100 haiku challenge - 37

Two raptors flying

circles in the neighborhood.

Brown against blue sky.

March 22 poem

currently untitled - pop culture and emotional baggage

At the edges of joy and still raw,

it's not the yearning that keeps me away -

the pain of absence and unanswered texts.

Feels like I'm standing at the working edge

of a goal and leaning back to yearn

for a voice that is shaped by its absence.

Any direction is a blessing to break the stillness

and let me get to a new place, to keep

sharing stories, silliness, and context.

There is nothing more fun than watching yearning

lovers find each other's feelings in small still

ways - the slow blinks of yes, the rapid texts

with every new discovery that keeps

focus on each other. In the absence 

of an other, new joy sits on the edge

of a wound that says it's fine, sits still

in case movement gives it away, keeps

distance and decorum - stays at the edge

of healing, an abscess out of an absence

that weighs enough to press text

into inaction even as fingers yearn

to press play, to say yes, to keep

the flow of delight going, to absent

myself from the known and tangle the yarn

of fate away from isolated texts

and empty seats. There is room at the edge

of decision. Room enough to sit still

and avoid the work to fill the absence

with love and healing. I practice easy texts

in all caps and shared reading, the effort still

tiring, still uncertain, each one on the edge

of honesty, the stink of yearning

fills my face with every send, but I keep

pressing, keep wondering, reframing the text

away from what was to what is, the edge

of what could be. Perhaps this will keep 

possibility alive, will burn the yearning

away, and I will find a yes still

looking around, drawn away from the absence.

Author's note: I'm sure you've noticed that this is a sestina, just sort of reversed. I reversed the order of the stanzas, rather than the order of the lines, so the pattern of end words is transposed, not actually reversed. It's kind of a vulnerable piece that is doing some heavy lifting so that I can finally watch Heated Rivalry which I haven't been able to do even though I a) want to b) will enjoy it c) have read ALL of the books and d) watch fan edits on YT all the time. Apparently sometimes you just gotta write a thing about some stuff so the feelings can catch a break and a nap.

100 haiku challenge - 36

Bangles on our hips

shimmying and laughing

at the library.

100 haiku challenge - 35

Live music at lunch

with sunlight and little kids.

I daydreamed a lot.

100 haiku challenge - 34

The sunset went red

Behind the buildings outside.

She smiled when she looked.

100 haiku challenge - 33

Light behind the clouds

as the sun rose this morning,

glowing under gray.

100 haiku challenge - 32

Mourning doves outside.

I hear their gentle warble

and then see the sun.