her mother’s favourite
doll–an antique, her princess gown
a confection of tulle and taffeta,
her long braid fashioned
from genuine human hair.
Like all the others, she
remained behind glass,
a treasured addition
to a never-ending collection
of surrogate sisters. Seen
but never heard, resplendent
in their patent shoes,
spotless frocks, rows
and rows of glassy-eyed
perfection, stiff
competition for a chubby flesh
and blood daughter fond
of mud puddles, prone
to […]
of days. cloud skitterover blasted ground
sheep’s head turningwithout its scorn pole.
a flat articulation
contact. the sun’sconstant. pressure
slippingfrom sleepless hills.
~ Patrick M. Pilarski
Patrick M. Pilarski is the co-editor of DailyHaiku, an international journal of contemporary English-language haiku. His first full collection, Huge Blue, will be released in Sept. 2009 […]
“Use every man after his desert,
and who should ’scape whipping?”
(Hamlet, II.ii)
I gather his cleats, and shin guards, and soccer
socks and toss them in the back in a rush
on the way out, only just remembering to close
the garage door. He has forgotten to call
so dinner is two granola bars and all
my yelling his dessert, as I […]
There must have been some animals
two or three work horses with
thick tails swatting barnyard flies
some white or brown chickens,
maybe a cat sunning in a porch
a guard dog leaning against the steps
but I don’t recall
the clucking of hens and scratching
of long wrinkled claws on hay
nor the neighing behind broken fence
horse hoofs sunk in garden plot
I do […]
