by phillipw | Feb 12, 2022 | CI, HA
Either Audible or Visible—You Can’t Have Both Together The cicada is Seen when it stops crying Finally—and flies. ~ Shiki The insect does its dry annoyance Of noise, but, not until it flaps its wings To fly away, the best clairvoyance Will ever find him where he...
by phillipw | Feb 9, 2022 | AU, FA, HA, SI
Silence Beyond Silence Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The quietness; A chestnut leaf sinks Through the still water. ~Shōhaku When all the world is hushed, the quietest sounds...
by phillipw | Feb 4, 2022 | BR, DE, FI, HA, LO, SE
The Secret Life of Things For the space of a foot, The firefly’s light goes out: Loneliness. ~ Hokushi The firefly floats along in darkness, light, Dark, light. The floating is revealed alone By flashing, though the blinking is so slight That only...
by phillipw | Feb 4, 2022 | DA, DR, FA, HA, HE, PE, SE, VA
Dreaming of the Coming Spring Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem They blossom, and then We gaze, and then the blooms Scatter, and then… ~ Onitsura The tightness of the winter now is...
by phillipw | Feb 2, 2022 | BO, CO, FI, HA
Tears of Melancholic Glee The lost child crying, Crying, crying. Even so . . . Catching the fireflies. ~ Ryusui The twilight darkens like a threat. The boy Wipes eyes and suddenly he sees a flash Which floats across the air. It’s like a toy That he has dreamed of,...
by phillipw | Feb 2, 2022 | DE, FI, HA, LO, MA, SE
What Comes After Every Beauty How easily it Glows. How easily it goes Out, the firefly’s green. ~ Chine-jo The green is very faint but still is green. The flash is very brief but still a glint. Then after every blink comes dark, between The promise and the living,...
