HAIKU

HAIKU – 2008

Listen to wind songs
As it whistle thru the trees
Rustling of green leaves.
–
Pepper mill grinding
Dusting the bright silver moon
With leafy dark flakes.
–
Hear the howling wolves
As the wind curls around
Steep canyon walls.
–
Trees on wind swept hill
Leafy mane flying with wind
Galloping horses.
–
HAIKU – 2009
–
Fragility of
Her mind – that house emotions
Shattering her dreams.
–
Red camellia
On tranquil bowl of water
An aura of calm.
–
Hold off rush of dawns
Time to scribe lyrical songs
From depth of my soul.
–
Path of Stepping Stone
Of life – brings final closure
To circle of life.
–
Harness your anger
To energy saving smile
That curls up to the sky.
–

Death not mine to keep
Till autumn years are done – then
Death is mine to keep.

LOVE CASUALTY

Tomoko – blossom in my ragging sea –
Your ethereal countenance exudes an aura of beauty.
Reciprocity of affection buried in our psyche.
My depth and breath of undeclared love was for thee –
Illusions – delusions – our love was not meant to be.
Love – untouchable – unreachable – interceded by loyalty
Forsake our love – unconsummated love’s casualty.
Pining on sideline, the pieces will not fall – just let-it-be.

Shared affection hidden from eyes of mind
Fettered by thin strand of loyalty – at best.
Unfulfilled love pains withered on latent vine.
Her tender smiles drown love sorrows in my breast.
Love mortally wounded in sepulcher of my mind.
Memories of her compassion lingers – my solace at rest.

RAYMOND CHOW – FEBUARY 22 2008

RESTORATION OF FAITH WITH MANKIND

Inner voices of anger:
Saber rattling – pestilence of wars
The slaughter of 4 Oakland Police Officers
Drive-by shootings of innocent casualties
Foreclosures – homelessness
Crumbling infrastructure
Diminishes my faith with mankind.

Mired in traffic at critical hour of madness –
in midst of maelstrom of road rage –
cacophony of horns blaring in anger –
entombed in sarcophagus of my car –
claustrophobia –
sounds beyond decibel of tolerance –
confused – in quandary of hopelessness –
paranoia sets in – what to do?
Two strangers – Hispanic and White
attempted to unplug the bottleneck.
Asian Police officer wave-off Good Samaritans
patrol-car tucked me into pocket of safety.

There is goodness in our citizens of Milpitas –
in times of economic down-turn –
people are drawn together
for the common good for all.
Our citizens have so little to give –
they gave themselves
to aid a little old confused man.

In midst of maelstrom –
the goodness of mankind
displaces anger.
Restoration of faith with mankind.

RAYMOND CHOW – 07-09-09

SAVOR JOYS OF HUMAN SPIRITUALITY

Early Sunday morning –
at corner house on Hillview Drive –
an attractive young lady –
nurturing her flower bed –
a canvas of earthy hues.
She paints with her trowel
brushes strokes of vibrant red –
a splash of golden yellow –
here and there –
random dabs of aqua blue.
Montage of vibrant colors
graces her door step.

She spied me walking down the street
waves and smiles –
“Happy Father’s Day”.
She has abundance of compassion
for her fellowmen –
and sees me neither as
pink – purple – or poker dots.
She posses an inner beauty –
and blessed with abundance of goodness.

Muse the moment in time –
savor the human connection –
we are Citizens of the World.
The human spirituality touches my soul.

RAYMOND CHOW 07–16–09

THE REVELATION OF METAPHO

I always thought of metaphor
as a group of words woven together –
the sum of its parts
congruent to the whole.

Esoteric or nebulous metaphor
cleverly anointed by Poets –
hiding behind wall of enigmatic words.
Fragments of nebulous metaphor –
loitering in my mind – incongruous –
beyond grasp – wallows in deep end –
shutting down my mind.

Clarity of light lifts the curtain of hazy
that clouds my lethargic mind –
brightens – opens my mind -
broadens my scope.
Metaphor can be unrelated –
incongruous in its context –
and contrary if taken literally –
an opposite approach in its depiction –
shedding light with a different slant
in its presentation.

The subtlety of metaphor
swollen with mystic and mystery.
Ruminate each morsel of word –
savor the essence of esoteric
or nebulous poems.
The moving eloquence of metaphor unfolds
aura of sensual beauty heightens –
avalanche of euphoria inundates my soul.
THE REVELATION OF METAPHOR.

Raymond Chow – May 7 2009

SELF DESTRUCTION

What tormented the lady
whom self destruct
near the railroad tracts?
Why?

Encapsulated in her lonely world
no friends or family visitors –
or was it heart felt lost of spouse –
or grieving over parting of ways –
or lost of family members?
Fragmented Family?

Housed in senior complex
with over 150 fraternal members.
Surly there must be a friend
she could lean-on?
Alone in midst of multitude?

Demons – torment her mind –
cancerous growth metastasize.
Pulsating beat within
wailing wall of her mind.
Tormented!

Demons imprison in her mind –
her damnation on earth –
death her penance.
Sweet – sweet death the opiate
liberates her soul from bondage –
her spirit rose
from the smoldering ashes –
free from the prison of her mind.
A Conundrum!

RAYMOND CHOW 03-19-09

CABIN IN THE SKY

Cedar & pines trees –
sway to hushing rhythm of wind.
Snow laden bough on its roof tops –
arms akimbo – bended –
unburdened its weighted arms –
bombard –
undergrowth of forest floor.

Montage of shapes & forms –
molded by wind
sculptured by sun’s rays
dusted with star flakes –
transmogrified in children’s mind –
into menagerie of sylvan
creatures of our enchanted forest.

Snow covered chalet –
nestles under dense forest.
Smoke curls up from chimney –
climbing way up high in the sky –
lacing the trees and moon
and mingles with stars.
Heaven dusts the sky –
feathers slowly float –
blanketing our snowy playground.

Tomorrow’s venue –
belly-flopping down the steep hill
like penguins in our
“WINTER WONDERLAND”.

Raymond Chow 03-19-09

THE WAYWARD MOTHER

Mother never experience
the trials and tribulation of being a mom.
The vigil of staying up nights
nursing a sick child
till dawns dim-light filters thru darkness –
touching grandma’s bleary eyes.

Mom was an absentee mother –
part-time mother –
a brief fulltime mother.
THE BOMB SHELL!
Mom filed for a divorce –
the parting was amicable –
a clean break.
She hastily beat a retreat to Canada.
Mom’s wishes –
the divorce was to be hush-hush –
sparing Mahealani – mental pains.

Mom sent birthday presents
postmark from Colorado.
THE REVELATION!
Mom’s proclivity to bend the truth
and her penchant for deception.
On the most important day of her life –
WHERE IS MOM?
Mahealani was crestfallen –
her soul silently weeps –
maternal love pain reigns in her breast
at the most critical moment of need.

Her mom is not an evil person –
her priorities are self serving.
She is unaware that she unconsciously
places her self satisfaction –
ahead of Mahealani’s emotional needs.
Self becomes primary –
everything else is secondary –
an adolescent – residing in adult’s body!

Grandma – the surrogate mother –
and we caretakers will insure
Mahealani’s path is righteous.
We Are All MAKUA Under The Sun –
OHANA.

THE PATHOS OF MATERNAL LOVE

Mother called from Colorado –
Mahealani spoke of the fun she had
with cousins Melika and little Naniloa –
belly-flopping like penguins down the steep hill.
Kamikaze head first suicidal slide
into the bowels of snow embankment.
Their rhapsodizing joyous squeals –
and burst of shrilling laughter –
fun’zzz arias orchestrated
in snow-laden forest –
& songs sung within her breast.
It was her pinnacle of joy –
sharing the wonders of wintry world –
a spiritually togetherness with mother.
The epiphany at that moment –
the togetherness –
the spiritual mind
detaches from body.
It was momentarily real –
an “out-of-body experience” –
a metaphysical phenomena –
that was evanescence –– PUFF!
The magic of winter wonderland–
vanish – the idealistic dream world –
fades into the sunset of her mind.
Reality of immediacy –
brought her back to the real world
as she cradles the phone.

The purity & innocence of child’s
affection for her maternal mother
is languishing in the twilight.
Inanimate cell phone calls lack
the tactile touch of human warmth & –
time-zone widens the enormous gap.
The yearning for maternal affection
wanes with the progression of time.
Mother’s love, an illusion, fades in sunset.
Adult’s aberrations – their dark side –
a burden placed on innocence of children.
THE PATHOS OF MATERNAL LOVE.

RAYMOND CHOW – FEBURARY 18 2009