(A Sonnet about a Jig Saw Puzzle)
by Mark Fischweicher
Autumn Leaves Along Philosopher’s Walk – Kyoto:
2016 very small pieces, all red and orange, all gold and yellow;
Some ginger, some saffron… persimmon, sangria, mahogany… Pumpkin! … …..maroon.
Lava and lust, scarlet and rust, raspberry, mustard… and prune.
and the last one, all amber, and hidden, under the couch’s ‘khaki’ pillow.
“Let’s go… It’s done,” says June.
Relax, I frown, was the struggle to finish this just a mandate to move on?
Has part two then, always been the best part of part one?
And is the practice of the form then, never really done?
“Everything fits!” I moan, “don’t throw it out so soon.”
Remember: Siddartha, at 30, renounced his throne. He starved.
So weak, so frail, while bathing, he almost drowned.
Eat! said the village girl, it will place you on firm ground.
Savor my sweet milk rice-pudding till the last leaf comes down.
Mark Fischweicher has been scratching out poems since junior high school and still hopes it may become a regular thing.