Two Voices: Amalgamated Dreams
Haiku
William B. Meloney VII
Dedicated to
William B. Meloney VI
Joan Lee Graham Meloney Gleason
James Peter Meloney
Alan “Chris” and Rosemary Christensen
And my loving wife
Beverly Ann Meloney
Editor Extraordinaire
For my children
Rosemary Elizabeth
Sean Catherine
William Brown (VIII)
Table Of Contents
Forward: Two Voices
HAIKU
(Mostly in chronological order)
American Zen
17 In form only *
1 Just is silly **
Forward: Two Voices
Two Voices, is the mystique of this collection. Two Voices is the dance I don't do. Two Voices is the magic I don't do. Two Voices symbolizes the relationship between my writing and your reading. I "speak" with my one voice and you "hear" with a second voice, your own. So we collaborate. Much of the content that you will find in my work is not there in my voice. You will paint the picture. You will hear the music. You will write the poetry. I have written these pieces. They will not be rewritten - so I can say that I don't dance. I have imparted meaning to these collections of words. Yet the value comes from you reading them - so I don't do magic.
Seldom if ever do we hear just one voice in our world. More often than not we are subject to barrages of voices all speaking at the same time - and then there are our internal voices offering continuous commentary. Many of these pieces are an attempt to capture in some small measure that multi-dimensionality of voices. Or at least two.
HAIKU
wood smoke in the wind
Raku blossoms with the fire
shoulder to shoulder
cold silence stands lone
this months bills lean on a vase
two dried wild flowers
new lost youth looking
seeds turn to sprouts emerging
wild Iris blooms late
crimson leaf turns slow
wind’s cold thrust pulls at branches
huddled for our warmth
frail flower received
with Orion’s first emergence
jewels in night skies
Red Oak leaves rattle
approaching winter tempest
low sun crimson sky
last snow sails chinook
unexpected white belies
my desire for spring
thirteen geese fly north
heralding crocus blossom
turn slow walk away
sailing unknown seas
fallen leaf dances aloft
spring splendor music
cherry blossoms wilt
lightning quickening the sky
roads beckon beyond
soft blood rose fears not
petals turn slow fall away
spring they bloom again
gulls have taken flight
grand oaks feel the sawyer's blade
new snow drifts the path
even a pallid
day shines benignly in a
yellow blue Iris
a small cup once thrown
away brings great joy to a
struggling poet *
above clouds and rain
sunshine fills eternal skies
one tender mist kiss
threefold the maple
brings sunshine warm through soft rain
to our waking dreams
fireworks lacing night
skies celebrate the sudden
day lily blooming
rain wet cold earth night
failing full moon laughs amid
new pussy willows
swollen with spring rain
winter solstice remnants wane
rivers run anew
cold sunshine leaves me
walking across winter’s last
grasp facade alone
milkweed silhouette
soft seed down drifting across
pristine powder drifts
March 6, 2003
last frost lace clinging
against the season turning
spring peepers singing
winter’s last dry wind
slants occasional snow flakes
Crocus shoots stirring
July 3, 2003
Remembering Alan “Chris” Christensen
summer clattering
two geese rise together
above mirror lake
conical Morel
capped elf dancing merrily
she was just right here
cold dark water runs
turning over tumbling
shy brook trout smiles
Remembrance of James Peter Meloney
two loaves of fresh bread
give them both away and ask
what price the new rose *
deep throated thunder
tumbles cold across first green
lightning dances hot
August 17, 2003
hummingbird down beats
oak leaves give up last night’s rain
autumn ascending
fresh roasted coffee
too hot to take the first sip
tiger lilies blare
afternoon rain pours
sitting back to back reading
purple Iris bloom
April 18, 2006
planting oak saplings
last frost clinging to shadows
tea bowl warm in hand
Anagama fire
consumes last year’s storm down trees
painting slight tea bowls
first steady cold rain
washes green the sleeping fields
day lilies cower
cold sunshine offers
distant summer promises
of warm velvet nights
your empty tea cup
shards lay scattered at me feet
did not spill a drop *
shards of an empty cup
lay scattered at my bare feet
I will drink from it *
August 2, 2006
fishing yesterday
sly trout stripping all my bait
hungry tomorrow
baby bunny dives
into overgrown garden
cool shade with fresh lunch
Red Tail runs around
Norway spruce skirts then dives in
sparrows scattering
pastel orange sun
melting bone gray summer sky
breaking dawns silence
curious kitten
tries to touch a reflection
of the autumn moon
autumn morning sun
I have been writing too many
obituaries
October 14, 2006
early killing frost
condescending outdoor cat
will accept my lap
November 5, 2006
bone gray cutting rain
strips away fierce white hearth heat
tears washing my face
January 28, 2007
early Daffodils
renewed by receding snows
thawing ice stream flows
May 9, 2007
wet warm clouds hang close
blanket white blushing bride at
her second wedding
May 27, 2007
came a boy walking
Saint George slaying fierce dragons
a man strode away *
September 17, 2007
cold shoulder morning
winter wrestles throwing fall
sunshine breaks the hold
dawn's darkness threatens
promises of midday rain
sunshine afternoon
geese speaking from flight
dusk migrating to darkness
southern promises
soft cold rain declares
the turn of summer's last song
split oak embers dance
May 02, 2008
gray light dawn window
closed against last night's rain wind
strain to hear the birds
May 04, 2008
filled the bird feeders
and not a moment too soon
flying pigs return *
May 05, 2008
politicians speak
eloquent promises made
we hear rushing wind *
April 12, 2008
starlings too big for
the feeder scattering seed
to sparrows below
April 13, 2008
tucked into wheel wells
perched on dry all terrain tires
sparrows watch the rain
April 15, 2008
teacher before a
final blackboard dreaming of
eureka moments *
April 16, 2008
in age delicate
first flowers open slowly
something must be done
April 17, 2008
choir dogs sing nightly
staccato counterpoint to
coyote solos
April 18, 2008
earthquake threw us out
doors shivering to discover
Spring blood on the moon
April 19, 2008
twilight softens long
journeys through course busy days
letting out a star
April 20, 2008
cricket celebrates
sings of daring escape from
tarantula's cage *
April 21, 2008
promise turns beneath
plow then harrow preparing
earth for seed returned
April 22, 2008
exquisite bare feet
on morning dew cold flagstones
coffee cup embraced
April 23, 2008
sitting statue still
too close to your thistle seed
one fearless finch feeds
April 24, 2008
grass covered two track
leads deep into twice cut woods
we walk holding hands
April 25, 2008
curious fingers
swirling the pollen mist from
Japanese Black pines
April 26, 2008
when children are old
flowering dogwood planted
today will blossom
April 29, 2008
reading popcorn poems
satisfying salt crunch but
soon you must haiku **
December 25, 2008
frozen grass crumbles
beneath bare feet going to
refill the feeders
December 06, 2015
frosty breakfast table
arpeggio arias
jays trio solos
March 08, 2009
waiting patiently
first daffodils hold their blooms
until I notice
March 07, 2019
facing frozen wind
daffodils bow solemnly
having bloomed too soon
March 08, 2019
among the rafters
sparrows huddle chattering
ignoring cold rain
March 11, 2019
rain laden skies
cannot dim the promise of
tree's golden aura
March 12, 2019
this is the last frost
upon Winter's aged back
until tomorrow
April 23, 2019
White Pines dance slowly
pushing all others off the
needle shag carpet
April 30, 2019
alone together
we walked on mole soft earth to
observe iris buds
May 01, 2019
ignoring people
two yearling deer continue
grazing in shadows
little turtle looks
carefully before racing
into a grass field
fighting off the wind
denying winter’s embrace
red oak leaves rustling
comfortable sleep
rises up to meet weary
long days labor aches *
sliver of sunlight
slipped under overcast skies
faint vernal promise
slight dusting of snow
silhouette shadow remains
reveal sparrow tracks
Cooper hawk soaring
upset crow takes deference
aerial ballet
so slowly turning
sunflower dispenser shows
one bright cardinal
wet stone cold morning
held tight against the promise
of a pale peach sky
Nuthatch looks both ways
steals a peanut from the dish
then returns with joy
after cold cutting rain
stand by the welcoming hearth
new bread and butter
winter mouse enjoys
live trap hospitality
refuses to leave
universe of stars
reflected under bare feet
wave washed grains of sand
two geese then three more
winging away from our pond
stepped in it again
bare feet on soft snow
wet prints across smooth concrete
warm dry cotton socks
horizon broken
night promises relinquished
sliver of the sun
day’s first fury light
raging fire one ridge beyond
just grace dawn’s grandeur
add to the promise
of cold soaking morning rain
lingering warm sigh
Daffodils believed
winter’s sunshine balmy breeze
new shoots will wear snow
at the river bank
deep water running blood red
time passes slowly *
snow lace whispering
alluring glimpse giving rise
melts a tear to cheek
the songs of my heart
are the music of my dreams
may I sleep soundly *
sunny sixty five
global warming is a myth
just now February
agitated state
unbalanced energy swirls
trying not to hide *
the very first time
traversing smooth stone cascade
ancient stream waters
mirror reflections
show on the illusion
of the hidden heart *
lichen paints a face
quartz streams cut a mountain trace
moss beds form a base
oranges bringing
sunshine to frost promises
bright across my tongue
amazed as a boy
each sitting still a chipmunk
accepts a peanut
slept in all winter
her natty fur coat stretched thin
gaunt rabbit visits
trampled dandelion
leaves mud covered half hidden
small yellow jewel
Mockingbird has learned
the suet feeder swivel
still sings other’s songs
in the first un-light
earthen negative outline
where rabbit is not
leafless oak lace limbs
await warm sustenance
intricate sky roots
spring cuddling near
percale sirocco twilight
still lone bier winter
raucous Blue Jay calls
sound and fury signify
raucous Blue Jay calls
pacific northwest
winter rain offers no grace
here in Kentucky
over cast sky light
found in the wake of my dreams
five more minutes please *
against stark contrast
ethereal suggestion
new buds vague green haze
only a moment
sleepless night midday nodding
dreams seep through closed eyes *
standing toe to toe
old men with fire in their eyes
Daffodils laughing
lion breath wind roars
thunderheads howl in darkness
dawn gambols bleating
comfortable chairs
sitting quietly before
smoldering embers
cold sunshine filters
cross concrete through steel trees
warms hardwood forests
Red Oaks are humming
the song Dog Woods are singing
Crabapple trees shout
deafening silence
across concrete sidewalks leaves
tumble rustling
reoccurring dreams
sing the same songs all night long
mockingbird who knew
Brown Thrasher dashing
snapping suet crumbs from sloppy
Yellow Belly’s feast
Goldfinches dancing
heated airborne posturing
over thistle seed
Jays stealing peanuts
nervous petulant children
run away to gloat
got so much work done
enjoying this vacation
Je suis fatigue *
hummingbird sits dry
feeder hung beneath the eaves
thunderstorm rages
groundhog ate the leaves
left the sunflower blossoms
perhaps for dessert
ain’t no sunflowers
only darkness will remain
he came for dessert
winter full moon slides
up behind horizon tree lace
almost giving warmth
Norwegian spruce lifts
the hem of their skirts waiting
for spring’s first cool rain
on the porch railing
sharing sunflower treats
Cardinals kissing
Daffodils shining
thought first cold cutting gray rain
from overcast skies
haphazardly strewn
empty Robin eggshells give
no clue to the nest
a fallen peanut
four Blue Jays swoop down intent
three leave complaining
frantic ewe pacing
outside the fence a stray lamb
follows back and forth
half moon at midday
ethereal presence hangs
aloof between trees
For Rosemary
verdant skies beckon
thunderstorms in the distance
dry leaves scattering
pristine empty sky
azure turning evening chill
horizon ablaze
flowing mauve shadows
clings fast to early evening’s
approaching silence
soft winds sing gently
across moss studded forest
walking thankfully
paused to examine
rubbed bark, perhaps a young buck
found this year’s new pine
late night visitors
extracted whole peanut teeth
empty pumpkin’s smile
dry brown crackling
wading through puddles of leaves
we all were younger
Red Tail looming large
empty branches do not hide
Blue Jays complaining
horizon sunshine dawning
streaming through frosted windows
fades behind low clouds
quiet company
before the hearth sitting close
frosted boughs sleep
cold sunshine streaming
relentless wind cutting quick
oak leaves do not fall
bare feet cat walking
tip toe across the long beach
first sudden cold wave
lavender dawning
promises of wind and rain
sage will soon blossom
Chickadee flurries
swirling over sunflower face
each wanting a turn
Two Voices: Amalgamated Dreams Haiku © 2024 by William B. Meloney VII is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/