“Lady Nyo Forgives Her Husband”….and a continuation of National Haiku Month.

Haiku Crane

This is National Haiku Month: Write a haiku a day.

Fallen leaves crackle.
Sparrows add the treble notes.
Season’s musical.

Dogwoods are blooming
The crucifixion appears
White moths in the night.

I will not shed tears
Let the tall murasaki
wet my silken sleeves.

Outside the window
there is a world of chaos
Inside, warm fire.

A swirl of blossoms
Caught in the water’s current
Begins the season.

The north wind blows hard
Chills both man and animal
Life is not certain.

Haiku (classical form) is done as 5-7-5. There are many who creatively write ‘outside the box’. I still count on my fingers, and squeeze the ‘haiku’ into the box.

The poems (Lady Nyo Forgives Her Husband) were written a few years ago in answer to “Bad Quarrel”. And extended version of both are in “A Seasoning of Lust”, published by Lulu.com, 2009, plus more stories of Lady Nyo. I am trying to fit them in the upcoming book “The Nightingale’s Song”. Right now I haven’t a clue what to do with them, but they should be in there. Perhaps I will just stick them in the middle of the book and leave it at that.

Lady Nyo (not the one of the poems but sometimes too close for comfort)

LADY NYO FORGIVES HER HUSBAND…

1.

Stop tickling me!
Yes, I forgive you,
but you take such liberties!
Your hands are not clean from
previous crimes.
Go wash them in the snow of
last year’s falling.
Then I will reconsider your request.

2.

Look! There is a cardinal,
red as blood and as cocky
as a lord.
See his mate?
She is dull, but has her lipstick
on this morning.

3.

Last night I thought of you
My face still bears the blushes.
You thought it was good health?
No, just reflects the liberty
of dreams.

4.

(My mind is still shattered
My heart still sore)
But I put on a fresh face
full of smiles and polite manner.
It would shock our friends if
they knew the turmoil of
my heart.

5.

You came with a mouthful of ‘sorry’
and leave now with other parts eased.
Never mind.
Your coming and going has served a dual purpose.

6.

The spring is so tender.
My heart blooms like the white plums.
Do you think our happiness will last
til apple time?

7.

Off you go,
and don’t look back.
If you turn, you will see serenity.
But behind this mask,
is a well of longing.

8.

Last night
I tied my kimono tightly,
bound it with a red silk rope
like an impassioned lover’s hands
around a wasp waist,
and kneeling upon a cushion,
awaited the rising of the moon.

Jane Kohut-Bartels
Copyrighted, 2013

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16 Responses to ““Lady Nyo Forgives Her Husband”….and a continuation of National Haiku Month.”

  1. Tony Says:

    Wow! There are some seriously hot lines here. I especially like the 2nd haiku and the 6th stanza of Lady Nyo Forgives Her Husband.

    Like

  2. Snakypoet (Rosemary Nissen-Wade) Says:

    Just gorgeous! Yes, I agree this and the previous piece should be in your book – wherever they fit in that sequence.

    Like

  3. ladynyo Says:

    Hi Rosemary…thank you for reading and your comments.

    I have decided to leave dversepoets….i have a pretty heavy schedule of pieces I want to publish, especially this rewrite of “A Kapitany” which is a novel and also almost finished.

    Also, I don’t like the lack of poetry criticism in most poetry groups…and fall into the same. It’s like…well, one word of encouragement and I think it’s just plum lazy. Poetry doesn’t get a free pass on criticism. It’s necessary for developing poets to find this out. I’ve read some stellar poems at dverse that knock my socks off…and I read stuff that wasn’t good at all. I do the same.

    If we are serious about poetry we need to go through this fire….we are so damn afraid of stepping on toes. well, I want something better and will spend a lot of time this winter reforming my own stuff.

    I haven’t a clue where to put these two pieces…but I think somehow they should be in there.

    Thank you so much for reading and your comments. I’ll be over at your site tomorrow when I can see!

    Jane

    Like

  4. ladynyo Says:

    Thank you, Tony. I’m struggling to make sense of this stuff. LOL!

    Thank you for reading and bothering to comment.

    Lady Nyu

    Like

  5. brian miller Says:

    my goodness….you are a plethora of verse today…smiles….i like the second and third haikus the best, the later for its imagery…the first for the contrast…i rather like the tickling verse as well..i think i read this one when you posted before…but it jumped up and made me smile again…

    Like

  6. ayala Says:

    Jane, beautiful as always 🙂

    Like

  7. Sarah Johnston Says:

    Very strong and forgiveness at times is hard to do. Well done. http://gatelesspassage.com/2013/02/02/reflections/

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  8. ladynyo Says:

    /Thank you, Sarah.

    Lady Nyo

    Like

  9. ladynyo Says:

    Thank you, Ayala.

    Jane

    Like

  10. ladynyo Says:

    hi Brian. Thank you for reading and your comments…I like that tickling verse best….

    Imagery and contrast…important elements in poetry, neh?

    Jane

    Like

  11. Heaven (@asweetlust) Says:

    You are such a skillful writer of these Japanese forms Jane ~ I love the haiku and in the second one, 6th and 8th are my favorite. I hope you will drop by occasionally when you have a chance ~

    Good luck in your writing~

    Grace

    Like

  12. ManicDdaily Says:

    Hi Jane, You know I love what you do with these forms. It’s not just the forms, but you manage to imbue them with a great “Nipponess.” I especially like the last two haikus – in part because I am from DC so the cherry blossoms in the stream are very vivid for me – and all the forgiveness poems are terribly poignant and clever. They really are a short story. Just lovely in their progression and arc. Thanks so much for your wonderful writing and friendship. Good luck with your Kapitani novel – I have been remiss in reading it all – my job life is a bit overwhelming at the moment and I am in the midst of moving = a huge transition! – but I will catch up. Thanks again. k.

    Like

  13. ladynyo Says:

    Thank you, Grace! I was overwhelmed at dverse…and I needed to do and get some serious poetry critique. You don’t grow without it. And I was getting lazy and depressed. However, things change within 24 hours and I’ve been asked to join a very small group of poets. I can handle that and give it the attention it deserves.

    I will drop by, Grace….once I get my head cleared. I just learning with the rest of the poets at dverse. Japanese forms are easy for me because I was married to a Japanese man for 13 years! He was a dud, but my father in law loved the classical forms and this influenced me many years ago.

    Thank you, Grace, and the best of luck in your own writing.

    Hugs!

    Jane

    Like

  14. ladynyo Says:

    Oh, thank you, K. Then you know cherry blossoms! Ah, they are so beautiful in DC! My only cherry tree died two years ago this spring, but I did manage to wear some branches (that’s the wrong word! It sounds like antlers! LOL!) in my hair with a new kimono at a poetry festival here in Atlanta.

    That first poem….”go wash your hands in the snows of last year” is my favorite, but people never pick up on the sarcasm of it. Impossible! LOL!

    My favorite haiku is of the dogwoods/crucifixion. I had to explain it, because many people had never seen a dogwood flower and the cross within it. And they do look like moths at night.

    “A Kapitany”…well, I am flattered you read any of it at all! LOL! It’s a long novel with longer chapters. I was cracked cookies to ever start it.

    Thank you, K, for your friendship and support. And you have your plate full right now.

    Hugs,
    Jane

    Like

  15. ManicDdaily Says:

    I love the “last year’s snow”! It’s like the Buddha’s story of saving the child from death (or bringing back to life) by finding a mustard seed from a house that had not known death. Of course, this is more of a comical irony but very funny. I will read it. I have been very slowly going through East of Eden at the moment, but really so busy. Thanks much for your kindness.

    Like

  16. ladynyo Says:

    Hi K….I love the irony, or absurdity of “last year’s snow” I crack up evetytime I read this, and I don’t think I realized the sarcasm when I wrote it. LOL!

    Lady Nyo is NOT about to forgive her husband for what he did.( I wonder what he did???) She is going to make him uncomfortable as possible. LOL!

    And I like that Buddha story. I don’t think I remember that.

    East of Eden? Wow…that’s a blast from the past. I’m struggling through “The Second Sex”, trying not to fall asleep reading it. LOL!

    Oh hell, you have been very kind to me.

    Cheers!

    Jane

    Like

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