~ Collection One ~
Katana in moonlit grass,
Its red fabric tails stretch,
To touch the stars.
A cat’s meow,
Incandescent fangs,
A companion’s roar,
Silent tears caress cheeks,
Familiar embrace soothes skin,
Heard tears heal wounds.
~ Collection Two ~
Departed cherry blossoms,
Winds and tides of change,
Resolve within roots.
Hurts to speak,
My native tongue struggles unsung,
To be understood.
Disenfranchised imposter syndrome,
I can’t translate your departed soul,
Except the keepsakes everyone mocks,
Pieces of you irreplaceable to my heart,
I yearn for the few who can see you, unclouded,
Including my tears.
From Phoenix:
My submitted work is two small collections of haikus, including one poem at the very end, I wrote with each one telling their own individual story. Collection 1 involves themes of companionship and how it can manifest from something as small as a gentle touch to bonds that feel larger than life and can withstand the test of the universe. While Collection 2 involves themes of belonging, the struggle to be seen and understood by the world as who you are, and healing from disenfranchised grief.