Onna – bugeisha
Cherry blossom and forged steel
My love and my light

Soul of samurai
You are both willow and oak
I love you dearly

Life is a poem
Deep endless and enduring
Rhyme of the ages

Captured here in ink
Truth and beauty shall survive
These words are for you

Distant piano
Melodious but hollow
Harmonize my tears

Love is not endless
Time ravages all but hope
Is now not enough

Sweet blossoms burst forth
Trees blush in pastel spring hues
Drab forest smiles

Today there is sleet
The weather gods are confused
Blue flower shivers

Nocturnal cats creep
About the silent bedroom
Dreams kill their masters

Iron shoe grinds stone
Steed plodding ever onward
Feathers bed awaits

So where does time go
When the clock ceases ticking
Leaves are still falling

Why is life’s blood red
And distant heaven so blue
I am color blind

Autumn leaves falling
Shielding the earth from snow
There is life in death

Red squirrel hops on snow
Searching for his store of nuts
Spring now a memory

Your memory still hurts
Love is a four letter word
Knife’s edge dulls with time

North wind vexes trees
Frightened leaves scamper to earth
Branches wave good bye

Snow blankets the ground
Grey deer mouse sleeps in grass lair
Subnivean dreams

Priestly black raven
Walks along sun baked asphalt
Blessing dead crickets

Politicians speak
Bright promises blind the fool
Sage or stooge one vote

Crimson cardinal
White snow on gnarled black branches
Paint grey winter sky

Generous full moon
Bathing the earth in silver
Dark fields grow rich

White moon hanging down
Pockmarked egg about to drop
The sky is falling

Large grey elephant
Fears the scampering brown mouse
Thinking makes things so

He is so wealthy
Dung beetle ever rolling
His ball of brown stool

Mute falcon dives down
A feathered missile in flight
Songbird sings no more

Purple twilight falls
Candles are lit in heaven
Peace comforts the land

Frog plops in dark pond
Startled ripples race for shore
Shattering the moon

Dark leafless branches
Etch printing gray winter skies
A chick-a-dee sings

White snow on black earth
Children making snow angels
Icons for heaven

Perfect snowflakes fall
Frozen angels from heaven
Campfire rock sizzles

Death silences prayers
Heaven is deaf to wailing
There lies human hope

Sun shining brightly
The door to heaven opened
Dark clouds are looming

I have touched the stars
My hand tingles with delight
Darkness haunts my dreams

Where can heaven be
When there is no hell but earth
I am good and bad

Mars is the war god
Celestial face blood red
Venus is more cruel

White cap waves reach up
Beseeching the angry sky
Rocky shore stands strong

Red squirrel finds a nut
Yellow leaf floats softly down
Winter tests forethought

The pain of the knife
Still protruding from my spine
So are we still friends

Ant scrambles on mud
Carrying his leaf treasure
Black frog’s tongue flashes

Dog licking your face
Love so unconditional
A cat saunters by

Crooked tree branches
Leaves turned upward to heaven
Cold rain falls straight down

Green grasshopper leaps
Landing on the silver pond
Black water now swirls

The journey is long
Soft warm glow of hearth awaits
My steed plods onward

Ask not why I bleed
For the cut was very deep
I still think of you

Stars burn bright with hope
Harvest moons laden with sighs
Where does true love hide

Generous full moon
Strewing silver on my path
Worn purse still empty

Oak casket lowered
Prayers rise slowly to heaven
Dull thud of moist earth

I see the sun rise
The forsaken land stays dark
I see the sun set

Hot guns fall silent
Morning dew anoints the dead
A distant lark sings

Petulant child stomps
Servile red balloon in tow
Strident voices call

Why do I love you
You do not know I exist
Salt tears taste bitter

Hope like the heavens
Empty black and infinite
A distant star shines

I pluck the flower
Ravished blossom still smiling
Life is cruel and short

Church bell tolls above
Unanswered prayers strewn about
My god is aloof

Red combed chanticleer
Sings out to the dying moon
Dawn swallows the night

Tears wind down soft cheeks
Taste the bitterness of life
Sweet memory bring smiles

Snow blankets roof tops
All homes equal in white peace
A knowing sun smiles

Sitting in the green
The impetuous monkey
Gnaws a red apple

Paper on water
My unfinished love letter
Nothing lasts but time

Clock ticking loudly
Taunting me you did not come
Love is a keen knife

Distant puff of smoke
Deep searing pain in my chest
Sky blackens with spring geese

The gravestone is hard
Yet moist brown earth feels so soft
Love lives in our hearts

Love cuts like a knife
Iron blade of irony
I kiss your red lips

Blind organ grinder
Rewards the dancing monkey
A green banana

Love like the ocean
Vast and ever forgiving
Collect tears of life

I lift the rose up
Sweetest smell of a first love
The sting of the thorn

Children on the bars
Like apes in the canopy
Some monkey business

Torn blue velvet dress
Shards of crystal champagne glass
Crumpled yellow rose

Roar of acrid smoke
Fallen silver revolver
Bright crimson splatter

Shivering in cold
The brown marasmic monkey
Eats new fallen snow

Love lasts for never
Like snow on green pine needles
Wind blown or melting

Flash of keen scalpel
Crisp buzz of hot cautery
Grey tumor in dish

Bright white jagged streak
Deep rumble of distant drums
A soft drop of rain

Grieving yellow moon
Smudged ink on crumpled paper
White tear stained pillow

In verdant treetops
The lithe simian sensei
Surveys his kingdom

Soft music playing
Lipstick on empty wine glass
Hearts race together

Sunrise on mountain
Distant lonely eagle cries
Hands clasp together

Life is so fleeting
The cold smile of sharp curved steel
I see the way home

Warm points of taut flesh
Bosom soft and enticing
I drink the poison

Without my wisdom
You’d still wipe your arse with grass
Show me some respect

I see no evil
Nor do I hear of evil
And I speak nothing

Hoar crusted branches
Weeping in luke warm sunshine
Dreaming of summer

Without my logic
You’d never have touched the moon
Or slain the dragon

Woman of two hearts
You will never find my gold
Or my kindest touch

Pen moving deftly
Black ink trailing its master
Poems on paper

Orange koi in black pond
Looks skyward for his bounty
All eyes for heaven

Tear drop falls through space
Strikes the grey marble called earth
Blue oceans are formed

Now called grandmother
Time has painted you silver
With wisdom of life

Yellow autumn moon
Coal black cat with slit green eyes
Orange jack-o-lantern

I write this evening
Pen in hand and thoughts on you
Love is not a word

West wind swells the sails
White capped waves race with the clouds
I captain my soul

Black and white picture
You and me from times gone by
A tear splashes down

Blindfold blocks blue sky
The cigarette smoke smells sweet
I hear a dove’s wings

The butterfly lands
On the unsuspecting flower
The bird’s beak is sharp

And the rain came down
Washing away all our tears
Yes the rain came down

Diamond dew drops hang
From the silver spider web
A beautiful death

Blades flash in the sun
Horses neigh in abject fear
Red nourishes green

Where are the heros
When evil is upon us
Prayers go unanswered

Hope is so empty
A glad dream about nothing
Our fate is foregone

Beetle on water
Rings of hope race to the shore
Fish answer the call

Ashes to ashes
Wind borne dust returns to earth
What will be will be

I have touched the sky
I have heard angels singing
I fall back to earth

Love is in your eyes
Your voice speaks softly to me
What lies in your heart

You are kind to me
When others are around us
Why do you scowl now

Hearts beat in rhythm
Warm hands nestle together
Love is but a dream

I watch the sun rise
Golden providence bestowed
I watch the sun set

Time is infinite
A life is determinate
Our god is unknown

For who guided fate’s hand
When the hour of death is here
She opens her eyes

Birth avenges death
Tomorrow is a new day
Infant cries for milk

No arrow flies straight
Soaring birds to earth return
Moon ever rising

Knock on heaven’s gate
Majestic door swings open
Where does god live now

Show benevolence
Don the rope of tolerance
Now kick out the chair

Poetry is life
Meaning matters more than rhyme
Life is poetry

Gun to the temple
Pull the golden trigger hard
Bang not a whimper

Why do you call now
Yesterday I was no one
I am still the same

That sounds so perfect
Tell me what I want to hear
Lies beautiful lies

I wrote this for you
Beauty thrives in brevity
Life is a haiku

I have but one speed
And only one direction
Where am I going

Snow on sunflower
An ironclad irony
Or a choice of words

Silver slices skin
Crimson fills white porcelain
What problems are solved

Mediocrity
Broad yoke of the common man
I reach for the stars

A thousand haiku
Cannot capture the beauty
That springs from your eyes

Ragged snow melting
Nascent buds reach for blue sky
A world reborn

Motionless in air
Hummingbirds hang on blurred wings
Red blossom beckons

Pungent coffee smells
Melodic tinkling of spoons
Morning in a cup

Weary eaves crying
Heavy snow smothers rooftops
Winter is cruel

Cardinals on snow
Crimson stains on white linen
Hope springs eternal

So show me your friends
And I’ll show you who you are
Like embraces like

Campfire in the woods
Ominous shadows listen
Ghost stories retold

She wore a white dress
Covering the blackest heart
Sweet virgin of death

I climbed a mountain
But still could not touch the sky
I heard Zeus laughing

Red rooster cackles
Swift flash of a silver axe
Voila coq au vin

How do I love thee
With patience and fortitude
My work and progress

Grasp the golden pen
Capture your essence in ink
A song for all time

Hanging icicle
Mighty pinnacle of frost
Why are you crying

Blanket of fresh snow
Muffling the sweet sounds of life
Spring’s choir still sleeps

Amber wolf eyes stare
Gleaming, dreaming and scheming
Stomach is empty

A distant dog barks
Demons have disturbed his sleep
He is not afraid

Skylark sings in flight
Old man whistles at his work
All the world is right

Golden leaf drifts down
Landing on calm blackened pond
Rings of thought spread out

Steel door closed tight
Imprisoning muffled laughter
A window opens

Red sun submerges
White cotton cloud catch fire
Twilight soothes the flames

Chicken pecks the ground
Finding food in barren earth
Sound lesson for all

I cut my finger
Warm blood drips on white paper
Crimson ink of life

From darkness I came
Unto darkness I returned
But oh what a light

She dove for a pearl
Brought it up from the sea
To light the night sky

Love is an ocean
Sorrow but a drop of rain
Sail on dear ships sail

Golden rays of dawn
White dance of cranes rising
Tranquil moon shadows

Children of the sun
Descend the forest mountain
Shining points of light

We do not sleep here
Our love labors on in dreams
To make earth heaven

For the sun shall rise
Giving light to the world
And hope to all men

Droplets of the sun
Golden forest mountain streams
Ever lasting light

I do not sleep here
My love labors on in dreams
Enduring ever

The moon shall rise up
And here in silence I sleep
Love’s labor complete

©Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.