Shawl

 
 
 

Bitter spring morning—
 
over her bony shoulders
 
she drapes a thin shawl.

Woodpeckers

 
 
 

Even woodpeckers,
 
at one thin note from the wren,
 
stop their hammering.

Flute

 
 
 

one thin note rising
 
from the old monk’s bamboo flute—
 
hibiscus blossom

Stream

 
 

a thin stream of light
 
trickling from the topmost shelf
 
to the stove below

Flame

 
 

a single thin flame
 
from the cigarette lighter—
 
her flickering face

Line

 
 
 

Parkinson’s patient
 
piping one thin line of song
 
on Christmas morning

Note

 
 
 

November morning—
 
the frost on a blade of grass
 
piping one thin note

Trumpet

 
 
 

battered brass trumpet
 
tossed in a closet corner
 
one thin note of grief