Magnapoets Japanese Form

 

yoga 101 (tanka sequence)

traffic thick
two minutes late to class—
the yogis
in their cross-legged worlds
my own breaths rapid

our teacher
asks if we enjoy
the sun salute. . .
rebellious today
in my mind, I say “no”

wishful yearning
to be a graceful tree. . .
we are told
all trees shake and sway
(some are even uprooted?)

fallen leaf
resting on the ground
~ breathe in, breathe out ~
for thirty seconds
I am a child again

I own no pets
yet a whole menagerie
here today:
happy bear, sailing swan
and briefly, a butterfly

ah, arching cat
and stretching its hind legs
the downward dog—
my muscles challenged
as my identity wanes

peace found within
at the mountain lookout. . .
steady arms
outstretched against the wind,
I am a proud warrior

and now a corpse
with visions of light, until—
the bell’s cold peal
signaling the end of class
shocking me back to life! 

Author’s notes: Words in italics indicate specific yoga poses. The child pose can also be referred to as fallen leaf.

pub'd in Lynx.

starry night

hugging each other

against the cold

tropical mural
real vines climb
the painted trees


owl flight
the silence
of dawn



peach harvest
a traffic jam
of tractors

-Margarita Engle

homemade books—
You can be a writer
my dad once said
though hoping, I suspect,
I'd do something sensible

first pub'd in Simply Haiku, spring 2008.