haiku : protea
~N A T I O N AL flower~
hoary pinky Proteus
** sticKy **
f
i
N
g
e
R
It creeps up on me early morning
and again late afternoon
a microcephalic shadow,
almost the length of a football pitch,
Land of the giants view
My childlike head is miles
away and dwindling,
constantly deflating
Proteus syndrome echoes
back through generations
crossing time zones too
Elongated diffraction
casts a very long shadow,
tapering reality
Low sun dysmorphia
projects a reflection of me,
A filtered perspective
revealing my only truth
Those beans I threw away
yesterday were not magic
No golden goose lives atop the stalk
just a grotesque shell,
and one giant (yoke)
flattening all potential
I try look away
but as always
a grain of sand
blocks my view
Come chop me down,
flinch as I fall
Step over my shadow
you’ll need
(seven league boots)
But most of all,
no fixed roots!
Written: May 15, 2024 For Jay Narain Contest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Summer's sunshine tingles the lavender bloom.
It bestows an idyllic and aureate mood in the room.
A serene spa as fears vanish and peace beams.
A sumptuous sanctum and mellifluous dream.
Royal purple, orchid, with the silky grace of a lilac.
A rush of passion and altruism, and a smile to luck.
A panacea for a jaded soul, a cornucopia of peace.
A pleasing pastiche in which hurdles seek release.
Stench of lavender recalls an elixir, syrupy but real.
A dulcet wassail is charming luxurious, and ideal.
Amphorae filled with flower oil, ambrosian ariose.
An oasis of quietness bliss and no mood morose.
From soil to sun, sand to scent, appeal is copious.
A healing hum, gentle grasp, evoke in you Proteus
Lavender aroma bestows a lovely easing balm.
A whisper of coolness, a spirit devoid of harm.
Dream purifier
Promiscuous proteus
Valed Liquid stranger
Proteus beneath our wheels,
shapeshifting God of the Underworld hungers,
longing for music as laughter,
stars that sparkle in young eyes.
He takes what Hebe gifts,
lacking such grace Himself.
Wheels pass:
Proteus sleeps,
sated until the next passing,
waking with a song to feed again.
BEYOND THE MILK OF HERA PAST THE HEAVEN'S VERTEBRAE
THE STARS BLINK GLEAMING SAGAS, IN THE DAWN THEY FADE AWAY
MY SHIP MAKES AN INCISION IN EVERY THING THEY SAY
THE SEA WEARS LIKE A SILKY DRESS THE BEAUTY OF THE NIGHT
AND NEVER DOES THE MOON APPEAR SO BEAUTIFUL IN WHITE
MY SAILS, IMPATIENT WITH THE WIND, REFLECT CELESTIAL LIGHT
OLD TRITON'S SHELL IS SOUNDLESS IN POSEIDON'S CALMING DEEP
IF PROTEUS WOULD CHANGE HIS SHAPE, WHAT FORM WOULD HE NOW KEEP
THE COMPASS NEEDLES'S IGNORANT OF FAIR AURORA'S SLEEP
LIKE ORPHEUS I SEEK TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF MY LOVE THERE
AS IF EURYDICE COULD BE ALIVE IN VIEWLESS AIR
MY MAP OF MAL DU SIECLE IS A CHART OF MAL DE MER
BENEATH THE WINGS OF HALCYON I WAIT CALYPSO'S WHIM
A GENTLE ZYPHYR CAN'T INSURE MY EQUALIBRIUM
MY NAVIGATION LIGHTS GLOW BRIGHT AND THEN THEY SEEM TO DIM
DO HEAVEN'S ANGELS SALT THE SEAS WITH TEARS OF JOY OR PAIN
ARE ALL MY PATHS AIMED AT DEATH OR DO THEY LEAD ME HOME AGAIN
THE AUTOPILOT SQUEAKS AND THERE'S A LUFFING IN THE MAIN.
My name is HORON/HERON
God of the Sun
I AM from the Stars and the Moon Proteus
He who life binds again
From in the Aquarius Constellation
The Divine Male and The Divine Female
I AM 3 Billion Light Years
From your Earth-Sun Star
We are a pleasant people
Who have visited
Your Earth many millions of years ago
For and to harvest your energy and resources
And to mainly collect DNA materials
From monkeys and planets and Universal Kingdom
The Earth is a jewel in the black galaxy
and the Black Hole of Space
WE are from Ea
Are The Earth's Mother/Father God and Goddess
WE are from Ea
Are The Doorway to and a portal between
Your Sun and Solar System and the other galaxies
WE are from Ea
Are The Universe and Her Co-Planet
WE come in Peace and Love
WE come in Give the People of Earth
and all her follow sentient creatures
and star systems Help
WE come in Peace and Love
To Help and to Seed
The Earth for her next and her own Glory
not height of waves that I must crest
nor pull of tides from murky depths
not lack of sun or moon in sky
nor compass lost to view from eye
not Proteus or dread Cetus
nor Scylla or Charybdis
not god of sea nor god of war;
none shall keep me from your shore
Just a boy of three
Oblique to be
Skeletal grow
Enraging flow
Proteus syndrome
Humbled him
Captured hearts
Applauded him so
Royalty he got to know
Elephant man he came to be
Youthful not like you and me
Mistreated and hurt
Exposed and shown
Ridiculed in public
Robbed and disowned
In his final years
Condition takes
Karma
" In memory of a poor soul "
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/life.php
The smoke from my cigarette
drifts in a lazy curl,
Shapes start to appear
as I watch it rise and unfurl,
Look,a stallion
racing towards the sun,
And there, a noble knight
meeting his maiden won,
There’s a dancer twirling
on her toes,
as the tip of my cigarette
burns and glows,
I watch the characters
as if on a stage,
acting out a Shakespearean page,
Look,there’s Proteus
and Ophelia ,too,
And poor Othello,
deceived and fooled,
I watch as puck
bespells the wrong eyes,
And the Fairy Queen
with a jackass lies,
It’s like a dream
upon a midsummer’s night,
There’s Hamlet,
Juliet,
And my favorite,
‘Twelfth Night’
Then the players bow out
as my cigarette burns down
And I return to reality
with a smile and a frown…
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