Shades of the Night

Shades of the Night

Her brother slipped away from

the days of dreams and pains,

unbeknown to her; while reading 

or thinking of the book "Story of

Buddha" he gave her long ago.

Every evening, her sister would
send her the lovely pictures;
her tears would drown in the sea of
the encouraging lines, from abroad;
but it could not stop her worry
for her daughter moans of her life.
she'd walk in the dream, listening to
the beggar or robber; he'd kill if
he doesn't get the money. The dirge
from the radio woke her. Wind howls
at the crescent moon; melting ice jeers;
drink the tea of moon drop.

©Byung A. Fallgren 

Behind Stowe

Behind Stowe
  Elizabeth Bishop

I heard an elf go whistling by,
A whistle sleek as moonlit grass,
that drew me like a silver string
To where the dusty, pale moths fly,
And make a magic as they pass;
A there I heard a cricket sing.

His sing echoed through and through
The dark under a windy tree
Where glinted little insects' wings.
His singing split the sky in two.
The halves fell either side of me,

And I stood straight, bright with moon-rings.


Elizabeth bishop was only sixteen when the poem was published 
by The Blue Peniel in 1927. She was born February 8, 1911 in
Massachusetts. She won the 1956 Pulitzer prize in poetry and 
winner of the 1970 National Book award. She died October 6, 1979.   

Winter Berries, the Crow

Winter Berries, the Crow

Red clusters of the seeds of dream;
silent screams of time
gone too soon, hanging from
the bear branches; soft snow's 
empathy; lone crow ponders,

if this beauty is what death looks like.
He listens to the spirits of the season gone,
in the nature, in the human voices that
always gives him shiver,
in the drifting snow from the pine trees,
too profound to chew and swallow.
He pecks the little berry; surprised 
by the firm grip on the community of its world;
tilt his head, gaze more,

feels the knot in his heart,
with sudden yearning, he takes off. 


©Byung A. Fallgren


Winter Haiku

Winter Haiku

no birds are flying
but the drifting snow everywhere 
deep winter is here

green juniper's branch
sticks out through the snow on it
what is going on

the town under the snow
so quiet, it is picturesque
lone rabbit hops round 

under the deep snow 
nothing seems moving, even trees
why the wind howls so

clouds seem to tell us 
looking at the deep snow here
put it to good use


©Byung A. Fallgren









Hive

Hive

It drums in my ear when try to sleep
in the wee hours; failed dream.

It crawls across the back of the neck,
intense itch at night, test the will power
not to scratch. succumb, scratch, savor
the brief freedom. would be nice if
the world pain can be relieved by the quick stroke.

The PA prescribed a tube of skin cream:
steroid and other ingridients, used for cancer!
it didn't work, of course, for it is a devil.

It cackles, spreading: red, itch pain.
what made it wants to bother me so;
what I did wrong?
PA, even the doc couldn't figure out.

blame the hair shampoo; allergic to it.
exile Ms. shampoo; wouldn't do any good.

The hair dryer! Vidal Sassoon says,
Keep the drier six-inch away from the noggin.
Dump the villain and wait, see the devil vanish. 


Have you ever had hive from using the hair dryer? I have.
Hive is a skin rash that itch and lasts long. its cause is often
difficult to tell. allergic reaction from food, exhaustion, and others 
are common. Once I had hive, not knowing its cause, Then I 
discovered that the hair dryer could cause hive, if ignored the 
instruction on using the product:
"When use, keep the dryer six-inch away."
If the manufacturer mentioned as to "Why" I would have
followed the instruction!


Byung A.