Mike Bayles Poet Haibun

Disrobing ego

I’m channeling this morning
unsure of what words will come.
Brilliant? I realize the poem
laid before me needs work. 
Sunlight through window
brings another day. I let it speak.
The television in another room drones.
Background sounds rustle
and I set them aside
although they are a part of my life.
Two cats rush under my chair
then they’re gone. I laugh
this life, this poem is not my own.
I struggle to squeeze in time
to write before going to work.
This is how I seek my peace
discovering what words find
their way to paper.

    every breath
    [taken in]
    clouds in the sky

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Andrea Dietrich July 24, 2026 at 5:07 PM What a very cool approach to the sponsors prompt. Wish I had thought of this

Daniel Henry Rodgers July 23, 2026 at 10:54 AM Hi Mike, I really enjoyed. It's those small moments that become the poem’s real engine. The line “this life, this poem is not my own” is wonderful. It captures the heart of Disrobing Ego, the sense that poems arrive when we stop trying to control them. A thoughtful, mindful piece. I’m glad you shared it. Blessings, Daniel