The Sting of the Serpent

photo of a snake

Photo by Jan Kopu0159iva on Pexels.com

The Sting of the Serpent

Oh the thrill
it is with me still
As the dream persists
for good or ill

But to recapture its flavour
each time it occurs
is never to savour
the tang
that taste
of the original

The first touch
was always the best
for then
before the sting
had been sucked
before the loss
of its life blood
now decayed
the essence that made
the sharpness that gave
the serpent’s bite
the bitter tang
of its toxic fang

So little remains
to colour that
repeating dream
its haunting theme
that stays
to haunt
my dimming days
to drown my
darkening nights

bar3

My Christmas Ghosts

MY CHRISTMAS GHOSTS

   … Three Christmas Senryu …

bar-yellow

 

They live on in dreams
Friends who once enriched my life
Ghosts of Christmas Past

 

holly

 

Ghosts of Christmas Now
Fill my days and haunt my nights
Bring both joy and fear

 

holly

Loves I’ll leave behind
Ghosts of Christmas Yet To Come
They are my future

holly

 

bar-yellow

NOTE:  Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry, similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 syllables, usually arranged as 5/7/5.   Senryū tend to be about human foibles, while haiku tend to be about nature.   (Adapted from Wikipedia)

bar-yellow