Contest: Breathless
Sponsor: Constance La France
Written: 24/05/2025
Quote "To breathe is to live, and without breath, there is no life." — Lailah Gifty Akita
A breathless house wheezes
Winter looms with frost-laced breath,
this house shudders in anticipation-
Its narrow corridors wince at the thought.
These rooms have shrinking walls,
their windows wedged shut,
And doors refuse to stay open.
The air hangs heavy, like woodsmoke
curling through blocked flue pipes.
I do not breathe-
I sip air through a bent straw,
and when the wheeze arrives,
it’s like a violin strung too tight,
always threatening to snap.
Running was a rebellion, still is,
playing football, was a war of attrition,
With head covered by a towel,
hovering over a steam bowl for hours.
Today, I carry an inhaler,
like a priest carries a bible-
not always believing,
but when breath becomes prayer,
I reach for it.
Categories:
akita, life,
Form: Free verse
An akita is so spoiled and cocky
That he'll have only fine sushi and sake
But by tempting the fates
He's been shipped to the States
Stuck with pizza and beer in Milwaukee
2/27/23
Categories:
akita, humor,
Form: Limerick
A young Akita
Brought to Tokyo in March
So loved and cared for
Professor Uneo tried
Hachiko did not fetch balls
In time he escaped
Now larger, he searched the town
Found the train station
There his masters scent vanished
He waited till the last train
When he saw master
Greetings of joy and surprise
Then the walk to home
Hachiko did this each night
Impressing the professor
Everyone knew him
Giving snacks to Hachiko
Months and months passed by
Until one cold winters night
When the last train came and left
No master to greet
Hachiko walked home alone
There had been a stroke
Each night Hachiko would wait
Eyes fixed on the last trains doors
His loyalty strong
He would go to the station
Never faltering
Day after day, he waited
Years passed, loyalty strengthened
Died at eleven
The town, used to his presence
Put up a sculpture
Precisely where he would wait
Hachiko's day is March Eighth
Categories:
akita, dedication
Form: Tanka