Especially Now

(C) R.L.K.

1.
morning clouds part -
a sparrow on a pine branch
welcomes the sunlight

2.
afternoon warmth -
now & then a tune
from the wind chimes

3.
midsummer night -
after her train departs...
stars & silence

Mostly Blue

(C) R.L.K.

(pieces for accompaniment by saxophone and piano)

....
It rained today, a soft steady rain,
falling from morning on into the afternoon,
falling slowly, surely, soaking the summer grass.
....
And here it comes again:
Another blue melody,
Another song about the rain
And the distance between you and me.
....
lines
of
rain
inching
down
on
an
empty
street
....
And at night, in the backyard,
the sound of rain dripping
from invisible leaves.

Materia Poetica

(C) R.L.K.

We speak of such things: the dreamy song
of a sparrow on a June morning
when fog hugs the shadows, or
the clouds that skim the rooftops
on a December night. We consider
what we consider: a season and its weather.
We speak of things, and so we speak
of the state of our world, at a given time.

hours (contemporary haiku)

(C) R.L.K.

morning dew --
the softness
of a parting word
….
low clouds all afternoon --
alone in the town square
a wet sparrow
….
the willows at twilight --
old friends
sharing the silence
….
hazy moonlight --
in the distance
a lone boat on the lake

Solo Renga

(C) R.L.K.

Warm windy evening --
The streetlamps shine
among the maples.

Few and far between:
glistening raindrops.

The leaves shake,
stop,
then shake again.

A door opens;
someone goes through.

Far off, a train whistle --
the old dog on the porch
continues to doze.

Patches of shadow
on damp pavement.

It’s this world,
it’s a different world…
here.

Untitled, Perhaps?

(C) R.L.K.

Something like this, if it happens, can happen
when least expected, perhaps less than a week
after the funeral of a close friend. One day you notice
the window brightening early. You rise and look out
at the redbud trees in full bloom against
a sky blue beyond blue. There is no sound
but birdsound, and no need to wonder what comes next.

Triad

(C) R.L.K.

JUST SO:
over the willows
a great blue heron climbs
toward the sunrise

THEN:
day clouded over --
we step off the porch
into spring rain

AND:
at gilded twilight
a silence slowly stretches out
across the pond