange zest 

~0~0~0

spicy sauce

dotted the conversation, 

as a lace strap falls   

Posted for Haiku Heights - Pepper - Thanks for the visits ~

picture credit:  here

this rainy day

                                                                        M. Bednar



i  hang blue plates 
on wooden twines: shiny, unbroken
unlike me 

~0~0~

grief came in a small jug
empty of spice, but on my neck
heavy stone   

~0~0~

rain washed  
morning in salmon and teal,  
but for coffee mug, stained of you



Update:   I am pleased to announce that this poem has been selected for Emerge Literary Journal - Fall 2013 Issue.

Posted for:   Imaginary Garden with Real Toads:   Sunday's Challenge
and Haiku Heights:   Gloss

On a cold evening

her reply came
in the mail, faint of ink,
obscure as spiralling sky

~0~0~0

across the hallway,
his words echoed
colder than distant star

~0~0~0

her tears fell into
the bottomless well,
unanswered prayers


Posted for Haiku Heights:   Milky Way - This is part of the September Challenge. 

I struggled with this prompt and might skip on some days to write about other things ~Thanks for the visit~ 

Autumn

gold russet  
brushing the edges,
fading photograph

~0~0~

melancholy
deep as red burnished leaves, 
steeped in my tea 

~0~0~

with eager eyes,  
wings lift to sky,
empty nest 


For Haiku Heights:   Autumn - This is part of the September Challenge of Haiku Heights 

Moon

Photography Credit:   Reena of Missing Moments

moon-lit night,

dazzling symphony

of light and shadows  

~0~0~ 

concert park 
echoed the soulful strings,   

the moon wept

~0~0~


she adores the sun
swaying yellow petals in wind,  
the blue moon

Posted for Haiku Heights:  Moon - This is part of the September Challenge in HH ~

Loneliness

                                                          Gull Lake @ Everyday Amazing

blue waves

couldn't break ancient stones,

filled with sadness

~0~0~0

cries by seagulls 

ripple the serene lake,

empty of boats

~0~0~0

leave me here

on island stones by dawn:

hollowed tree     

Posted for Haiku Heights:   Loneliness ~  This is part of the September Challenge of HH.

Waning summer

                                                                             Summer Night, 1913, by Albert Bloch

its been raining for several days,
water paling streets of colors,
waning days of summer 

these nights
i pour tapioca pearls in milky drink,
stirring in brown sugar with gelatin ice

sweetly predictable
on my tongue, dulled of sun spice
on my hands, white canvas

i polish the words 
lush brown, blistering red,  vibrant green
into my pocket, lined with purple berries  


i wait for spell of autumn 


Posted for The Mag: 133 - Thanks for the visit ~

The color of our days

@Laurie

the morning crowded
with white ducks and grey feathers,
summer's last picnic    

~0~0

the lake scattered
red, orange and yellow blooms,
stripped of ink:   pale leaf

~0~0~

soft feathers, 
lining nest of twigs,
red-scarred breast


Note on last haiku:  When constructing her nest, a hen will line it with soft down feathers she plucks from her own breast. This gives the eggs the best possible cushioning and insulation.

Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
and Haiku Heights: Color