Summer Septet

 (C) R.L.K.

Clouds as frail
as tattered paper
move across
the evening sky while
beside the
old pond the willows
are nodding.

Hotel Room Blues

 (C) R.L.K.

Glow of a street lamp

reflected in the window;

the radio plays

an old sad song as the rain

falls in the gray city dusk.

Northbound Once More

 (C) R.L.K.

Far in the distance
the faint outline of the hills,
like pencil sketches;
the train rolls on past scattered
old trees, their last leaves dangling.

An Autumn Evening

 (C) R.L.K.

Puddles on the street,
remnants of this morning's rain,
reflect a pale moon;
the old trees sway in a wind
that has blown the leaves away.

On Halsted Street

 (C) R.L.K.

Clouds are moving in
from the west as the sun sets
in a wash of red;
a bus with one passenger
rolls past the empty storefronts.

Away from Town

 (C) R.L.K.

In the deep night
pebbles of rain
pound the flat roads
even flatter
while the wind whines

high in the trees.

Mereness

 (C) R.L.K.

1.
From the depot roof
crows stare at the sleet falling
on the empty tracks.

2. 
Lonely winter night --
above the trees and rooftops
the moon glows like ice.

By the Water

 (C) R.L.K.

In the cold distance
the lights of the city shine
faintly through the mist;
again and again waves break
loudly  on the rocky shore.

Time Passing in an Old Town

 (C) R.L.K.

Afternoon sunlight
floods the sky and spills onto
the rusted fringes
of a defunct railway while
scraps of paper ride the wind.

Spring Haiku

 (C) R.L.K.

1.
As distant bells chime,
sunrise spreads its light upon
the narrow sidewalks.

2.
The slow drift of dusk;
the backyard trees have gathered
darkness in their limbs.

3.
Slowly, the full moon
rises in the night. Below,
the city is still.

Thoughts in January

 (C) R.L.K.

Morning in another year:
Shadows on the snow shifting
Moment to moment. Here and there
An oak branch rustles, its
Tatter of withered leaves still
Clinging, clinging, in a world
Of wind and weather, in a winter
Landscape reduced to fundamentals
Under a sky blue and cold as ice.

Scene: Autumn

(C) R.L.K.

Cue the music for a memory. An old front porch at dusk. A weathered suitcase beside an empty rocking chair. Someone saying goodbye. Misty rain falling, along with the yellow leaflets of the honey locust trees. Minutes passing... The suitcase is gone. The wind rocks the empty chair.

 

A Place Nearby

 (C) R.L.K.

High up, clouds open:
rain pours down into
the old pond. Grayness
everywhere: grass, trees,
green gone gray. Quick wind,
chilly wind. A small
willow sweeps an arc
through the evening air.

Wandering/Wondering

 (C) R.L.K.

Along the roadside, patches
of shadow from oak
and ash trees alternate with
splashes of morning sunlight.
So much has changed in
so many years, is there still
a place to call home?

Later, This

 (C) R.L.K.

Tonight the wind sweeps
down from the north and whistles
around the corners
of the buildings. Yesterday
gray clouds hung low; rain, mixed with
snow, fell and snarled 
the streets. Now, the sky is clear
and sprinkled with stars.

Autumnal

 (C) R.L.K.

Broken clouds cover
half the sky
late in the day, late
in my life;

upon the hillside
colors shift
in the shadow, shift
in the light

and the wind scatters
fallen leaves
late in the day, late
in my life.

Occurrences

 (C) R.L.K.

Night falls, as if from
a great height. From my front porch
I watch cars passing
in the street under lamplight.
Softly, it begins to rain.

Where Else

 (C) R.L.K.

The lateness of the
hour: an orange moon that seems
to be rising up
out of the lake; a lone boat
on the water, drifting on...

Hometown Poem (Years Gone By)

 (C) R.L.K.

This morning the sky
hangs low with snow-laden clouds.
Gnarled wind-blown trees
stand leafless on these old streets
that are so much stranger now.

A Way of Going On

 (c) R.L.K.

The slender branches
of the bare trees are swaying
in the morning breeze.
The road to the depot is
littered with brightly-colored
fallen leaves. Parting,
as always, is bittersweet,
and all the roads I
travel now are the same and
lead back to the distant past.