One Hand Clapping

Contemplating wonder…

   One Hand Clapping

When the truth you’ve found
The sound of one hand clapping
Is the most profound

   -gl-

From   –   Short Thoughts: A Book Of Haiku   (aWIP)

Lonely Spirits

Contemplating the wonder of love and nature…

   Lonely Spirits

A cool running stream
Refreshes lonely spirits
See you in my dreams

   -gl-

From   –   Short Thoughts: A Book of Haiku   (aWIP)

The Sword Cuts

Contemplating life, death, and the struggle…

   The Sword Cuts

The sword cuts
And I die
The ending’s abrupt
No wondering why

Triumph is near
Look at history
Cleansed of fear
Death can be victory

Life opens and shuts
Doomed from the crib
The sword cuts
And I live

   -gl-

From   –   A Warrior’s Battles: Poems of Struggle   (aWIP)

Southbound Went North

Everyday people, extraordinary heroes…

Excerpted from   –   Southbound Went North

…So they moved despite the pall
The shock would have to wait along with wondering how
For now they had to figure a way off and out of being cornered

Construction workers hailed exhorting them to cross the divide
These men that stood on the bridge as it fell worthy of an epic poem
And thanks to them several southbound went north to get home
And would arrive…

   -gl-

From   –   Bridges Don’t Fall Down: Stories from the I35W Bridge Collapse

Sacrifice Remembered

Remembering those that serve…

   Sacrifice Remembered

Finding a way to pay back
A mom with her own serving children
Works to make sacrifice remembered again
Each month they honor another so we don’t lose track

But it’s more than that
A celebration of lives
Cut short but full of life and accomplishment

And in the mission there’s one more commitment
Supporting children, husbands, and wives
Of those that served that

Need somewhere to stay while the doctors try to bring back
Their chance to live as full as they can again
Don’t let memories be lost in the din
Remember them now and after Afghanistan and Iraq

   -gl-

From   –   A Warrior’s Tears: Poems of Pain   (aWIP)

In honor of Patricia Boyd and her efforts on the Fallen Heroes Calendar

Available at MilitaryHeroesFoundation.Org:

Proceeds go to the Fisher House supporting military families

Solve the Problem

Contemplating responsibility…

   Solve the Problem

We must place the blame
Why? Does that solve the problem?
Sometimes such a game

   -gl-

From   –   Straight Thru the Curves: A Book of Haiku   –   (aWIP)

About the Whys

Contemplating love and the falling in…

Excerpted from   –   About the Whys

Looking into pain filled eyes
I want to run but cannot
When she smiles I’ve just one thought
And the same as when she cries

Oh I’m in trouble…

   -gl-

From   –   A Warrior’s Love: A Book of Love Poems

Goes Away

Contemplating cause and effect…

   Goes Away

Every day dogs bark
And the post man goes away
Is the Why so stark?

   -gl-

From   –   Short Thoughts: A Book of Haiku   (aWIP)

To Begin Again

Perspective and the quest…

Excerpted from   –   To Begin Again

…Many months Robert sailed among the isles and wandered the highlands
Questing for support
Among peoples of a land accustomed to only their own chieftains

But it was a warrior’s king
That was asking and not some prim dandy for a far off royal court
And so it was highlanders would do this thing…

   -gl-

From   –   Robert the Bruce: A Warrior’s King

Off Target

Contemplating the fight…

   Off Target

Everybody worries about the head
And while it’s true most knockouts
Come from blows leaving no doubt
That hitting the brain puts one to bed

But has to be right
And the shades of over refined
Leave much room for drifting away off target

Underneath it all what most fighters forget
How quickly moments define
Who will see the light

Ribs or the liver instead
Of glorious head shots lead to rout
If the body won’t work there’s no need for clout
Shutting down in dread

   -gl-

From   –   A Warrior’s Battles: Poems of Struggle   –   (AWIP)

Reflections of the moment…