clouds engulf the sky

 as clouds engulf the sky

horizon to horizon, only then

do we see the combat of currents

roil, stretch, gather, glide

layer, buffet, billow, darken

tower, menace, collide, twist,

rotate, rebound, slither, wisp

transparent air interactions

made visible by minute captive bits

of moisture and debris

warfare enormously powerful

mostly hidden from our mindfulness

toe-stubbing comeuppance

haiku

toe-stubbing raw hurt

not pain but able to hack

my sense of courage

complicate reality

reflected light skitters

through our conscious world

as though it had being

we perceive it with our eyes

allow at times our perception

to alter what we do

as though the image it projects

had dimension rather than mere

mental pattern recognition

perhaps pi knows

mathematicians say

reality is, finally, an equation

but perhaps the ancients

knew better to designate

existence as never-ending

re-circling cycles

light following darkness

season following season

cycling into year after old/new

year generation succeeding generation

until one, the individual, is part

of an extended whole far larger

than himself

perhaps there is an equation

to portray that

cover

 ‘each person wears only

his own skin’ is not gospel

among fashion designers

but does sum up the reality

of our moment

at the pearly gates

too long the pity party

 senryu

 numb at what i’ve lost

unbelieving she’s dying

all pity long gone