The Magic Tree

                       It has been there for ages, perhaps older than anybody alive. Radiating dignified peace, it stands enveloping everything under it in a cocoon of soothing shade. A patient listener whom I consider my companion. On lazy noon, I'd weave uncharted territories on paper to bury in parched trunk. With numerous thoughts I couldn't share with others, I had bubbles of exuberant stories to be narrated. It swayed lush green branches and dropped a few leaves in appreciation. A young thinker humming to serene tunes of cooing wind on starry nights would teleport me to a sphere of leaves sparkling with coloured dreams. Over the years, the pile of buried pages from my memories, fears, experiences, years simmered into the roots of that old tree. It stayed patient witnessing my journey, shedding agony with withered leaves in autumn, buried under layers of winter snow, reborn every spring. From crumbles of my old struggles, figments of my journey, drops of patience nurtured it to my essence. The tree now lives as my legend, hope rising from legacy of showers that drench spirit in soaring ecstasy. The leaves fly afar, spreading through blue rivulets, blooming orchards and sing of a lonely tree that grew in a barren land with courage, turning struggles into elixir for leaves, a newfound freedom for memories to live on.

This poem has been written using the Shape poetry form which usually indicates the theme of the poem through a shape describing it.

Black Canary

 

I'll glide to absorb agony in my sonic waves~ opera for free

*Black Canary is a character from DC Comic world who possesses the skills of martial arts. In addition, she has been depicted as an expert motorcyclist, gymnast and investigator. She is also an excellent leader and tactician, having served as the field commander of the Birds of Prey and the leader of the Justice League and League of Assassins for a time. Her superpower, the canary cry, allows her to create ultrasonic vibrations whenever she screams, allowing her to severely damage both organic and inorganic objects.*

*This is a Japanese Monoku which is made up of a single horizontal line. It is similar to a Haiku in nature but unlike the Haiku which is made up of three lines with a total of seventeen syllables, a Monoku features a single line consisting of seventeen syllables or even fewer. It contains a pause brought about by speech rhythm with slight or no punctuation. The first letter should not be capitalized – but instead written in lower case.*

A Drop Of Sacrifice

For a long time, the northern sea had remained turbulent with whirlpools of fear unleashed in the hearts of the residents living close to the coastline. The hazardous hurricanes of war riding the chariot of freezing waves swooshed everything in their vicinity to the depths of slimy water.

mighty Poseidon

twirling whips of ocean waves

in piercing war zone

With the onset of serene Spring winds, the war between rival countries also subdued. Expectant families awaited their loved ones sent for raging battles. A few arrived safely, others wounded, still many dead, yet others never did. Only their belongings in wreckage of storms and war washed up to the shores.

stoned eyes gaze afar

pour agony in darkness

awaiting a dawn

Her moist eyes gleamed with hope till sundown everyday and her shivering feet traced the footprints of strangers to find her beloved husband among the survivors of war. With each passing day, her hopes trembled in fear. She wondered if her husband would be lost forever like her child as the last ships reached the shore without any news of him.

hopes turn into fears

trace footprints of time on sand ~

survivors of war

One gloomy morning her hopes soared with tides again as a group of fishermen claimed they'd found a warrior. Her eyes welled up with the rushing joy of finding the reason to be happy again. As she saw him, a wave of surprise and sadness flowed through her veins. His amputated right leg now left a spot on sand instead of his footprint.

tides of joyous sun

flickered in anxious gallops ~

alive yet damaged

Her transient shock drowned in immense happiness as she embraced him. It felt safe to be in his arms like a pearl would sleep in peace inside the seashell. He seemed ecstatic too and showed her the gift he had brought for her. It was a child! An infant looked at her with curious blue eyes to melt her heart.

abode of warm life

melting seashells to spill pearls ~

blue eyes of infant

With joy dripping through the crevices of her existence, she welcomed them and inquired how it had happened. He narrated how they had survived on the enemy's land after a sudden attack. They fought valiantly before he got separated from his company. His wounds were healed by a kind woman from the enemy clan who lived with her baby.

on red battlefield 

courage and kindness survive ~

elixir for wounds

Destiny turned upside down when they were attacked by an enemy soldier for safekeeping him. He tried to save the woman but she breathed her last with a sword pierced through her heart. He lost his leg before he could kill the monstrous man and save her child. 

twisted doors of fate

unleash mayhem on goodwill ~

tossing death to life

She'd taught him that humanity supersedes hatred and wars cease once living warriors turn into frozen corpses. The child was a reminder of the woman's sacrifice and a ray of hope in their lives. His wife had never felt so proud of her husband. She caressed tiny fingers which clasped hers and a drop of joy melting her agony, a drop of sacrifice from her eyes watered the barren garden of her life in carousels of love on sand.

black wars of hatred

melt in drops of sacrifice ~

clasping nascent love

*This poem has been written using the Japanese Haibun form(invented by Japanese poet Matsuo Basho) which is a prosimetric literary form that he used to combine elements of Chinese prose genres with Japanese haiku themes. The range of haibun is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose poem,short story and travel journal. Each haibun must have a title, followed by a short prose-like paragraph. Afterward, a simple poetic haiku (three lines of 5,7,5 syllables respectively). A haibun may record a scene, or a special moment, in a highly descriptive and objective manner or may occupy a wholly fictional or dream-like space.The accompanying haiku may have a direct or subtle relationship with the prose and encompass or hint at the gist of what is recorded in the prose sections.*

Wings Of Wisdom

On the edge of a cliff between vulnerability and strength

I stand in solitude atop my chariot of dissolving mysteries.

Withering in nostalgia a little girl, a reader of the stars,

sees in crystal ball, midsummer dreams wrapped in winter warmth.

She wishes to exist in multitudes of legendary stories,

a princess no doubt to whom I whisper bittersweet melody at night,

"One day you'll be the woman of your dreams in eternity of love.

You darling, are a wave of perpetual rhythms in experiences,

a pilgrim of your own facets in kaleidoscopic journeys,

when you've lived my years, your wings of wisdom will flutter,

to sprinkle the essence of past on a little girl weaving probabilities,

light will enter your life someday for you're someone just like me."

Stargaze

 let dust twinkle on your eyelids ~ I'd love to stargaze in your eyes

*This is a Japanese Monoku which is made up of a single horizontal line. It is similar to a Haiku in nature but unlike the Haiku which is made up of three lines with a total of seventeen syllables, a Monoku features a single line consisting of seventeen syllables or even fewer. It contains a pause brought about by speech rhythm with slight or no punctuation. The first letter should not be capitalized – but instead written in lower case.*

Dandelion Rain

 dandelion seeds waltz in wind~ poured on wedding cake in rain

*This is a Japanese Monoku which is made up of a single horizontal line. It is similar to a Haiku in nature but unlike the Haiku which is made up of three lines with a total of seventeen syllables, a Monoku features a single line consisting of seventeen syllables or even fewer. It contains a pause brought about by speech rhythm with slight or no punctuation. The first letter should not be capitalized – but instead written in lower case.*

Sapphire Snowflake

sumptuous sundown

splashes sonorous silk stream~

sapphire snowflake slides

A traditional Japanese Haiku- It is a representation of poetry about nature with three lines using 5,7,5 syllables respectively.