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Published Work (Linked-Verse)

The following is a selection of my solo and collaborative linked-verse published in journals.

 

All poems are copyrighted by their authors respectively.

Nascence 

 

wheat stalks

the shadow of Ceres

growing taller

 

       Autumnus gathers

       the last harvest

                                                                        

a distant spark

Anima Mundi awakens

creation’s soul

 

       Alemona's song 

       a fetus uncurls

       in her dream

 

a sea horse hovers

in Salicia’s kelp forest 


       time-warp...

       a worm leaves 

       Pomona's apple 

 

 

Michelle Hyatt, Callander, Ontario

Jacob D. Salzer, Vancouver, Washington

Publication credit: Frogpond, Winter 46:1 2023

***

Traces

melting snow

secrets left

on a log...

the silent witness

of lichen                                                     ​​ ​ (Michelle)

 

 

algae 

in the coral reef 

waves of moonlight . . . 

will you appear again 

in my dreams                                             ​​  (Jacob)

 

​​Michelle Hyatt, Canada

Jacob D. Salzer, USA 

Publication credit: Presence, issue #73, 2022

***

Meandering Notes (a rengay)

Bourbon Street

jazz flows from                                     

every doorway                          DBH  

 

summer concert —

lemonade poured over ice        JDS

 

night breeze

from the corner bar                  

soprano sax                               RLM

 

a twist in my espresso

Café Du Monde                         DBH

 

Beethoven's last note

the full moon settles

in a cup of tea                           JDS

 

bedtime serenade                  

a warm milk dream                   RLM

 

 

Deborah Burke Henderson, Ashland, MA, USA

Jacob D. Salzer, Vancouver, WA, USA

Richard L. Matta, San Diego, CA, USA

Publication credit: Tandem: a rengay journal, Winter issue 2022

***

Twin Flames (a Rokku)

 Written by: Michelle Hyatt & Jacob Salzer

 Published: 02 June 2022

primordial hum
in the Buddha garden…
morning rain                

           

lost in plum blossoms
the sound of a bee 
  

                    

tupelo wine
my sudden laughter
as we tango        

                          

a pause in our footsteps
on the wooden bridge  
 

             

dormant evergreens
beneath the weight
of the Cold Moon    

                            

deep snow in the city
the homeless man's dream 
 

       

***

morning traffic 
outside the coffee shop 
two friends chatting   
     

               

a balmy breeze, your scent 
through an open window 

                 

on a park bench
where lovers once kissed 
rustling leaves   
     

                     

a spotless fawn listens 
in a field of golden wheat 

                

Gilmour's guitar solo   
the eagle's long flight
over a sunlit stream   
 

                   

spilling over the edge
the youth of a thousand years   

          

***

bear claw scratches
in the old oak tree…
traces through my past  

                  

into the deep cave 
echoes of a storm 
 

                       

gilded age
she changes her name
to Moonchild    

                         

loud summer wedding  
the march of ants 

                    

on temple steps
signs point the way
to purification          

           

steep mountain trail…
the monk's silence 
 

             

***                

                                                      

rock concert 
the river ice melts     
into a song   
   

                                 

from the center of two flames
midnight blue    

                            

our first hug 
on a long journey
the blur of a train 
 

                         

dissolving in the overstory
all the straight edges   

                       

oat stalks sway
around a rusted tractor 
Harvest Moon   
   

                           

evanescent shadows
a turn in the labyrinth   

                          

***

steady drumbeat… 
rumbles
through a canyon  

                               

a trumpet solo's fading note
summer sunset   

                             

sunken treasure
kept in eternity
the day’s remains  

                    

grandma’s ashes…
the first day of spring
    

         

in a meadow
of daffodils
will we meet again? 

             

dim lights on the horizon
the endless sea 
                       

 


Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA

Under the Bashō 2022 – Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry

Link: Under the Basho - Twin Flames (a Rokku)

***

Regeneration (A Tanka Sequence)

 

 

a Spotted Owl
perched
on a bare branch—
my footsteps lost
in forest darkness

sun salutations
I stand with flowers
and trees
at my fingertips
a robin's-egg blue sky

Jacob D. Salzer, USA
Michelle Hyatt, Canada

Publication credit: Under the Bashō 2022 – Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry

https://underthebasho.com/the-journal/under-the-basho-2022/tanka-tanka-prose-and-tanka-sequences/regeneration.html

***

Faint Whispers (A Tankako)

 

 

dawnlight

droplets of dew

on pink plum blossoms                                               MH

 

garden pond

a frog turns into stone                                                JS

 

dusty mirror

another déjà vu

in V formation                                                               MH

 

lights out in the valley

the elder tells his story                                                JS

 

soft lullaby

as she cradles her baby

the scent of honey                                                        MH

 

summer sunrise

father sips a cup of coffee                                           JS

 

warm layers

the first snow

bathed in moonlight                                                    MH

           

under one blanket 

rose oil on her skin                                                      JS

 

rising incense…

two lovers share

their secrets                                                                  MH

 

morning fog

the forest fills with birdsong                                       JS

 

call to prayer

my skirt fringes become one

with seagrass                                                                 MH

 

combing the old stray cat         

winter wind                                                                   JS 

 

faint whispers

the subway rattles

in the dark                                                                   JS

 

plucking a guitar string

the room fills with tension                                          MH

 

wedding day 

a butterfly flies between

the groom and the bride                                              JS

 

under the silk chuppah

candles glimmer in a breeze                                        MH

 

glimpsed behind

drifting storm clouds 

harvest moon                                                                JS

 

pumpkin patch

so many faces in the crowd                                         MH

 

orange streetlight 

a wrinkled leaf falls 

without a sound                                                            JS

 

melting into a shadow

the doe’s eyes                                                               MH

 

half-open window

an orb spider rebuilds

her web                                                                           MH

 

a dreamcatcher spins 

above his pillow                                                           JS

 

nascent breath

in Sakura blossoms…

the birth of a star                                                         MH

 

spring evening

the child scribbles her first poem                                JS 

 

 

Michelle Hyatt, Canada (MH)

Jacob D. Salzer, USA (JS)

 

April 22, 2021

 

Publication credit: Under the Bashō 2022 – Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry

Link: https://underthebasho.com/the-journal/under-the-basho-2022/linked-forms-sequences-and-contrapuntal-poetry/faint-whispers-a-tankako.html

***

After the Wedding (rengay)

 

fresh orange juice

sunrise spills

into the kitchen                                   (Mary) 

                      

patio party chit-chat

clouds sail across my sangria              (j rap)

 

drops of moonlight                       

on the India Pale Ale

cool jazz                                              (Jacob)

 

fingers on piano keys

the sound of falling stars                     (Mary)

 

rainbow

I bite into

the sparkling snow cone                     (j rap)          

                        

a long pause between us   

aurora borealis                                    (Jacob)

 

 

Mary McCormack, Sheboygan, WI

j rap, Santa Fe, NM

Jacob Salzer, Vancouver, WA

 

 

Publication credit: Hedgerow | Vines #5, 2021

***

Reflection (rengay)

 

an'ya

Jacob Salzer

 

 

kaleidoscope 

this time in its mirrors

shards of summer

 

old city park . . .

a trail of broken beer bottles

 

beachcombing

a sea glass nugget 

warms my palm    

 

full moon 

a moth bumps into

the hospital window 

 

mother's reflection

in a garden gazing ball

 

his steady eye

behind the camera lens 

a beam of light 

 

 

Wales Haiku Journal

https://www.waleshaikujournal.com/reflection-anya-salzer

***

Reverse Migration (rengay)

the swallowtail

finally passes me

traffic                      

 

zoom meditation . . .

the silence between stars                

 

on opposite sides

of the gas cloud . . .

them and the cops

long shadows

against the border wall . . .

refugees

 

off the beaten path

no reception

reverse migration

a crack in the concrete

widens

Jim Rodriguez 

Jacob Salzer

Publication credit: Frogpond, Vol. 43:3, Fall 2020

Unspoken Stories (tan renga sequence)

all that's left

of my dream journal

morning rain                             

 

pushing through the mud 

a single lotus                           

 

---

 

gaps in the conversation      

the homeless man's

missing teeth                               

 

unspoken stories...

hiding behind a forced smile    

 

---

 

teaching me

to be still...

deep forest                              

 

my chanting becomes

evening birdsong             

 

Jacob Salzer

Michelle Hyatt

 

Publication credit: Under the Basho, 2020

***

Inheritance (experimental rengay)

whispers

through the branches...

my mother's voice

 

catkins blowing in the breeze 

an orb spider weaves her web

 

grandma's blanket... 

I wrap myself 

in silence

 

in the ancient ways

you teach me to walk 

lightly...

 

stairs spiraling into darkness… 

the roots of my family tree

 

buried bones 

deep inside the earth

a faint vibration

 

Jacob Salzer

Michelle Hyatt

Publication credit: Under the Basho, 2020

***

ripples from a drop of water (rengay)

quietude—
the sound of a cough
disturbs the blossoms

ripples from a drop of water
the virus spreads


craving to be held
—a sparrow pecks
bread crumbs

old house...
the overgrowth of a plant
against the window


to talk to her pet dog
she removes her flu mask

social media—
the constant hum
of bees 



Réka Nyitrai, Romania
Jacob Salzer, USA

Publication Credit: Under the Basho, 2020

***

 

Great Grandma (solo linked-verse)

in silence
the old woman’s head
sinks to her chest

vacant eyes
words escape
great grandma

whispering: be careful
sound of a door closing

telling stories
she stops
mid-sentence

theater of the absurd
she never liked politics

cracking jokes
great grandma laughs
one last time

lights out
the ceiling fan
keeps spinning

Publication Credit: Under the Basho, 2019

***

bottom of the 9th (solo linked-verse)

bottom of the 9th
drops of moonlight
on the pitcher's face

strangers huddled together
without names

fly-out
a baseball player
waves at the moon

under bright lights
the constant hum of conversation

a hushed silence
after the pitcher throws
another strike

SMACK! the baseball disappears
into the crowd

sudden downpour
a thousand pairs of hands
clapping

Publication Credit: Under the Basho, 2019

***

Black Ice (solo linked-verse)

black ice
I drive over
the moon


vape smoke escapes
her pale white face


early morning
the prisoner’s breath lingers
above barbed-wire


tire chains left behind
on the narrow highway


Christmas shopping
she tries on
another necklace


gold light shimmers
across the water


breaking news
in the old t.v.
drifting clouds

 

trying to sleep
in the hospital lobby


smell of coffee
I take another bite
of a salad


strangers walking briskly
through the garden


receding
deep into the night
sound of sirens


seagulls calling
above dim streetlamps

 

dementia . . .
waves washing away
footprints in the sand


migratory patterns
in the wings of a butterfly


check-mate 
my neighbor gives me
another cookie


new cracks form
in the marble steps


heavy rain
sunlight pierces through
broken thoughts


solving the last word
of a crossword puzzle


early morning . . .
I light another journal
on fire


headlines trickle down
a vacant driveway

Publication Credit: Under the Basho, 2018 

***

under the weathered bridge (rengay)

 

abandoned newspaper

the untold stories

of rain                                                  (JS)

 

writer's block

another glass of water                         (NK)

 

time and waves

have smoothed our edges

moonstone                                           (CB)

 

under the weathered bridge

a stream of trash                                  (JS)

 

forgiveness

the color of starfish

in shallows                                          (NK)

 

a matter of life in death

the dampness of leaves                       (CB)

 

 

Jacob Salzer—Vancouver, WA USA (JS)

Nicholas Klacsanzky—Edmonds, WA USA (NK)

Clayton Beach—Portland, OR USA (CB)

 

Publication Credit: Skylark 5:2, Winter 2017

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