Michelle V. Alkerton (Lohnes) (ON, Canada) and marlene mountain (TN, USA)

one-line linked haiku 5/17/1999-9/5/1999

'hollow behind bare knees'

the hollow behind bare knees moist heat of summer

so far the transplanteds have taken

tornado mornings finding my verandah in the next county

in the old days i wrote miss you poems

adolescent tears ending straddled by long eyelashes

anger because his hero lost the game

creativity of marilyn manson blamed by creationists

finding a sliver of light on my thigh

have yet to see the techno-effects of the first 'star wars'

driving east the glint off dashboard spider webs

afternoon nap now disoriented and that odd feeling of guilt

twilight stillness erasing the day

hopelessly intertwined america's violence and press freedom

moonlight tangled in the overgrown sumac

in the little-bitty mosquito pond five little frogs so far

handprint in blue paint reminder of childhood

braces on my private teeth to please a never-pleased parent

exclusive golf club look out barbed wire tops the fence

cast-iron moon tilted weight suspended above her sculpture

alleyways dumps anything rusty catches my fancy

beneath his bed an old lightswitch and a giant marble

first watermelon of spring unseasonably cold

handful of buttercups left to wilt through bench slats

no jail for fagan a 'napper of daughters

hollow sounds of thunder through the empty house

his books my books our books untouched alike

closing up for self preservation silence too loud

investment ad: her time horizon had lengthened

short gasps of breath the heat holds dense air shoulder high

french open the wind the third player

my reflexes slower than winter solstice in a woman's year

faded by sun exposure hibiscus quivers and folds

'pbs' pr: if we won't do it who will mm pr: i'm trying

nice to be thought of still struggling but alive

but this fall a desire to fall for fall flowers and fall dirt

second growth lavender sways with evening breezes

©1999 by Michelle V. Alkerton (Lohnes) & marlene mountain