The Dance: Haiku

Missteps lead to grace
Do we dance or just stumble
Until bruised toes heal

Lynn Mari, © 2009

The Honey Web

Once upon a time a bear was being mean to a unicorn. The bear was trying to eat her (unicorn).

The unicorn is a pet to a beautiful true princess. The true princess wanted to save her unicorn so she poured honey on a spider web.

The bear was hungry for some honey, and ran to the spider web. He fell on the spider web and then he got stuck.
He says, “Please let me out! Cuz I’m gonna be nice!”
True princess said, “I can’t let you out because you being mean.”

So the true princess threw the bear into the sky, where he is to this day, still caught in the honey web. Only at night can you see the bear, when the golden web glimmers in the dark.

True princess and the unicorn are so happy to be free that they go eat ice cream. The end.

Lynn Mari and Nora (4), ©2007

My daughter and I wrote this together… I’m now teaching her how to write poetry with syllables so she can later learn Haiku.

Empty Spaces: Haibun

I stand amid empty spaces. The walls called “home “ have crumbled. Concrete sidewalks welcome weary feet. I have become the man sleeping on the curb. The woman pushing the stained stroller, bags bundled in the bottom. The pale child standing in line at outside an alley kitchen. It has happened to me. Homeless. My strength lies in knowing that from the ruins, remain a scattering of brick and broken lumber—this is the strongest, the foundation. From these I will rebuild my life.

Don’t fear displacement
the final sigh of the wind
will bring the lost home.

Lynn Mari, © 2009

In Hidden Places

You sit side by side in the sandbox. The girl with the loud laugh and grimy knees, has become your “Little Mermaid”. With a plastic bucket turned upside down, you build her a castle next to the sea. You are a brave explorer who battles pirates, and can tame the sharks. And you have won her heart.

Love spreads its blossoms
As darkness begins with light
In hidden places.

Lynn Mari, © 2009

My first attempt at “Haibun”–a combination of Haiku and Prose. Haiku tends to be an abstract type of poetry, whose themes are nature and using nature to describe the human aspects of life. Haiku is poetry patterned with syllables. Prose is more straight forward, but also very descriptive–and often carries a personal narrative. Prose is more relaxed, and does not have to ryhme or be patterned.

This is about a child’s first “crush”.

Between Your Body & Mine

Our “relationship” is over you say
I laugh
What relationship, I ask?

“Relationship” is a measured stare
The silence that falls
Between your body and mine

With the indifference of a surgeon
Slicing open quivering flesh,
You seek entrance
Your touch is a sharpened scalpel
Parting delicate seams

When the job is done,
You wash your hands and leave
My heart is bare,
An inconvenience between my breasts
I hold ripped flesh between my fingers
The bitter odor of blood is not forgotten

“Relationship” is the void you left
The times I sit alone, gazing out the window,
Again and again watching your car pull away
The times I am afraid, you point out my weakness
The times I am in need, you look away
And just when I get used to not having you around
You saunter through the door,
Holding a bouquet of excuses,
Faintly smelling like roses

Remember the incision,
Scalpel sliding down my belly
The release of blood and matter
Filling your hands
Silence fills the darkened hollow
Between your body and mine
You roll on your back, satisfied

I smile, at a different memory
My “relationship” has just begun…

I have been sitting alone at the coffee shop for weeks
A steaming mug to comfort me
When I meet someone new
We listen to lazy acoustics
Though I don’t hear a sound
My eyes have not left his face
When he gazes on me
The bitterness you left in my heart is sweetened

“What relationship?, I ask
There is nothing to say
About the nothing we share

Angrily, you declare
We weren’t meant to be together
I couldn’t agree more and tell you to leave
You saunter away, with a casual shrug
But leave the door slightly open
As if there will be another chance…
As if my face will be pressed to the window
Waiting for you to come back

No, I am behind you, tugging off my jeans
Sliding a denim skirt over my hips
Tugging off my tee shirt, lacy cami underneath
Slide on my sandals, and follow you out
You go out the back door
I go out the front

I watch as you leave
Just as always, looking forward,
Eyes avoid mine
Silence falls, just as always

In the empty space you left behind
His car pulls up
I slide in the seat,
Curl at his side
Where silence has been,
My heart beats fast….

Lynn Mari, © 2007.

This is a “Found Poem” based on a conversation I overheard while sipping cappucino in a cofee shop…

The Opening (Freewrite, Poetry)

Your legs are of steel and bone
Turned inside out
Every step is weighed
By the oddity of your feet
Whose twisted steps
Create uneven paths
Ambling across the pavement
With the dissonance of thunder.

I did not see you standing there,
Until the door was opened for me
In a simple gesture of kindness
I saw that it is the consequence
Of my unblemished legs
That makes me weak, malformed.

I took for granted that these legs
Would always carry me
Flesh smoothed over ivory steeples of bone
Muscle and tendon intimately knit,
The mechanics of strength
Of evenly walking.

My first steps were shaky
But soon grew steady
I ran with my eyes closed,
Imagining I could fly
I dipped my toes in cool pools of water
On hot summer days
I see now that these legs are unfinished
Burdened by thoughts, distractions
My every step is weighed
By life’s jagged pebbles
Creating uneven paths.

These legs can carry me much farther…

The collective moments that join a life
The gasp between a kiss
The sudden sting followed by tears
The dizzy feeling after laughter
Were all taken, in small steps.

Now we stand face to face
You give me a small smile
And open a door for me.

Lynn Mari, © 2009

Darkened Tides: An Experimental Poem

Bitter on the lips
Pulled under like sinking ships
Swept in darkened tides
The ember of love has died.

– Lynn Mari, © 2009.

An experimental poem, alternating syllables of 5,7,5 with couplet rhymes. Haiku inspired.

These Panties (What I Overheard Riding the Bus)

She leans forward on the blue plastic seat
Her voice is shrill with excitement
“On a deal that can’t be beat,
I’ll be a little behind on this month’s rent”

Her voice is shrill with excitement
“The bottle is half full on the perfume I bought today
I’ll be a little behind on this month’s rent
It didn’t cost much ‘cuz Red stole it from a store display!”

“The bottle is half full on the perfume I bought today
It smell good (psst, psst) don’t ya think?
It didn’t cost much ‘cuz Red stole it from a store display!
I got somethin’ sexy if ya like the color pink…”

“It smell good (psst, psst) don’t ya think?
This panty set is two different sizes but I’ll make it fit
I got somethin’ sexy if ya like the color pink..
I’ll look good, you gotta admit”

“This panty set is two different sizes but I’ll make it fit
Look at this lace, how good this bra is made
I’ll look good you gotta admit
The thong is cute even if it is a lil frayed”

“Look at this lace, how good this bra is made
Oooh this bus is hot, I could strip right here
The thong is cute even if it is a lil frayed
Wonder how somethin’ so small will fit my rear!”

“If Red keeps this up he’ll be doing time
She leans forward on the blue plastic seat
Can’t pay no bail, for I spent ev’ry dime
On a deal that can’t be beat.”

Lynn Mari, ©2007

Check Out: Hot Ghetto Mess (We’ve Got to Do Better. Let’s Demand More From Ourselves): http://www.hotghettomess.com/

Conduits of Dark and of Light: A Terzanelle

Dangerous currents run between you and I
Conduits of dark and of light
We are arrows of lightning that pierce the sky

A bruised heart cannot lie
An erratic beat reveals its desperate plight
Dangerous currents run between you and I

Frayed wires of bone and flesh multiply
Sparks within secret places ignite
We are arrows of lightning that pierce the sky

Tears linger in the eye
Rage has blinded the vision at first sight
Dangerous currents run between you and I

Surrender–you scream, I cry
Clouds turn black, and tremble in heavenly height
We are arrows of lightning that pierce the sky

A love destined to die
Struggling against a force of greater might
Dangerous currents run between you and I
We are arrows of lightning that pierce the sky.

Lynn Mari, ⓒ 2009.

I would love for Lisa Loeb to put this poem to music…
Is that better?? Or would you prefer ska???

Daybreak: A Poem

Run to the edge of the night sky
Pull its starry cloak away
Shimmering, Daybreak emerges.

Golden locks fall at her feet
Barefoot, she sweeps across the sky
Shy, she steps into the dawn.

Below her throne the world awaits
For darkness to ebb away
Shimmering, Daybreak emerges
Shy, she steps into the dawn.

Lynn Mari, © 2008.

Note: An experimental poem. This is something that came to me as I was waking up…

The first stanzas have a syllable pattern of 8,7,8 on the three lines. The second stanza is 7,8,7 on the three lines. And the last is 8,7,8,7 with a repetition of the last lines in the first and second stanzas.

“DaybreaK” by Maxfield Parrish (one of my favorite artists) is regarded as one of the most popular paintings of the 20th century. It depicts two girls resting in a mythical temple, with the sun shining on them. The rich hues of gold, pink and orange are unforgettable.
View this beautiful painting here: http://www.webwinds.com/thalassa/museprime.htm#Daybreak