Dragonfly [Kyōka]

the dragonfly
is still, and I wonder
whether it's dead,
and further wonder whether
anyone has thought that of me

Graveyard Autumn [Haiku]

graves in autumn.
under red-leafed trees --
soon to be bare

Ujpest Train Bridge Memorial [Free Verse]

flowers & greenery
&
little bottled candles
form a memorial
on the train bridge
crossing the river

but the most soul-chilling
is the stuffed toy rabbit,
standing weathered & unkempt,

it testifies that someone
saw the deceased
as a tiny child

was she a tiny child,
or just so remembered?

so many questions float on
as that cold river glides below

For Those Seeking Immortality [Rondeau Triolet]

To stretch a life beyond the time of trees
be ready for a glacial shift of pace.
There'll be no undulation of the seas.
To stretch a life beyond the time of trees,
the tradeoff is what's quick will pass unseen.
So, what say you, Kings of infinite space?
To stretch a life beyond the time of trees
be ready for a glacial shift of pace.

The End Times Ball [Common Meter]

A sign that hangs on down the street
proclaims to one and all
that coming soon there will be
a Lonely-Hearts Club Ball.

A dance of manic turbulence
where singles 're all & none.
You can come all by yourself, but
you'll never leave as one.

You'll be swept into unity
with undulating hoards.
Bound by bindings you'll feel, not see;
you'll never cut these cords.

So, welcome to the end of you,
as only you can know.
And welcome to the beginning
of the everlasting flow.

For an end is a beginning
of something bold and new.
And a beginning is an end:
'cause we're just passing through.

Necropolis [Haiku]

the necropolis
sprawls across the desert --
desolate... to us 

Bardo Mind [Free Verse]

lost in a disembodied
Bardo state

fantastical happenings
mainlined into consciousness

with a side of swirling 
phantasm

and all the angry demons

and all the faceless gods

churn around the periphery

The War Mangled [Free Verse]

I heard the dead children,
their voices lilting on the wind.

The war-torn twice born
came crawling in under the wire,
bloody and shell-shocked,
but among the living, 

but the rest floated away:
their words
becoming both milder 
& more raucous,
never fully drowned out by
bombs or crossfire chaos.

BOOK REVIEW: Karmen by Guillem March

KarmenKarmen by Guillem March
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Out: May 17, 2022

My tagline for this book would be: Neil Gaiman’s “Death” [i.e. from “The Sandman”] meets Paulo Coelho’s “Veronika Decides to Die.” For those unfamiliar with either of those points of comparison, the former is a character that subverts the traditional scary Grim Reaper, replacing the faceless hood with a personable and endearing lass, and the latter is the story of a young woman whose actions force her to learn the lesson of that old chestnut: suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

While it’s convenient for me to present the book in this “X meets Y” summation, it’s a unique story, diverging from both of those tagline references in many important ways. For example, the model of the afterlife is not Judeo-Christian like Gaiman’s, but is more Buddhism meets bureaucracy. [There I go again with the X meets Y.] I found the story captivating, and thought the character development was skillfully presented, particularly as regards the character of Cata.

I struggled with whether I liked the tone of the ending, but I’ll say no more about that to avoid spoilers — except to say that it grew on me. The art was beautiful and I found it to be an all-around entertaining read. Highly recommended.

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