NaHaiWriMo - day twentyeight

28.
 
it’s hard to imagine
the types of things that bind us
cut the cord
 
*
 
don’t run with them
and I found myself wounded
despite my best efforts
 
*
 
even now, those words
every cut intentional
and forgotten

NaHaiWriMo - day twentyseven

27.
 
just keep moving
the view will be worth it
my bones ache
 
*
 
my sons reach the top first
i follow as they cheer me on
we stand in silence
 
*
 
the air gets thin
or maybe i’m just too tired
all this wasted time

NaHaiWriMo - day twentysix

26.
 
desire as a fire
an easy metaphor
still true though
 
*
 
the shock of alarms
aftershock of unfocused fear
raging through the night
 
*
 
sitting with friends
the wood crackles and snaps
warm conversation

NaHaiWriMo - day twentyfive

25.
 
cobblestone roads
walking home in Den Haag
“car wash” playing all day
 
*
 
that long summer
i met Princess Shining Star
the smell of hair spray
 
*
 
we skated to school
the summer it snowed in August
the air was so crisp

NaHaiWriMo - day twentyfour

24.
 
so much still to read
a tower of books next to my bed
so many secrets
 
*
 
here are all the bills
all our moments captured
they slip through our hands
 
*
 
please try again
the air is thick with maybes
what are the odds?

NaHaiWriMo - day twentythree

23.

the pages once blank
now filled with arguments
my fingers stained

*

thousands of pages
adolescent fantasies
myths and legends

*

brandished like a flag
someone must make a promise
this dotted line

NaHaiWriMo - day twentytwo

22.
 
clawing upwards
fighting the undertow
reaching for light
 
*
 
is it inexorable?
can there be a turning back?
will there be singing again?
 
*
 
it’s always slow
the way silence builds and grows
we hold onto goodbyes

NaHaiWriMo - day twentyone

21.
 
you hear them at night
find traces during the day
they move like whispers
 
*
 
searching for secrets
we dig and scratch and claw
disturbing the wound
 
*
 
all that rage
just below the surface
hidden disappointments

NaHaiWriMo - day twenty

20.
 
the ice cracks
as i pour my whisky
wool and vanilla
 
*
 
all i could think of
the way you moved at night
the way you moved
 
*
 
under the blankets
i can barely stay awake
how am i so tired?

NaHaiWriMo - day nineteen

19.
 
like a memory
your banner over me is love
like a memory
 
*
 
so much weight
everything i never said
here’s a bucket
 
*
 
we’re still hiding
everyone needs a shield
collateral damage

NaHaiWriMo - day eighteen

18. 

late at night
the moon shines through the trees
the coyotes howl

*

we tromp in the snow 
the air is crisp with the smell of pine
laughing and talking 

*

the river is thawing 
the light cuts across the path
strains of birdsong 

NaHaiWriMo - day seventeen

17.
 
so much brokenness
the upside-down kingdom they said
i prefer wine
 
*
 
this is my desire
to be the one who serves
hands extended
 
*
 
there is that moment
the shock of recognition
when all is upended

NaHaiWriMo - day sixteen

16.
 
roused from slumber
i wake before the alarm
hear only the birds
 
*
 
ready to react
everything in tension
tired of talking
 
*
 
early morning
my lover asleep beside me
the coffee is brewing

NaHaiWriMo - day fifteen

15.
 
i keep coming back
always the same regrets
time to say no
 
*
 
push into the berm
let gravity do the work
shouts of joy
 
*
 
you can’t deny it
everything is a circle
dance with me
 
 
 

NaHaiHaiMo - day fourteen

14.
 
your pockets full
stones worn smooth like gems
my heart emptied
 
*
 
we could never return
words were spoken and doors closed
so many regrets
 
*
 
nothing i needed
candy, pens, hats, cassettes, comics
the thrill of it all

NaHaiWriMo - day thirteen

13.
 
making it count
i fill my day with thoughts of you
breathing in each moment
 
*
 
much needed repairs
the old CPR pocket watch
gone without a trace
 
*
 
it’s like a river
beckoning, beckoning, beckoning
or so the song goes

NaHaiWriMo - day twelve

12. 

so many voices
i could be more insistent 
it’s a choice

*

my hands are dirty
i can’t believe what I’m reading 
stained by the news

*

the china is wrapped
everything packed just so
so fragile

NaHaiWriMo - day eleven

11.
 
late at night
your breathing lulls me to sleep
wish me sweet dreams
 
*
 
exhausted
i fold into your embrace
the rustling of sheets
 
*
 
it’s quiet now
a glass of good whisky
warms my throat

NaHaiWriMo - day ten

10.
 
you never know
how much can you hold
inside a heart
 
*
 
there are moments
i want to rage and strike out
a surprising impulse
 
*
 
is it resistance?
who will bear the fruit of it?
is it rebellion?

NaHaiWriMo - day nine

9.
 
the next thing
around the next corner
try to stay open
 
*
 
may there always be
one last gift under the tree
not on your list
 
*
 
your body against mine
that remains a mystery
close your eyes
 
*
 
my only question
how you respond to desire
choose surrender

NaHaiWriMo - day eight

8.
 
whispers in the sky
distant sound of thunder
the air is still
 
*
 
it hovers over us
all those years spent apart
even the air has weight
 
*
 
last night and this morning
the fields are filled with mist
i cannot see you

NaHaiWriMo - day seven

7.
 
we keep moving
the story keeps changing
looking for anchors
 
*
 
so much dead air
we search for the right words
find only silence
 
*
 
the lines used to buzz
when you tried to call someone
hidden and somehow alive

NaHaiWriMo - day six

6.
 
all that preening
the ultimate peacock
it’s all too much
 
*
 
so excited
everything abristle
the great display
 
*
 
it’s not a secret
you’re always overdressed
blame my desire

NaHaiWriMo - day five

5.
 
we were so cruel
using light as a weapon
and though nothing of it
 
*
 
being present
with all these small attentions
feels foreign somehow
 
*
 
all those words
stacked row upon row
my beautiful oxford

NaHaiWriMo - day four

4.
 
look up
there on the horizon
tomorrow comes
 
*
 
i was told
there are many doors
is that a promise?
 
*
 
tired of waiting
i cross the threshold
one simple turn

NaHaiWriMo - day three

3.
 
covered in flowers
emblems to enclose your heart
a marriage gift
 
*
 
how it moves
such an alien thing
how it thinks
 
*
 
always there are teeth
they grip and pull and tear
the wrapping mouth

NaHaiWriMo - day two

2.
 
so many questions
the weight of your choices
how did we get here?
 
*
 
irrepressible
the first time you dyed your hair
pink, then purple
 
*
 
from the beginning
so many years between us
all kinds of distance
 
*
 
what is the truth?
being a brother is hard
i wish we spoke more
 
*
 
lines were drawn
time makes us strangers
i said enough
 
*
 
at some point
you lost your innocence
moved inward

NaHaiWriMo - day one

1.

i remember
the incessant purring
laying next to me

*

falling four stories
she hits the ground and bounces
looking for love

*

body in tension
waiting for the moment
joy of the chase

*

you roam through rooms
as if it all belongs to you
please come sit with me

February is National Haiku Writing Month!

This month is National Haiku Writing Month, in which one tries to write at least one haiku per day.

As a way to keep up the daily ritual of writing, I'll be participating again this year, and I'll be using Kolaj magazine's Februllage prompts as a starting point. After all, isn't poetry another way to create an image, and the poem a collage of words?

Find out more about #NaHaiWriMo here.

Please join me (or at least follow along)!