Jun 14, 2019 Haiku, Original Poetry, Uncategorized
Stop Time – A Portrait In Five Haiku
©June 14th 2019
By Vijaya Sundaram
Russet leaves shift air
Moon sailing behind dark trees
Alone, she wanders.
Time gallops above.
Bright star-scalloped sky leans down.
Eyes hollow, she stops.
Time is a rider
Kicking up the dust of stars.
She closes her eyes.
If something exists
And you close your eyes to it
Does it fade away?
The rider rides on
But she steps into the dark,
Blindfolded, erased.
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Aug 4, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Haiku for Dark Room
©August 4th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
The Mother of the Girl Who Kept Losing Her Gloves
She looks up, cloud-eyed
Looks down, her gaze snow-dazzled
Grief’s a bird sans wings.
The Woman Scientist in the Grave
Kindness masked as scorn
Moss-covered stone, roots grow down
Voice rises, crackling.
The Beloved Wife in the Grave
Beloved wife waits
Then, battered by storms of rage,
Lets love in, after.
The Mother of Twelve in the Grave
Mother of twelve, mind,
Carries caring into death.
Solace is her voice.
After-Life Cleaning Maid
Young, and eager maid
Rushes through post-life duties
Passionate, ache-filled.
After-Life Cleaning Mentor
Mentor, teacher, maid
Takes her time, seeks every trace.
Tender with her charge.
The Woman with the Hot Chocolate
Rejection smells hot
Like chocolate in winter
Her winged words flutter.
The Woman Who Heard the Thumping of Birds
Words that thump at chest
Like birds against glass hallways
Break upon her face.
Big Sister and Grave-site Pianist
Sister, like-mother,
Lets her fingers speak through gloves,
Finds her voice, and sings.
Younger Sister and Grave-Site Resister
Innocence has strength
Voices speak, hers is louder,
Breaks away from death.
Mother in the Bath-Tub in the Graveyard
Voice from beyond life,
Cannot turn the door of death
Music traps, then frees.
The Temptress
Haunting voice that tempts
Leads her on, like ghosts of fate
Body, or a soul?
The Girl in the Polka-Dotted Dress
Always upward-bound
Groundward down she goes, her eyes
Shutters to her Self.
Lesbian in the Cafe
Temptation’s her name
Shameless games she plays, but waits –
One true love denied.
The Denier
Hat and coat and gloves
Deny love, and shield her form
No one wins this round.
Lover in the Attic
Tender eyes, so warm
Older, wiser, discerning
Makes ghosts step away.
The Grand-daughter
Inchoate is love
Grief for Grandma floods the shores.
Narcissus seeks Self.
Unused Muse with the Arched Feet
Vanity seeks warmth,
A thousand pictures flashing.
An Unused Muse mourns.
Unused Muse with Flowers
Lilies bloom at breast
Laid to rest in sand in shreds
A fight to be seen.
The New Wife
Pale and golden girl
Places hand upon a tomb.
Makes her peace with death.
Clipped
Angel, kind and fierce
Stands and whispers to her charge,
Sacrifices Grace.
Winged
Weight of wings on back
Give her regret, also strength
Helps her transfer Grace.
Apr 28, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Full Moon and Anger
©April 28th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
The moon slipped out, free
When a tree’s embrace loosened
The sky grew brighter.
This night! And that moon!
They pulled me into the sky,
But anger caught me.
I failed to be free.
Haunted I am, by anger:
My moon in this tree.
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Apr 19, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Respect
©April 19th, 2018
Vijaya Sundaram
We learn it sideways
We learn it when upside-down
We forget its face.
Look it in the face
Memorize its sharp facets
Recite its name thrice.
Stand right where it stands
Wear it, absorb, become it.
Shed no tear, stand up.
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Apr 15, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
When Winter Stays
©April 16th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
Gold sparks in the grate.
Cold rain on the hopeful trees.
Spring, an age ago.
Bones get cold and still.
Feet don’t move until I will.
Spring, get in my step!
Earth spins round and round
Lose your way, and find your home.
Stars await above.
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Apr 2, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
The Haiku of the Red Fox
©April 3rd, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
Feathers in a cloud.
A bird’s flight ceases to be.
Young fox sits back, full.
Mother Fox, so brave
Eyes flashing, and heart breaking,
Turns away with love.
Red Fox inches close.
Chickens scrabble fruitlessly.
Grass seed on their minds.
Red Fox, lonely fox,
Shouts defiance at a dog.
Chickens dance in dust.
It’s the moonlit hour,
The boy’s mind, a battle-ground.
In his heart, young love.
Full moon blossoms bright
What is forbidden, or not,
Fades into mole-light.
Death lurks in the den.
Did He come with silent tread?
Will His spring be red?
Laughter spills in tears
Are they free at last, these two?
Will love bloom in blood?
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*In response to Rita Kalnejais’ play, “First Love is the Revolution.” Come see it. Starting April 13th. Check Events for more details.
Apr 2, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Spring-Snow in April
©April 2nd, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
Snow falling slantwise.
Dimensions expand car-ward.
Driving softly on.
Mindlessness widens
The sky, white and wondering,
Revolves around us.
Centered here and now,
The earth spins, a snow-dancer.
We sit still, silent.
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Apr 2, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Devolution
©March 30th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
An eventide sun.
A fox, full of fire and fight
Leaps across the sky.
Waning gibbous moon.
Magical grave in mole-hole.
Death waits, alone, cold.
Cheese-bait for young fox.
When the trap traps the trapper,
Bloody feathers fly.
What is love, you ask?
Blood pours out, and feathers float.
The first kiss of death.
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*Inspired tangentially by Rita Kalnejais’ play, “First Love is the Revolution.”
Mar 12, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry, Uncategorized
Birthday Presence
©March 12th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
Dog leaping through snow
Chases after flung snow-balls:
Arcs of glee in light.
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Massed clouds, snow-pregnant
Swoon against the horizon.
The sunlight glows, fierce.
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At once young and old,
The lilac-trees bloomed purple
Last year, when I dreamed.
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Feb 7, 2018 Haiku, Original Poetry
Merely Alive
©February 7th, 2018
By Vijaya Sundaram
Look below the ice.
Lying deep in the glacier,
Your face looked at me.
I was asleep then.
Not awakened to the world.
Sleepwalking slowly.
Your gaze is open
Reflecting back a noon sky
When were you alive?
You are a spectre
You never walked on this earth
Whence did you emerge?
And why do you stare?
I am not responsible.
I’m merely alive.
I cook, I drive, yes.
I wear clothes, use paper, yes.
I’m merely alive.
I buy books, use gas.
I cannot drop out, can I?
I’m merely alive.
Your glassy gaze shifts.
Your glassy gaze shifts.
Ice films over with water,
Cracks. You cry in rage.
Ice begins to melt
Burning winds blow over me.
I awake at last.
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