Companions: Ten Haiku
New
The cat with no name
stays in the corner, waiting.
The right name will come.
*****
Terrier
She twists left, right, runs,
raids, all for the old ghost moon
in the new moon’s arms.
*****
Purr
He noses forward
oblique shoulders up. And then
soft rumbling begins.
*****
Nap
Black Labrador lies
on his back, front paws aloft.
As he dreams, they run.
*****
Bath
She sits, daintily
licks the side of each front paw
then, curling, cleans her thigh.
*****
Smoke
A grey plume of tail
follows as he disappears
beneath the armchair.
*****
Labrador
White-ringed russet eyes
set in black fur balance the
pearl point of one tooth.
*****
Descendant
The tabby cat sits
erect: head up and eyes closed.
She dreams of tigers.
*****
Worry
The amber eyes look up
and the few long black hairs that
make the eyebrows, purse.
*****
Return
Rain slicks streets, smears lights.
I long for the warmth of a
soft muzzle and home.
Penelope Duckworth's poems have appeared in "The American Scholar," "Yankee," "Poetry Northwest," and other journals. Her first full collection of poetry, "A Common Glory," was published by Browser Books, San Francisco. She holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and is an Episcopal priest. The author of three other books, as well as an award-winning play, she is Adjunct Lecturer for the departments of Theater and Dance, Religious Studies and English at Santa Clara University and serves as Artist-in-Residence at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose.
New
The cat with no name
stays in the corner, waiting.
The right name will come.
*****
Terrier
She twists left, right, runs,
raids, all for the old ghost moon
in the new moon’s arms.
*****
Purr
He noses forward
oblique shoulders up. And then
soft rumbling begins.
*****
Nap
Black Labrador lies
on his back, front paws aloft.
As he dreams, they run.
*****
Bath
She sits, daintily
licks the side of each front paw
then, curling, cleans her thigh.
*****
Smoke
A grey plume of tail
follows as he disappears
beneath the armchair.
*****
Labrador
White-ringed russet eyes
set in black fur balance the
pearl point of one tooth.
*****
Descendant
The tabby cat sits
erect: head up and eyes closed.
She dreams of tigers.
*****
Worry
The amber eyes look up
and the few long black hairs that
make the eyebrows, purse.
*****
Return
Rain slicks streets, smears lights.
I long for the warmth of a
soft muzzle and home.
Penelope Duckworth's poems have appeared in "The American Scholar," "Yankee," "Poetry Northwest," and other journals. Her first full collection of poetry, "A Common Glory," was published by Browser Books, San Francisco. She holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and is an Episcopal priest. The author of three other books, as well as an award-winning play, she is Adjunct Lecturer for the departments of Theater and Dance, Religious Studies and English at Santa Clara University and serves as Artist-in-Residence at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose.