My backyard garden—
 
I forget to latch the gate,
 
and roses escape.

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Summer thunderstorm—
 
a feral cat takes refuge
 
on my neighbor’s porch.

 
 
 

Preparing to feast,
 
the rats come after midnight
 
to my melon patch.

 
 
 

So many stories
 
ripen along with the plums—
 
bite into this one!

 
 
 

What can you tell me,
 
river that flows to the sea,
 
of my journey’s end?

 
 
 

Returning to school,
 
the next-door neighbor’s kids wear
 
bulletproof backpacks.

 
 
 

My grief is a horse
 
carrying me far away
 
to a barren place.