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Author Archives: JRL
The Eyes Have It: Chaucerian madrigal
If we can see a thing, we call those blind
who claim that it is nothing, just a dream,
and ridicule each other’s faulty eyes,
imagining the great truths that we find
are the exclusive provenance of “mine”.
If we can see a thing, we call those blind
who claim that it is nothing, just a dream. Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, daily poems, Geoffrey Chaucer, illusion, madrigcal, poetic forms, reality, seeing, tricks
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Another Marionette: light verse
Please tell me: just who pulls your strings?
I’d really like to know.
I see you making pirouettes
and flitting to and fro,
much like a butterfly, who lights
on flowers here and there,
and samples each one with delight
not getting anywhere.
Myself? I am a puppet too,
I dance a merry jig,
although I found out years ago
my role is not that big. Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, control, daily poems, dancing, illusion, light verse, music, poetic forms, puppets
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Anthem: kyrielle
Who is it that makes up the rules
for peasants, leaders, sages, and fools,
who builds the narrow seats in schools
to educate a growing nation?
What hand dictates the right and wrong,
transcribes the loyal subjects’ songs?
Who peals the bells and sounds the gongs
for evolution of the nation? Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, control, daily poems, French verse forms, illusion, interdependence, kyrielle, nationalism, poetic forms, pride, victory
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Close the Book: haiku
I follow no book;
I recognize no guru.
Truth is not written.
Some may point the way;
others show by example.
There is no method.
There is right and wrong;
either can build or destroy.
Both sides are losers. Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, daily poems, discipleship, divinity, haiku, Japanese verse forms, leadership, poetic forms, relationships, selflessness, teaching
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Untitled: tanka
Have you seen the wind
as it kisses the ocean,
setting the salt free?
There at the edge of the world,
seagulls compose serenades.
Have you seen the dawn
as it sneaks up on the night,
its arms soft and warm?
There at the start of the day,
the grass tears are moist. Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, daily poems, Japanese verse forms, morning, nature, ocean, poetic forms, tanka, wholeness
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On Map-Making: waka
If you take an inch
when offered only a mile,
how far have you gone
beyond the wide map’s edges,
where no length is yet measured?
What good is a ruler
past the end of the known world,
where one nothing looks
so much like the next something
that both have no start or end? Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, daily poems, Japanese verse forms, maps, measurement, poetic forms, reality, space, waka
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The Snow Breathes: choka
Your first breath at dawn
is not the same as the next;
light and air seep in.
How does the eye gain focus?
All illusion is chaos.
The first thing you see
when you choose to close your eyes
is an exhaled breath.
How do you know it is there?
Each summer follows a spring. Continue reading
Posted in Lines
Tagged #BookofForms, choka, daily poems, illusion, Japanese verse forms, morning, poetic forms, space
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