Tree Sparrow

TREE SPARROW

Chirps scatter…

You, slight, alight,

Switch your head,

Hop, swivel,

Tuck your arms tight,

Preen, puff, shiver…

Ready…

Burst in flight,

Bullet of feathers, wings, tail—

Prodigy of creation,

Breathless creature

So frail.

Originally published in Eastlit (August 1, 2015)

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Judoka

JUDOKA

To my father

Grappling for smallest advantage,

Shifting weight left, right,

Right, left,

He tugs, pulls, jostles,

Feints, hoists,

Heaves,

Wound-up athlete

Poised to hurl, fling, explode…

Coiled jumper,

Drawn bow,

Hidden in grass, wildcat

Eyeing prey, he waits…

It happens—

Momentary weakness,

Instant hesitation,

Pause off-balance,

Sliver-sized opening, door—

Sudden soundless bolt,

Swift glider in descent,

Juggernaut runaway truck,

He throws his opponent,

Alarm bells yelling,

Pins him down

Penny-flat,

Binds his arms

Sheaf-tight,

Gasping fish

Struggling like water

To hold its shape.

Originally published in Whirlwind, Issue 4 (Spring 2015), page 26

He tugs, pulls, jostles...

You walk along shoulders…

You walk along shoulders…

You walk along shoulders of bamboo groves,

Starlight treads in your footsteps.

You go forward with shifting seasons,

Summer ghosts are left behind.

You rise as the wind of briefest memory

Pushing shutters gently open.

You arrive, fresh rain at the door ajar,

Softly rustling dry silk.

Your spirit rests in tranquility at table,

Folding itself into a napkin.

You dwell in silence in the deepest part,

Inside there is only silence.

You sleep illumined by the guardian moon,

Windless, the stilling doom.

Originally published in The Furious Gazelle (October 30, 2014)

Finalist, The Furious Gazelle Halloween Poetry Contest 2014

You walk along shoulders of bamboo groves...

Solitude is a healer…

Solitude is a healer…

Solitude is a healer of memories.

Gently, he rubs liniment on bruises inflicted

By verbal assaults, sharp words.

Cooling menthol soothes and spreads.

Originally published in On the Rusk, Issue 7, page 2

Solitude (2005) by Lena Karpinsky

Sparkling river of silence…

Sparkling river of silence…

Sparkling river of silence,

Traveler along a shadowy forest floor—

I drink deep draughts, lasting,

Of your overflowing stillness!

Tipping your goblet,

I taste your darkness

As floral wine

Swirling inside a crystal

And breathe in perfume.

Fingers of a spellbound existence         

Stop my ears.

Awe, black thief, steals my voice.

Bereft of noise, I am

Transfixed as the blood moon

Hovering, windless night,

Balanced on the sword tip of time.

The world is motionless

As my spirit moves

And my stumbling heart is filled

By a presence…and quiet…

A quiet presence.

Originally published in On the Rusk, Issue 7, page 1

Transfixed as the blood moon, hovering...

The Rice Plant

THE RICE PLANT

I held him by his slender neck

To pierce him under his chin

And saw white sap trickle forth

Like milk spills from a tin.

I shook him strongly by his thigh

To feel him flail like a fish

And heard his hands’ helpless sigh

Like sand shaken in a dish.

I bravely bent his youthful bone,

Which sprang with a painful cry—

I wondered how one so green and wet

Should so resemble I—

For I am brown and dry.

Originally published in aaduna notes (April 11, 2015)

I held him by his slender neck...

Coffee

COFFEE

Coffee is a brown man

Made from soil,

Pressed into shape,

Fired shiny,

Waxen as a lizard,

Hat white like dried-out shells,

Pulling at reins of a rearing horse,

Hooves sharp as pickaxes

Kicking up bright clouds of lime.

Dark and fragrant visitor,

He makes his diffident presence felt:

Memories of fresh bread,

Woody nuts,

Heady camphor.

They lighten

Slumbering burdens,

Heavy luggage hauled about

By traveling sleepwalkers.

Swinging open the cabinet,

He hands out syrups to sweeten

Unfulfilled dreams,

Hot poultices to soothe

Unforgotten nightmares,

Tonics for the family,

Ointments for friends,

Infusions for the jaded,

Bandages for the heart. 

Coffee is a brown man made from soil...