somonka

In this month's Writer's Digest, I read about a Japanese poem called a somonka. I talked with Heather about it, and we decided to give it a try. Here's our jointly written seventh poem for NaPoWriMo. I took the first verse and Heather took the second verse.


your arms around me
as we curl up together
are so filled with love
when your hands caress my chest
it radiates out, like heat

laid upon your heart
your arms become the portal
for the magic place
beat for beat each radiant
remembered dreams from before

©2014-Art Belliveau and Heather Anderson

haiku

the rain drips
from the dogwood tree
dripping flowers

©2014-Art Belliveau

haiku

dead limb
on a live oak
cracks and falls

©2014-Art Belliveau

ceiling fan

some days
after saying the same thing
over and over
class after class
sometimes
student by student
i feel less like a teacher
and more like a ceiling fan
going around and around
getting nowhere
doing nothing
but moving air around

©2014-Art Belliveau

the juggler

he starts off slowly
three balls in the air
admittedly
it’s a bit rough at first
but
before long
he’s juggling them with
skill and dexterity
then
he adds a fourth and fifth ball
a sixth and a seventh
then he decides
to change things up
he gets rid of one ball
trading it
for a knife
then repeats the process
until all the balls
have been replaced
now
juggling nothing but knives
he lifts up one foot
balancing on the other
finally
he culminates the show
lifting the other foot
and floating in the air
knives twirling in graceful patterns
as the crowd
bored
wanders away
one kid throws
the clichéd tomato
which the juggler
deftly adds to the pattern
playing to their backs
as they go
talking about how they
could really have done it
so much better


©2014-Art Belliveau

dogwood tree

there’s a dogwood tree
outside my front window
as spring
has sprung in late March Alabama
i have waited for it to transform
for it to change from death to riotous life
i have seen other dogwoods
and red buds
and wysteria
and japanese plum trees
all in flower
the purples and whites
almost seeming to glow
from within
yet MY tree
just sat there
weeks after all the rest have blossomed
slowly the buds were forming
and slowly they unfurled
and are
just now
starting to show their
flowers
yet
this does not make them
any less beautiful
i do not judge the tree
for taking so long
i know
it blooms when it is ready to
it blossoms
only in
its own good time


©2014-Art Belliveau

Realization

sitting in my living room

 as the days of my vacation
 whiz past like speeding cars

 the serenity I feel on my couch
 staring at the woman I love
 transports my soul to higher realms


 ©2014-Art Belliveau

sedoka 5/01/13

a dark greying sky
pre-storm winds pushing warm air
in a place i've never been
feeling alien
as though every eye's on me
as the orange sun breaks through

©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/01/13

NaPoWriMo's done--
how long can I continue
writing daily poems?


©2013-Art Belliveau

senryu 4/30/13

surrounded by books
their presence eases tension--
local library


©2013-Art Belliveau