Tonight's poet, ayaz daryl nielsen, is known for his haiku, but the poems I'm posting tonight are free verse. They do seem to have a bit of the haiku spirit even if they don't fit the format. The photograph above is by W.G. Dayton who took it while on a trip through southwest Colorado.
yesterday’s main streets
all the half-
remembered somethings
moths shuffle
across window screens
a ray of sunshine finds
the long lost button
pesos in the stairwell
of a small shop
under the stairs
cheap seats
with a good view
personal, random
encounters of an
unusual kind
a worn path
through graveyards
grama grass nods
with twilight’s caress
reassurance that
what seems invisible
won’t stay that way
“Oh!”, I say to myself,
refilling the coffee cup
adding a splash of
half-and-half, “oh”
Within these hollow cities
the pallor of shallow nights
when sleep isn’t enough
Loneliness of those born
to sing, empty acolytes
brave enough to wear
invisible robes of gold,
those who have time for
their mistakes, adjust,
and move on to the sweet,
grateful embrace of the genuine
Because we are, after all, always
somehow someone that is needed.
ayaz daryl nielsen, who has been a hospice nurse and roughneck (as on oil rigs), lives in Longmont, Colorado. He is editor of bear creek haiku (26+ years/127+ issues) and an award-winning poet with hundreds of poems published worldwide. His poetry collection ‘haiku tumbleweeds still tumbling’ is at Amazon.com, and! he is online - bear creek haiku poetry, poems and info
The first song that came to mind was Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia," a song that oddly enough I associate with driving around Worcester, MA on sunny days:
I'm also going to include Ben Webster's "Solitude." The pianist on this version is Dick Katz.
Here Webster performs "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" with Oscar Peterson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PEz994NJzI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PEz994NJzI
Members of the Ronnie Scott Quartet accompany Webster on "Chelsea Bridge": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLeIisTxyXw
Enjoy! I hope that the poetry and music inspire you.
What a special treat to see daryl's poems up. They always fill me with peace that kind of motion in stillness. Visual, musical, lovely to linger in.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Jo, you are the best of buddies. . .
Deletelovely! thank you, Marianne, you have honored my poems with grace and dignity. . .
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Mary Jo and ayaz daryl!
ReplyDeleteThe Poor Refugee Girl
ReplyDeleteThe poor refugee girl
I feel pity for her
Seeking food and shelter desperately.
Oh, that poor refugee girl
Alone on the paths of life,
So desperate and desolate!
Into the torn frock and sandals
Clumsy and dirty,
But so innocent,
Oh, that refugee daughter!
thank you, Bijay, as always, appreciated. . .
Delete