Keepsakes – 17th October 2027

1.
A kangaroo skipped in
while blustering storms
blew through cobwebbed windows
shuddering bed frames
jolting my dreams to life—
losing a day somewhere over the ocean

2.
A Golden Kaiser-i-Hind flew down
from the highest bough
and fell into my warm hands
a little too soon
a smooth and shiny candy
eager to be eaten

3.
A quiet smiling kokeshi
on the bookshelf
anime eyes wondering
a green tea maid
a soy sauce sorceress
keeping secret doubts

4.
A spicy Sriracha soi dog
wanders a tropical island night
shadow dancing in firelight
before sunrise reveals
floods of frangipani
and a chain of jasmine blossoms

5.
All of all of you
broke off a piece
that you keep
as I keep mine
like a trinket
like a teacher

Shared with dVerse MTB: Cadralor
5 numbered stanzas
choose 3-10 lines per stanza (keeping the stanza length throughout)
each stanza stands alone as an imagist poem (just the obliquest of connections)
5th stanza pulls the 4 unrelated stanzas together into a poem of love, of yearning
rhymes and syllabic meter are NOT wanted


Golden Kaiser-i-Hind is China’s national butterfly
A kokeshi is a traditional Japanese doll
A soi dog is a stray Thai dog (soi means lane)


Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Benefit Of Kindness

Nature bids us to do well by all
Every moment is an opportunity
In return expect nothing at all
The kindness is all that needs to be