DEMYAN HRYCIW

HAIKU

maybe a baby

can help me find my escape

I am a mid-evil boy

the sun penetrates

my soul rehabilitates

damaged parts of me

sand on my skin

I lay backwards on earth’s crust

my face feels like grass

a drink at the bar

the behavior one expects

to see from camels

I sit here alone

with a catalog in hand

and void my bowels

the ocean wave breaks

water rises around me

seaweed slaps my butt

steadily I breathe

hear jazz on the radio

carve into my desk

I work to secure

a seal of good housekeeping

honor and respect

with experience

grandma commands the kitchen

prepares a salad

a rosemary sprig

in a warm, hearty beef stew

enhances the taste

potato salad

a regular potluck dish

an item I trust

in a parking lot

I watch the Cardinal truck

round the tight corner

at twenty-seven

fresh from hell, I moved away

became a woman

wild pink salmon

swim feverishly upstream

all action no thought

the night sky offers

manifold combinations

of constellations

DEMYAN HRYCIW is a Ukrainian Scout.