The following senryu was first published in issue 42 (April 2025) in Kokako:
maneuvering a couch
up a stairwell
geometry in action
Category: Poetry
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Makemake
This Hubble Space Telescope image from April 2015 reveals the first moon ever discovered around the dwarf planet Makemake. The following poem was first published in issue 20 “Change” of Consilience. Makemake (pronounced mah-key-mah-key) is a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper Belt. Discovered in 2005, Makemake takes roughly 306 Earth years to orbit the sun. Given the dwarf planet’s extreme distance from the Earth, we currently know very little about it. Makemake is probably cold, barren, rocky, and dark. In this poem, I chronicle some of the important events in human history that happened in the ‘year’ before Makemake was discovered. Time and perception are relative. While likely very little happened to Makemake between 1699 and 2005, on the human scale, society changed dramatically, from revolutions to wars to new inventions. How much will change for humans during the next ‘year’ of Makemake’s life?
In the farthest reaches of our sun
the Kuiper Belt in spinning motion.
Inclining at twenty-nine degrees
the dwarf planet Makemake.
An orbit of 300 years
skirting interstellar frontiers.
History passes restlessly
under patient Makemake.
The year is 1699
nations ruled by royal bloodline.
Enlightenment for the bourgeoisie
under watchful Makemake.
Ships sail the ocean wide
steady Polaris as their guide.
Economies built on slavery
under cosmic Makemake.
Land is raked for furs and goods
forests felled for choice hardwoods.
Continents feel oh so tiny
under open Makemake.
Evolution, revolutions
nations’ mores devolution.
Debaucherous revelry
under silent Makemake.
War after war after war after war
more people killed than ever before.
People forget their history
under rocky Makemake.
Nations rise and nations fall
dictators cannot hold the wall.
The era of democracy
under lonely Makemake.
Slaves released when bonds are broken
Rulers finally hear their plea
the oppressed have firmly spoken.
under cratered Makemake.
Signals through the air are cast
then into space, forever last.
Received by those we can’t foresee
under listening Makemake.
Species hunted to their end
the natural order man offends.
Pruning branches from the tree
under shadowed Makemake.
Atomic bomb dropped on Japan
the nuclear age is now at hand.
Human beings killed ruthlessly
under icy Makemake.
Rockets leave Earth’s safe cocoon
humans landed on the moon.
From gravity’s shackles man is free
under spinning Makemake.
Wayward planes to towers crash
in the desert armies clash.
Lives disregarded casually
under distant Makemake.
In 2005, first discovered
the reddish planet’s face uncovered.
So begins another year
what will you see, Make dear?
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Senryu 8-9
The following senryu were first published February 13, 2025 in Cold Moon Journal:
the pungent scent
of ground ink—
Minnesota lake
tapping maple trees
my novel-writing secret
revealed
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Tanka 2-3
The following tanka were first published in the February 2025 issue of The Bamboo Hut:
kitchen, living room
following the trail
of toys and chores
my wife struggles yet again
to sleep when the children sleep
carving your initials
the pine tree bleeds and bleeds
and bleeds sap
I don’t, can’t know it yet
but the relationship won’t last
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Senryu 6-7
The following senryu were first published in the February 2025 issue of The Bamboo Hut:
broken family heirloom
a chance to learn
kintsugi
Communion Sunday
thinking about
Shinto shrines
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Haiku 15
The following haiku was first published in issue 52 (February 2025) in bottle rockets:
a day on the prairie, no haiku came to mind
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Haiga 1
The following haiga was first published in Issue 19 “Insects” of Consilience:
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Haibun 2: Operation
The following haibun was first published in Issue #106, December 31, 2024, of Failed Haiku:
The nurse asks, “Do you have any metal in your body that wasn’t present at birth?”
Which is an odd question.
Those last five words don’t seem necessary. They imply that it’s possible for metal to be present in the body at birth or even before birth. Those five words further assert that, while metal in the body present after birth might complicate certain medical procedures or surgeries, metal present in the body at birth or before birth might be benign or even beneficial.
cyborg baby
suckling
power cords
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Haibun 1: The Birth of Venus
The following haibun was first published in Issue #106, December 31, 2024, of Failed Haiku:
My elementary school library, second grade: A group of boys were giggling in the corner, hunched over a book. The librarian came over and snatched it away. I caught a glimpse of the cover as she put it on the cart: the swirled, amber form of the planet Venus.
While I loved the library and the wonders contained within books, I’d never known the library to contain something so subversive, so dangerous. What could be within that book that made her take it away?
The next week, after the book was reshelved and forgotten, I found it. The book discussed Venus’ formation, climate, geology, and the mythology behind the name. Toward the front was a full-page image of Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” Now I knew what was so enchanting: I had never seen such curves before.
The novelty of the painting, though, was quickly replaced by the stunning, full-color photographs of the second planet from the sun. Such colors, such windswept clouds, such quiet elegance, the planet framed by black, starry space. That book engendered a fascination with the planets that continues to this day.
“Remove From Circulation”
mining banned book lists
for treasure
