(c) 2023 by Michael L. Utley
(#337)
childhood’s end at seven
I’ve been nothing but a ghost
since then
…..
(#338)
hypervigilance
through dark watches of the night
a young boy’s burden
…..
(#339)
all these long years
the monster dead and gone
yet the fear remains
…..
(#340)
thunder and brimstone
the profane currency
of childhood
…..
(#341)
in the end
he felt no remorse at all
my father’s death
…..
(#342)
how to feel again
when all I’ve ever known is fear
how to live again
(c) 2023 by Michael L. Utley
(#331)
dusty stew pot
her memory lingers by
the cold hearth
…..
(#332)
a tiny sun
in this cold dark hell
golden suisen
…..
(#333)
strings of koto
from beyond the bamboo grove
my heart breaks again
…..
(#334)
don’t look at me, moon
I’m not who you think I am
dark night of the soul
…..
(#335)
from my window
the mountain; from the mountain
eternity
…..
(#336)
green silence
and the end of all things
sea of trees
(Note: A bit of a title change for this series. I’ve been writing senryu almost as long as haiku and I figured it was time to clarify that these little collections contain both. Haiku pertain to nature and seasons, while senryu address the human condition. The formats are virtually identical; the subject matter differs.)
(c) 2023 by Michael L. Utley
(#325)
to write is to breathe
and I am suffocating
in silence
…..
(#326)
speak again of joy
and the warmth of summer days
your lies are comforting
…..
(#327)
pond ice
stretched thin as hope
and equally deceptive
…..
(#328)
some write of joy
I write of experience
would they were the same
…..
(#329)
pardon my sorrow
and forgive my weeping soul
a poet’s lament
…..
(#330)
hope comes and goes
and lasts for but a season
winter snow
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#319)
the trees believed once
before they lost everything
the lies of winter
…..
(#320)
for whom do you seek
there’s no one here but me
long night moon
…..
(#321)
fetch the sickle moon
let us harvest ice blossoms
winter star fields
…..
(#322)
sorrows of autumn
kindle the warmth of winter
the blazing hearth
…..
(#323)
this bitter cold
reminds me I’m alive
and why I wish I weren’t
…..
(#324)
in each flake
a brief eternity
the grief of winter
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#313)
my world begins and ends
at my window
lonely winter moon
…..
(#314)
blood and feathers
the sky falls into my palm
a young boy’s shame
…..
(#315)
calligraphy of sorrow
etched on her wrists
autumn’s demise
…..
(#316)
fast asleep
in the heron’s belly
the stilt hut
…..
(#317)
one cup one bowl one spoon
and a thousand silences
winter’s bitter feast
…..
(#318)
when it’s time to laugh
I will laugh; until then
let me cry
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#307)
dry gourds rattle
among cautious deer hooves
the forgotten garden
…..
(#308)
sing loudly, moon
for my heart is deaf
and my soul yearns to dance
…..
(#309)
there is peace
in the aftermath of tears
the joy of sorrow
…..
(#310)
let go the acorn
trust the earth
to keep its promise
…..
(#311)
an eternity
from your eyes to my heart
a tear’s journey
…..
(#312)
dull silence
a stone flung at a post
a summer’s field in winter
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#301)
in sleeping woods
the scent of burning bark
the fragrance of memories
…..
(#302)
the tilt of her head
as she looked at me
the burned bridge
…..
(#303)
cairns of river stones
lest the stream forget
its sorrow
…..
(#304)
these old coins
both priceless and worthless
a wealth of emptiness
…..
(#305)
swift, swift the stream
and all it sweeps away
the torrent of the years
…..
(#306)
among the rushes
the blur of silent koi
and dreams of oblivion
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#289)
burning leaf piles
a taste of smoke
the flavor of melancholy
…..
(#290)
a handful of
broken promises
last autumn’s acorns
…..
(#291)
Aokigahara
Fuji’s shoulders bear
the weight of sorrow
…..
(#292)
ragged sheaves
my old rusted sickle
nears harvest’s end
…..
(#293)
these tears
it’s the bitter autumn wind
that’s all
…..
(#294)
in a field of sage and lupine
a young boy dreams
an old man weeps
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#283)
nothing stirs
but the memory of acorns
the old forest
…..
(#284)
frozen alpine tarn
my soul rests in silence
in mountain’s embrace
…..
(#285)
his paws in my hands
as his eyes closed
the journey home
…..
(#286)
footbridge lantern
night heron’s shadow dances
with the reeds
…..
(#287)
evening chill descends
as a blade upon the wheat
the sickle moon
…..
(#288)
in my mind
the universe; in my heart
a poem
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#277)
my soul’s tourniquet
staunches words but not the pain
I weep in silence
…..
(#278)
strip me of my layers
to my core of nothingness
then you’ll understand
…..
(#279)
an errant snowflake
drifts through my paneless window
and freezes my heart
…..
(#280)
yuki no hana
coldness blossoms in my heart
my endless winter
…..
(#281)
I am not afraid
to say I am terrified
of what lies ahead
…..
(#282)
I am shamed by fear
my coward’s heart quails in the
shadows of my soul
Silent Pariah 