Copyright
Haiku & Selected Poems Volume 2
Copyright Richard Kay 2015
Revised 24/2/17
Richard Kay asserts his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work.
Cover photograph by Eva Halsdorfer
Cover Design by Robert Baines
www.designbybertrude.co.uk
Dedication
To Robert a good friend, a talented artist and an eagle eyed proof reader.
Contents
Haiku
Selected Poems
Haiku
swaying in the spring breeze
bluebells in dappled sunlight
come alive
*****
twilight falls
the dawn chorus reprise
hailing another day
*****
mellow moonlight
lighting the way
warmth bleached away
*****
a sea of concrete and asphalt
a crack, struggling forth
a pink bloom
*****
slug graffiti on the walls
glittering in the morning light
so much to say
*****
a hole
through the clouds a glimpse
of beyond
*****
the face of the hill
criss-crossed
by time worn tracks
*****
iron in the earth
iron in the grass
orange sheep
*****
trees sculptured
by the seas salty gales
bonsai
*****
sheep dotted across the hill
spaced out just so
spelling out a message
*****
toads arched back
mottled legs ready to leap
a leaf after all
*****
sudden flurry of wings
a cacophonous chorus the gone
winters messengers
*****
the cracked path
deep black ice pooled
depths reflected
*****
streetlight
shinning behind the tree
circular branches
*****
petals of red fire
pollen shimmering orange
eyes burning
*****
yellow pollen
tickling through the air
nose streaming
*****
walking to work
rain pouring down water dripping
from my nose
*****
walking home
sun glowing on my face
sweat trickling
*****
a glowing face
bobs along, lithe fingers texting
the lamppost
Selected Poems
Mirror
I look in the mirror
There is a face
Staring blankly back at me
I do not recognise
It is not me
Who can it be?
Who can it be?
Staring blankly
Back at me
A giddy feeling of detachment
A rush of elation
Fascination, not fear
There is no one to feel fear
Then it passes
There I am again
Starring quizzically, back
At me
Young love
We met over bucket and spade,
castles with turrets we made.
We were so young,
yet still we clung.
Standing side by side,
hoping ever to abide.
Skimming stones on the sea,
I love another said she.
Emotions ebbed like the tide,
then from you I fled to hide.
‘another’, such a hurtful word.
It seemed all so absurd.
Blanched and alone,
bleached like bone.
The deep hurt inside,
I could never hide.
Beautiful Freckles
An oval face
Milk white skin
Freckles falling
From head to chin
Eyes open wide
Full mouth parted
Brown tresses dangling
Eager to get started
Dark eyes glinting
Skin turning pink
Back slowly arching
Then beginning to sink
Little button nose
Nostrils begin to flare
Breathing harder
Writhing without a care
Huineng
Atop a hill he stood
In the dark of night
The moon shining bright
Hand held aloft
Finger pointing to the silver globe
There lies the way
The finger pointing to the moon, is not the moon
To look at the moon one must look beyond the finger
Words may point the way
But then abandon all labels
Experience for yourself
Screens
Going to work on the bus, staring at a little screen.
At work all day, staring at a screen.
On the bus again, staring at a screen.
At home, time to relax staring at a screen.
The weekend, staring at the silver screen.
So long staring at screens.
Now on the bus and the street,
people seem mere shadow images
to be stared at too, we go on staring.
In cars staring through wind-screens,
shadowy figures stare back.
Shadowy forms that can be yelled and gestured at,
after all they are mere shadows.
Now when walking down the street
we can wear Google goggles
staring at screens through screens
yelling and gesturing at other pedestrians.
Screens, through screens, through screens
all the world a shadow on the cave wall
Chasing the dream
In three years you could own this car
There’s just a small percentage on our APR
We can see your chomping at the bit
Surely your account can take the hit
Just a small deposit and it’s yours
True, our logo is a set of claws
But just look, the car has features galore
Motoring in this will never be a bore
After three years we will ask
Another lump sum, no small task
And now the car is worth much less
Than you have been paying us, bless
But then you could exchange your car
You will be admired near and far
Why not go around with us once more
We have credit packages galore
Plants
Without thee
we wouldn’t
bee.
Nursery
One day a girl called Eleanor went to play,
at her new nursery for half a day;
Dad and Eleanor arrived on time,
so he read her a nursery rhyme.
After reading the book Dad had to run,
being late for work was not much fun;
Eleanor wanted Dad to read some more,
but he couldn’t stay for evermore.
Eleanor was a little sad at first,
tears flowed down and she almost burst;
teacher said ‘I can read to you’,
‘about bears who love porridge too’.
‘In this story is a little girl,
with many a lovely golden curl;
she loves to sleep on a nice soft bed,
but to think of bears filled her with dread’.
After the story Eleanor painted a cat,
and upon the cats head a bright blue hat;
then it was time for outside play,
at this the class shouted hurray.
Later that morning back inside,
from the pouring rain they did hide;
now she played with diggers and sand,
with her good friend Henry lending a hand.
Then it was time for the class to sit,
on the carpet for just a little bit;
listening to the tale of the ginger bread man,
who really didn’t have such a great plan.
At times it was hard sitting so near,
to her friends all trying to hear;
the story was exciting and dear,
they gasped as the fox began to leer.
Before she knew it there at the door,
stood Daddy, ready once more;
surely it wasn’t time to go home,
then Eleanor saw the ice cream cone.
Licking ice cream Eleanor talked of her day,
and the wonderful time she had at play;
having fun with her teacher and friend,
she hoped nursery would never end.
###
Dear Reader,
If you enjoyed this book of poems, I would really appreciate it if you returned to the website where you downloaded it to add a review. As an independent author your positive reviews mean a lot to me.
Thank you
Richard Kay
About the author
The author admits that he did not really enjoy poetry all that much when he was at school except for E E Cummings who he thought was great. He had a mental image of poets flouncing around in big frilly shirts and swooning over the beauty of buttercups and the like. This really did not draw him to this area of literature.
However, having recently read R.H. Blyth’s books on Haiku he felt the unexpected urge to give Haiku a go. The author enjoys the brevity of Haiku which can nonetheless portray vivid images, emotions and thoughts. Haiku explores the essential in the trivial and sees significance in the seemingly insignificant. Furthermore after listening to John Lithgow’s audio book on poetry the author even felt moved to give other forms of poetry a try. The author is currently searching online for flouncy shirts and quite likes snowdrops.
Should you wish to contact the author his email address is
[email protected] For more information about future projects and other publications please visit:
www.richardhaiku.wordpress.com
https://twitter.com/RichardHaiku
About this book
This book contains Haiku and selected poems, some are based on direct observation of the natural world, others are more philosophic in nature and some are of a lighter nature. The author has been published in the Spring 2014 and Winter 2015 editions of the World Haiku Review.