(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#157)
memories of her
drift on plains of sorrow
the driving snow
…..
(#158)
the withered forest
cruel winter shames the trees
into submission
…..
(#159)
the blush of winter
cold flirtatious wind kisses
my cheeks and nose
…..
(#160)
clear winter night
moon tends her silver garden
of star flowers
…..
(#161)
my personal winter
heart too deep in permafrost
for love’s healing thaw
…..
(#162)
cracks on pond ice
kintsugi heals frozen earth
as lotus slumber
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#151)
drifting blizzard snow
not deep enough to inter
all the world’s sins
…..
(#152)
fallow field
without love and compassion
there can be no hope
…..
(#153)
the thresher’s flail
I am not yet able to
leave my past behind
…..
(#154)
iced boughs bend in shame
winter’s woe too bitter for
weeping willow’s tears
…..
(#155)
silent winter night
sound of my heart’s muffled cries
bereft of echoes
…..
(#156)
bitter reckoning
seeds of love in time shall meet
the harvester’s scythe
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#145)
whispers of the dead
desiccated teasel stalks
haunt the winter field
…..
(#146)
fuyu no shika
scornful mountains echo
mournful stag’s lament
…..
(#147)
in the end
my heart gropes in darkness
on life’s lonely path
…..
(#148)
jade remembrance
the hitch in my chest
as my heart shatters
…..
(#149)
barren winter field
this heart of mine
bereft of yours
…..
(#150)
in silence in shadows
cold earth trembles beneath
blanket of regrets
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#139)
snow in hut shadow
bitter heart
refuses to melt
…..
(#140)
abandoned nest
filled with drifted snow
sorrow incubates
…..
(#141)
frozen tracks
my past waits for me
up the road
…..
(#142)
frigid pond
thirsty fox waits in the woods
as I break the ice
…..
(#143)
chilly winter breaths
heron, kitsune and I
speak common tongue
…..
(#144)
no sun no moon
earth in funeral wrappings
all hope is lost
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#133)
winter blizzard
mountain’s clouded mind confused
avalanche of thoughts
…..
(#134)
my life stains the page
complicated crimson kanji
too obscure to read
…..
(#135)
arctic kitsune
little blizzard stalks the drifts
crimson raicho plumes
…..
(#136)
darkest winter night
echoes of abandoned prayers
dwindle in the void
…..
(#137)
wind and sea and sky
permanence of change
impermanence of life
…..
(#138)
snow on footbridge
heron tracks the only sign
of life that matters
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#127)
serrated sea shells
flay unfeeling fleeing feet
my numb soul bleeds out
…..
(#128)
bits of blue shell
and broken soul mark my fall
from heaven’s nest
…..
(#129)
old pond and ocean
renewed with each thunderstorm
my soul begs for rain
…..
(#130)
your name etched
on every cobblestone
this road leads nowhere
…..
(#131)
frost on suisen
sheen of wistful memories
melts too quickly
…..
(#132)
buds on barren twigs
kanji writ on sleeping trees
promise of the spring
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#121)
old rain barrel
dark waters of
forgotten dreams
…..
(#122)
first snow
white kiku on
autumn’s casket
…..
(#123)
stone cairns
mark my future; stone heart
marks my past
…..
(#124)
no more songbirds
nest in my heart
your voice fades
…..
(#125)
old mountain’s silence
questions answered
as I climb the path
…..
(#126)
rain turns to hail
my heart takes a pounding
from my tears
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#115)
where once was laughter
now only bones
the burned forest
…..
(#116)
does the mantis pray
for long life and happiness
it receives neither
…..
(#117)
some live some die
I plant the seeds
anyway
…..
(#118)
slender-fingered hands
reach through trees, caress my face
the rising moon
…..
(#119)
heron on the bridge
watches incuriously
as my tears fall
…..
(#120)
as a boy I knew
the sun; as a man I can’t
recognize his face
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#109)
I cast my old net
But time swims by so swiftly
I can’t catch my breath
…..
(#110)
Silver waves arrayed
In blue moon-hued solitude
In both sea and sky
…..
(#111)
These old woods have felt
My grand-father’s father’s feet
Walking through the ferns
…..
(#112)
Hoarfrost memories
Moonless midnights freeze my soul
Crystallize my tears
…..
(#113)
There is warmth inside
Near the hearth so why must I
Choose the frigid night
…..
(#114)
Snow covers my tracks
I cannot go back again
All things lie ahead
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#103)
Bones of the earth split
Emaciated world’s skin
Granite ribs protrude
…..
(#104)
Holes in waraji
Worn through soles through countless years
My soul worse for wear
…..
(#105)
Deafened ears can hear
Whispered symphonies of earth
Deafened hearts ignore
…..
(#106)
Mysteries begin
In the misty distance where
My horizon ends
…..
(#107)
Pieces of my heart
Bread crumbs marking mournful trails
Leading to the past
…..
(#108)
Part the blades of grass
Peer into the infinite
Listen with your heart
Silent Pariah 