at the door
in a jacket of red plaid . . .
a blind date
outshines the bouquet
held in his hand
so quickly
the flame flickers
and dies—
he asks, "can you
only paint flowers?"
even the dog
has developed a limp . . .
together, we walk
the cracked pavement
of October dusk
deadheading
the herb garden . . .
our anniversary
scented with basil and
lemon-thyme kisses
a light rain
upon leaf mulch—
an old grief
mingles with the scent
of late autumn
more and more
I sense the penumbra
of each sunny day
one by one, friends
of my age, dying
all her life
she struggled with weight . . .
now my lips
graze the bony ridges
that frame her face
Carole MacRury, of Point Roberts, Washington, is an active member of the arts community on both sides of the US/Canadian border. After serving for three years as one of the judges for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival's Haiku Invitational, she now leads haiku workshops for the VCBF Haiku Garden. Her haiku and tanka have been widely published in both national and international journals. In December, 2008, she released her first book, In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides. An exhibition at the Blue Heron Gallery in 2007 was titled Wabi-Sabi Photography, and her photographs have appeared on the covers of the Tanka Society of America's journal, Ribbons, and Modern Haiku. She is the secretary/treasurer of the Tanka Society of America.
Carole MacRury, of Point Roberts, Washington, is an active member of the arts community on both sides of the US/Canadian border. After serving for three years as one of the judges for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival's Haiku Invitational, she now leads haiku workshops for the VCBF Haiku Garden. Her haiku and tanka have been widely published in both national and international journals. In December, 2008, she released her first book, In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides. An exhibition at the Blue Heron Gallery in 2007 was titled Wabi-Sabi Photography, and her photographs have appeared on the covers of the Tanka Society of America's journal, Ribbons, and Modern Haiku. She is the secretary/treasurer of the Tanka Society of America.