Love's Labors
(Triple Tanka & Haiku)

Love's labors aren't lost;
They draw from the lovers' hearts
Both joy and sorrow,
Making soil fertile again—
Love is Divinity's art.

In sombre verses,
Though cursed by the faulty stars,
They dig out delight.
From sustained and aching pain,
Pleasure percolates — flows through.

And the light they shine—
For which they pine, pine and pine—
Rests within their spine.
They work with words and phrases,
Tilling their own soul's landscape.

Harnessing mere maybes,
They beautify what's real—
The ugly, complete.

//Thought for the Night//

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If You Want Peace, Prepare For War


O thou vicious war,
Where is
Thy virtuous peace?

//Thought for the Night//

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(In Seven (R) Tankas)


She's a faithful flirt,
She heals me, and she does hurt.
I'm such an expert—
Every song is a swan song;
I'm right, and she is not wrong.

//Captioned//

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The Joy of Giving
(A Double Tanka)

Meek after winning,
Still graceful after losing—
More than I'm giving,
Than I'll ever be getting.
That's the pure joy of being
Yourself — despite 'em.
And in spite of myself, I'm
Happy e'er after.
Balance makes the difference
Between giving and getting.

//Thought for the Day//

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(Innocent of)


Innocent of innocence,
Growing up is pure pretense:
Once upon a time,
We were so ravishing raw—
(Was it such a flaw)‽
*********
Now her son is my namesake,
And my daughter is her namesake. 
I've lost her number,
And she never had mine—
We're too far; it's fine.

//Captioned//

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(With and Without: A Ghazal)

A pale, breathless phantom sits in the chair;

Her breath filled the whole room with sweet scent once.

//Captioned//

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EPIGRAPH:
But it tastes sweeter,
The cadence of falling things;
It smells the sweetest,
The flower that is lowly—
Trapped in the grip of autumn.

//Captioned//

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Trapped: The Illusion of Togetherness
(R Tanka, Tanka & Haiku)

There is always a wide chasm
'Twixt two hearts that "beat as one" —
Insurmountable.
We're trapped in the illusion
Of togetherness.

Just try crossing it,
And end up becoming cross
Within the spirit.
The pauses between the beats
Breed inordinate clauses.

We live and we love,
In dreams and in reveries—
All alone like clowns.

//Thought for the Night//

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Evolution
(A Haiku)

It is just a hoax—
Cats and dogs can't ever fox,
But a frog e'er croaks.

//Thought for the Night//

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(Wilt -> Grow-> Bloom) 

EPIGRAPH:

Thy scents are unspent,
For thy breath, angels too pant —
Love for thee is rent.
In shade, thou shinest brighter.
Grace and grit are thy content.

From wilted autumn,
Grow the perfumed blooms of spring:
Thy reign — Her Being!

//Captioned//

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