smithereens david serjeant
Acknowledgements: Grateful thanks to the editors of the following publications in which some of these poems first appeared: Presence, Blithe Spirit, Prune Juice, Air (BHS annual anthology 2012) and With Cherries on Top (NaHaiWriMo anthology) Playground heart image by the author
Š David Serjeant 2013 – all rights reserved http://distantlightning.blogspot.com
In 2012 I decided to give reading and writing haiku.
up
I figured that haiku would find me if they needed to be written and I wasn’t going to seek them out. If one did find me, I’d make a note of it and forget it.
Early in 2013, a couple of events rekindled my interest and I decided to read over the notes from the previous months. I was surprised to find that I’d actually been quite productive. It also became apparent to me that some of the work hung together quite well as a collection and so smithereens was born.
DS – Derbyshire, 2013
jazz radio the tumbling circles of the fancier’s pigeons
waiting for the biopsy results… her chirpy ringtone
smoke alarm – our dance around the kitchen ends
cancer prognosis – all night her Facebook’s changing status
demolition site – the love heart scratched on a lamp-post
back home “there’s nothing we can do” hits home
snowdrops across the lawn – winter in smithereens
the broken panes of the old greenhouse‌ but still, the new shoots
second opinion the glare of sunlight on the hospital windows
spring deluge – petals thunder to earth
talk of redundancies – spring bulbs emerge in corporate colours
holding her hand she dreams her deepest breath
again swapping the same old stories both grandads
the dipping zig zag of the bat’s flight – waxing crescent
skylark – cloud shadows rustle the fields
weeds taking over – from the bottom of the compost a Halloween grin
Brownie meeting – for now, three small boys rule the park
argument brewing… the spider adjusts its footing
midwinter sun – the dusting of sea salt on my sandals
away day – the thoughts I don’t pool lie outside the window
not talking to me‌ but at the end of her message x
alesbury press