Amputated Moon

ah, the sky laid bare

her ermine coat

gathered around her feet

her beauty—strong and simple

floods the river

until it overflows its banks

Pamela Olson, 1/25/2010

For One Single Impression’s

prompt, “sunny days”

Photo – Demopolis, Alabama

a kiss on your cheek

silvered surface of the pond

peace rests within you

Pamela Olson, 1/24/2010

For Haiku Bones’ prompt,

“peace”

winter dreams arrive

passing through deep chaos

streaming along cold currents

compelled by rushing energy

here is the dream of the daughter

a room with a bed and an old woman

the daughter takes the woman into her arms

holding her:     holding her

here is the dream of the mother

a young woman stands before her

the mother presses her hand

softly on the young woman’s chest

night after night these dreams arrive

chaos contained in visions

winter nights are still and deep

filled with long hours for dreams and healing

Pamela Olson, 1/17/2010

For One Single Impression’s

prompt, “chaos”

Photo from Creative Commons Free Pictures

by thespeak

in my open palm

rests the fallen leaf:  trembling

freedom begins now

Pamela Olson, 1/12/10

For Haiku Bones’ prompt,

“trembling”

I have fished the Sound

the boat rocking along the waves

driven northward by surface currents

with dogfish caught on my line

while salmon glide away

I have fished the Sound

drawing the rough-bodied sharks

up and out of the water

my fingers linger on their skin

fins splayed like wings

I have no use for dogfish

so I cut them loose

take out the hook

set them free

into the gray saltwater

I have fished the Sound

with the ferries sounding their passage

and the tugs pulling flat boats of logs

safely into port

I have fished the Sound

Pamela Olson, 1/7/2010

For One Single Impression’s prompt,

“wings”

Outside the window, the hawk sits

wing feathers rising and falling in a breeze

he has not answered the goose’s singular cry

                south—south!

The Japanese maple has lost its leaves

to the shortening of the day’s light

and fatal wind gusts blowing in cold and brisk

                always from the north.

The oaks in the back of the neighborhood

are black with starlings—fluttering and calling

they greet the dim dawn

                rising in the east.

Here in this space, the windy chaos

finds a home bringing its restlessness

creeping under doors and windows

                calling me west.

The compass points are laid out

a dream mosaic of past and future

cornerstones of journeys lost and gained

                where to from here?

Migration is in my bloodline—

ocean crossings and westward expansion

my people are the ones with walking shoes

                going everywhere but here.

Pamela Olson, 11/30/09

For One Single Impression’s prompt,

“migration”.

Come slowly—

Eden lies behind us

in the dusk dimmed by tears

slowly the pathway winds

along the barren hillsides

Come slowly—

Eden is forever lost

dawn is waiting

caught and bound by the horizon

drops of light fall on your face

Come slowly—

Eden is simply a story now

you and I will find a river

plant our stolen seeds along its banks

and birth ourselves and Paradise again

Pamela Olson, 11/15/09

For One Single Impression’s prompt

“reincarnation” and from a line by

Emily Dickinson, “Come slowly—Eden!”

from “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson”

edited by Thomas H. Johnson; Poem #211

the sun’s opulence slides through the sky

staining and pockmarking the maple leaves

sycamores flaunt bright smooth trunks

while they throw down their leaves– littering the ground

the river flows full against its red banks

a summer of rainy days – downpours and drizzles

but the afternoon sunlight cannot lie

it cuts sharply through the atmosphere

autumn arrives along the end of the Appalachians

stuttering with starts and stops

warm days and cool nights

shaped by a southern latitude

Pamela Olson, 11/7/09

Photo – Black Warrior River in Demopolis, Alabama

you stand in the open doorway

the sun rests in the oaks on the horizon

see the song of descent rising from evening’s ground

you have become the night itself

to my eyes blinded by the sun

you are shadow thick and sweet

around you is an aura of stars from early dusk

brighter and brighter they glow

your shadow casts itself in two along the bleached wall

splintered and shattered

the light has split you open

and spills out upon me

Pamela Olson, 10/31/09

Inspired from a scene on “No Country for Old Men”

and a line by Hafiz.