(Skya, Pixel, Jack be Nimble and Ozzie)
Four Cats
I’m moulded into slumber,
curved around half-moons,
as four bold bodies
knead me in the night.
My folds expand, then furl,
holding and releasing fur;
my bosom is spooned hollow,
my legs scooped out;
and so transmuted
I’m wedged in comfort -
nudged and pawed
to enclose their shapes.
As wakefulness pours
in with the light
and lifts me away,
every morning finds [...]
She numbers slow steps,
one, two, one, two,
to the mailbox and back;
delaying the need
for conversation.
Sorrow demands silence,
and can’t count beyond two.
A soft breeze
lifts her white hair
and tugs at the comfort
of her perfume;
her pink smile stays fast
for the short walk
to the gate at the end
of the brick-faced complex.
The newspaper,
twice-folded to fit
the narrow slots
of letter boxes,
remains unopened:
murder and [...]
Whenever I water the garden,
I direct a fine spray
high into the trees:
I know the witogies will come.
Only tiny details
catch my eye –
never the whole –
as they flit suddenly
into existence.
Hop hopping
from branch to leaf,
they chase down drops –
equally elusive bodies of light.
With quick flicks
of wing and tail,
and lusty shaking
of feathers,
their spirited cheeps
trill their delight:
the few drops [...]
Small feet drag:
ringing bells cause buds
to quiver
-
Paper planes
trail fragile petals…
first bell rings
-
Spring break ends:
teacher’s pet plucks the
first apple.
-
Spring-break tales:
book turns own pages
in fresh breeze
First published: Asahi Haikuist Network, April 3, 2009.
-
Ribbon snatch’d;
ponytail undone:
gleeful spring
-
School kicks off:
discarded lunch lies
on green field
© Sara Dias