January 2016 – Iron Haiku

a box turtle’s shell
barely breaking the surface
gently making waves

As midnight’s tide ebbs
The wet sand saves our footprints
But for a moment

We of painted clay
Molded from the living earth
Destined to return

Birds take flight en masse
Forming paintings in the sky
For just a moment

Smoke borne on the wind
Transporting me to the hearth
Of my childhood home

Final autum leaves
Serenely drifting downward
Seasoning the earth

Iridescent swirls
On the film of a bubble
Dance before bursting

The vessel broken
one soul escapes to freedom
with a final breath

The outside world
Muffled by the gentle sound
Of the falling snow

Our love together
Once bathed in fire, now kept warm
By an ember’s glow