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renseksderf Oct 2015
his tears used to wake him
from an unduly prolonged delay

her smiles used to hurt him for
their beauty his heart, dismay:

their love had locked them up
and threw away the only key

and mile upon mile of wishful thinking
pushed them further away, though free

he looked into a well-used mirror to find
the devil he danced with was himself

and the fireflies that once lit their canopy
have also lost their former glee
renseksderf Oct 2024
In London’s solemn Poets’ Corner stands,
A stone of memories, carved by gentle hands.
Eighty-five years since its first debut,
Yet names were incomplete, a hidden rue.

Amidst the shadows of a war-torn night,
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne lost their light,
The dots above their names—a simple grace—
Forgotten in the haste, in that troubled space.

Sharon Wright, with keen and watchful eye,
Spotted the error, wondered why.
“Have they not earned this small tribute,
To mark their legacy, resolute?”

With a stonemason’s tap, the dots took form,
A celebration of sisters, in art reborn.
Painted with care, the correction shines,
Echoing the strength of their woven lines.

From Bradford’s heart, where their stories bloom,
Wright sought to banish the lingering gloom.
For every tale of love, loss, and strife,
Deserves to be honoured, enriched with life.

Now near Dickens and Austen, their names align,
In the warmth of remembrance, their spirits entwine.
Eighty-five years later, at last they belong,
A tribute to brilliance, a sweet, timeless song.
renseksderf Dec 2022
an orange sat contentedly
or so it seemed to a quick eye
its skin glowed invitingly
reflected table top sheen
only to bring a belated sigh
when all at once it rolled
and rushed and crashed
on a cold polished marble floor
renseksderf Nov 2023
Here again, there again;
Staring at an empty page
Like a wait for a balloon 🎈
To pop 💥 as it rises high
Up it goes into the sky ☁️
In the end we won’t find
Out, nor shall we ever -
Never been that clever.
renseksderf Apr 2022
quarter turn of a century
can't relieve this quandary;
what run across our puerile minds,
raising up these woollen blinds?
perhaps another season; two
to find for us a useful clue
we stand upon a smouldered wreck
in this our unenviable trek
from these ashes phoenixes arise
from its inception alongside numerous other poetry sites, we have traversed life and the web - some of these sites are no longer, and those that remain aren't what they used to be
renseksderf Nov 2024
from the ground

the ceiling looks so much wider

from the ground

its cracks seem much finer



the paint peels -

minute flags, off-white surrender;

the paint peals -

egg shells of heavy footed plunder...



revelation fall free

release this pretender from the ground

revelation fall free,

on this soul that has been found
renseksderf Nov 2024
Here sat on a kerb looking every which way
catching proverbial breath and recalibrating
my bearings from a longish journey - still
no longer longing for a telltale day now
pining away atop a window sill
renseksderf Jul 22
"our online lives"

I just stumbled on you in poem
and its quiet ache has stayed with me
all afternoon. The way it turns
a missing notification into something
almost sacred—pixels drifting
like fallen leaves, prayers planted
in comment rows—feels so true
to our online lives.
renseksderf Jul 26
"Pastry Saltry"

I woke this morning in a buttery daze,
heart folded like dough, kneaded and praised.

You strolled in, glistening with pretzel grace—
salt crystals winked on your powdered face.

We rose on warm gusts, flaky promises spun—
together the world tasted half sugar, half sun.
silly, funny, micro-poetic fun
renseksderf Jul 13
"Paws in the Light"

A sunbeam waits.
Two cats settle—
quiet, apart, together.

No words. Just warmth.

In stillness, memory stirs.
You’re allowed to stop.
This moment matters.
renseksderf Nov 2023
Hello
PeOple of the once
EThereal metamoRph
Your moment has now
arrived; PERiwinkle
adornments on your
china on display,
SPecific to table placements
ICarian silhouettes on
placemats, UnIcorn-lined
doilies in conTrast Yell
out: 'perspicacity.'
Your aid and companionability
see us through it all.
published elsewhere in 2020
renseksderf Jun 2024
frost laced teeth of cracked leather
course through bare back thighs
frigid sheen of yellowed ivory
caress tentative fingertips
nose, cheek and ear
incline then enquire
old smell, old sound
ancient piano sing
renseksderf Nov 2023
Ribald footprints

of a silent, brooding zitar

rendezvous with an ebbing tide

recalcitrant thoughts wash away

along this sandy shoal.
throwback online poetry
renseksderf Jun 2022
filled with melancholy
mood lit by lampshade
names and faces dissipate

weathered post it sticks
if only the memory did
renseksderf Dec 2024
Home, where peace and noise collide,
A sanctuary yet hard to abide. I-
-n an unforgiving world, it's known,
But even there, I'm not alone.
"right here, right now"

all we have is right now—
that morning you dropped your umbrella
and puddles burst into applause

looking for the right person—
then seeking the right time—
chasing seconds like fireflies

pinpointing the right place:
location, location, location—
our compasses spinning free

so here’s the thesis: home lives in joined footsteps—
come wander with me
when all we’ve got is right here... right now



.
renseksderf Feb 2024
why are you so easy
to be walk passed
but then so difficult
to completely forget

a cattle brand that
sears waking memory
scathes dreams of night
what remains of you

are rumpled bed-
clothes at sun-up
and crumpled sheets
on litter-strewn desk
renseksderf Sep 2024
all have gone far and wide
there, a fair distance away
where no eye spy nor stray
only hindsight dare confide
even sproutlings coy in Spring
no fresh joys will they bring
still from Sun, buds cannot hide
"Rusted Harp"


Strings crust over
like ancient ossuary bones,
once vibrant with touch,
now mute in neglect.

Each pluck would be agony—
a resurrection of rust,
a hymn to how
we let beauty corrode.




.
renseksderf Nov 2024
(senryu)

autumn's embrace chills,  
it must now be that season,  
falling leaves and all.




(sijo)

The first frost of dawn kisses the withering maple leaves,  
Winds of change sweep the earth, whispering Autumn’s song.  
In this transient dance, memories linger, time stands still.



(chofu)

Under the golden boughs of ancient trees, Autumn sighs,  
As leaves descend in a swirling, endless ballet,  
The earth receives them with a gentle embrace, whispering tales of time.


🍂
…other friends that accompany haiku
renseksderf Jun 2024
by the sea face in face
a child’s visage open
fraught in fear, freedom and friendship
predators, salt, sand
waves crash, rocks cut
chest crushing breaths
from watery garden sea sponge plucked
beside shells and stones
by a farcical display
feigning, fawning, flaunting: fearful now
petulant sand in shoe
soaks nothing better
no return, no exchange
renseksderf Jul 14
Should I die—think only of dew at dawn,  
Whispering on grass that shivers bright,  
Ghostly lines where my breath has gone,  
Vanishing in the arms of light.

Let each drop hold my final sigh,  
Tender residue of night’s embrace,  
Till warmth reclaims them in the sky,  
Leaving only memory’s trace.





.
written after Thomas Gray’s “if I should die”
renseksderf Nov 2024
Lift your gaze, feel the fire in your soul,
Travel back to where your spirit thrived,
Relish the echoes that make you feel whole,
In every word, a pulse of life derived.

For in the silence of unwritten lines,
We find the truth that eternally shines.
renseksderf Dec 2024
In the morning light
we gather at the square
voices mingling
plans unfolding
     . . .  a tapestry of lives
undulating in the sun's rays
renseksderf Sep 2022
A "dying" family car can drive a child to grow up or become sad.
renseksderf Jun 2022
When your winter breaks into spring
think of new and wonderful things

while autumn creeps passed your window
break this winter free of sorrow

wait upon seasons - wait on life
live each day loving - escaping

weave each day's new strands - engaging
one day looking back - mem'ries rife.
renseksderf Mar 2023
though stairs above, unlit
well at each landing glows
where spiralled shadows fly
its bridge curtails its distance

through yearning measured steps
their creaking shrugs off decay
renseksderf Feb 2023
somewhere overhead
the smaller bear sits
my constant companion

whose trajectory lights up
carries forward my story arc
brings us our own constellation

revolving as sundial shadows
in the darkened doorways
will always ever be in transit
renseksderf Oct 2015
resuscitate
an ailing soul
bereft of starlight's

superb glimmer
and woollen warmth.  
Mayhap, stellate glow

in the stillness
of tranquil flight,
their counsel, console.

Humbly, we plea--
hymn of the night,
come and tarry awhile.*




_ _ __ ✏
○●
°
renseksderf Sep 2024
just like open sunlit skies above
which kept our days ever bright
whose bare-all gaze shoved us
to sanctuary from blistering glare

we always kept our shadows in sight

tents and those world tree ash boughs
carried us to roman candles of night
matsuri: our own non-roman holiday --
summer may be gone but these remain
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