Moody Sunflower [Haiku]

the sunflower 
that bows its head in the sun
feels pensive.

Bonsai Bluff [Free Verse]

green-topped granite.

a gnarled evergreen
 clings to the side --
 clings without clinging,

effortlessly jutting out
 over the chasm
 to feel the sun & wind.

“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Bougainvillea Greetings [Tanka]

bougainvilleas
beside the grand temple steps
 have dropped petals,
but it seems the gardners
never let them hit the ground.

“A Drinking Song” by William Butler Yeats [w/ Audio]

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

BOOKS: “Rangikura” by Tayi Tibble

Rangikura: PoemsRangikura: Poems by Tayi Tibble
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: April 9, 2024

This collection by New Zealander, Tayi Tibble, consists of free verse and prose poetry of an autobiographical nature (or presented as such.) It is playful in its use of language, especially in its use of slang and Maori language words, as it deals in a broad emotional landscape.

It has bursts of creative brilliance and evocativeness, but also periods where it’s like reading a teenager’s diary.

All in all, I enjoyed the collection and would recommend it for poetry readers.

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Stalking Tiger [Free Verse]

A giant tiger stalks,
baring teeth, tensing claws,
closing the distance
in deep shadows that exist
entirely within the man's mind.

While others, from safe distances,
can see the fearsome beast clearly.

“A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

Future River [Haiku]

the river trickles.
but its broad shoulders tell
 of expectations. 

Urban Jungle [Kyōka]

in a city park,
muscular baobabs &
wiry strangler figs
provide residences
for the fierce squirrels.