haiku 7.28.12

yes, i want her drunk
on our embrace; it would be
better than a pint

evening verse for a sparrow

i have watched you fade
like the last sliver of pomegranate
that gives way to the night
and your own whispers
waiting for you
under the casual glow
of streetlights
and a part of me
questions
why you've left me
with your past sitting in my pocket
like loose change

wide sunrise

she said
knowing me
stretched her sunrise wider
than she could imagine
and that she'd repay me
by making the evening grow
with deft kisses and shared secrets
steeped in arabica
and left to percolate
in the warmth of her hands

music break : The Shaolin Afronauts

imagine my surprise on finding this group. then imagine my
greater surprise hearing just how GOOD they sound. from
their newest album...enjoy!

riptide in her eyes

*for brownin*

we have had times
where it would seem as if
you've lost me
seeing me flail about in the undertow
life sometimes brings
looking as if i'm drowning
as you stand onshore
and i have learned to swim good
in these troubled waters
because seeing you there
means i'm closer
to joy and lasting peace
blanketed in the salt sea air

haiku 7.18.12

she plucks her petals
thinking of my summer rain;
her garden grows warm

east 29th street, 7:20 p.m.

their eyes
cut comparisons and attempt
to make me bleed inwardly
as i stroll down the avenue
Black blight on a balmy day
interrupting their outdoor supper
no different than the ones
who hawk pleas for change
outside of the Buy Rite
i usually like to make them more nervous
by staring at them
like the zoo specimens
privilege and money has made them
along East 29th street

haiku 7.15.12

she walked like warm air
tinged with ripe peaches and wine
her stare made me drunk

capsized

you
don't want to sink
your spirit does not want to utter cries
in waves of despair and regret
over what was when you had it all
when your laughs matched
the lapping of waves
you
claim outwardly
that you are sinking
and you need no captain
to pass below the waves with you
just stay a fortnight
and be gone with the morning's mist
but as your soul moans
when coldness and the brine
of nights alone without care
bob in front of your eyes
so far from a shore you need
will you admit
you need help mending your sails
before you painfully list?

quarter past three

quarter past three
is that edge of night
that knows dawn approaches
and still beckons you to stay awake
where demons come calling
with luggage you thought thrown away
and wants your company

this edge of night
waits like butterfly knives
breathing at the chance to draw something out
and sleep stands by
only until the first wound appears
to lend crimson and fatigue
to the morning's gold and promise of new days

music break: Kylie Minogue

this has been such an airy and light tune that immediately
makes me think of summer in London whenever i listen
to it. and this video has to be one of the greatest ever
done. watch it and you'll see what i mean. enjoy!

haiku 4.27.12

her name a season
she left at lightning's first sign
rain begs her pardon

jewels by the boardwalk (for sagal)

some slivers of your heart
still float here under sun and spray
where the city meets the water
and our hands once met gladly

forgive a heart that misses you at times
with memories shimmering on the surface
i know your eyes brim with crystal
to match the windows we looked at each other through

tenderheart java haiku

waiting on my cup
of java to cool, your heart
might have done the trick.

long walks off short piers or, how to let jaywalkers leave.

if i can interrupt the normal schedule for a bit...

i want to get something off my chest. these past
couple of days, i've been meditating on just how
much people will cover up the stench of their
own bullshit within the rosy, aromatic allure of
'being free-spirited' or extremely positive on the
outside. that's not a knock on those that are free
spirits or those who exude positivity in their daily
lives. my ire is towards those who just use those
methods as a way to avoid and deal with their
own necessary growth and to try to cut corners
on top of it. such people grate on my bone marrow
at times, and even though most times i ignore it,
there are those instances where i witness what
they put down and want to give them a kick in
the kidneys with steel toed Timberlands on.

case in point...there's a sister i know who on the
exterior, is exceedingly wholesome, sprinkles
her speech with sugary words, and at one point
straight ruined the word 'delicious' for me(for
real. i don't know how you can describe children
in the Sudan getting care packages as delicious
but trust me she would've done it). and all of
that is perfumed smoke and broken bagua
mirrors to hide enough craziness to make that
chick Evelyn from 'Basketball Wives' send her
a few mimosas in tribute. and yet, she chooses,
i repeat, CHOOSES, not to engage in work on
herself to fully fix things. she figures her looks,
charm and other tools of manipulation will
help her continue to get by. and as time passes,
i've found myself less and less inclined to tune
into the madness.

i've started to call people who indulge in that
behavior 'jaywalkers'. folks who see fit to get
all up in your way while you're doing what
you feel you need to do to progress the right
way. and all because they don't want to put in
the work needed to grow. in some cases, it's
not their fault. they had dirt mixed into their
Kool-Aid before they grew adult hair and
hadn't realized that's what they were sipping
on this whole time. but the entire group is
dangerous because they are disruptive. and
since they don't envision or don't want to
envision a life without discord, they latch
onto people who are working their stuff out
or right on track and clog up the lanes.

i realize some of you reading this may be
in the mind to say, 'well what makes YOU
so different? not a thing except this: i do
try to check myself if i feel my actions are
becoming a hindrance to someone. at times,
to a fault. because i don't want to be one of
those jaywalking individuals, a clueless
bird who can cause havoc on someone
else's path. we're all on this planet to help
each other, not hinder. and you may have
one or two bonafide jaywalkers in your mix
right now. the best thing you can do, good
people, is to let 'em walk right out of your
mix. and do so knowing that they may not
even be entirely bad. but if they're not
adding to or even helping you maintain the
good you may have going on right now,
let 'em walk. off a short pier if necessary.

until the next time, walk good.

high tide haiku

the salt water stings
but gives way to joy; peace born
in the crash of surf

this sultry evening

 

let it
be the gentle wave of relief
as you shed your shoes after the day
brings you into the quiet of your home
that bead of sweat
you thought vanished in your ride on the train
now coursing down
between the autumn apples
within your blouse
let it be
the marriage of memory
and your wide smile
that betrays the secret love
that is learning to pronounce my name
without doubts
let me
simmer in your mind
like everything else
this sultry evening
  

haiku 7.6.12

sadness fell fluid
from her eyes leaving a mist
that made the sun cold

summer shards

i don't know much
about how broken glass feels
when sunlight dances on its surface

i do know
that maybe it enjoys the languid warmth
and remembers a steady touch

perhaps
you feel a similar way
chewed up inside but still clear

and i must take heed
to mind the cuts for tenderness' sake
and let the light dance as we speak

haiku 6.30.12

shaved ice and cold beer
don't dispel summer's warm breath
and humid kisses