HAIKU SONNET (4 haiku followed by a couplet of 7 syllables each)

1.

on a child’s seesaw
when is the exact moment
when up becomes down?

and with emotions
precisely when does normal
become disordered?

in friendships and love,
can shifts in connection be
pinpointed in time?

and in bed, at night 
is there a clear-cut second
between wake and sleep?

a person could go crazy
looking for these turning points

2.

will I have to leave
in order to remember 
how much I love life

how grateful I am
for a home to take care of 
for my bed, bathroom

for the trees outside
for my cat, my companion
the people I love

will I have to leave 
my ev’ryday life to see
all the beauty here

this is what I know: my love
is endless for this life here

IMAYO ( 4 lines, 12 syllables in each line but with a break. Each line is 7 syllables—5 syllables)

1.

zinnias are Mexican — daisies speak français
cosmos come from Paraguay — snapdragons from Spain
Canadian coneflowers — Japanese dogwood
my house of representatives — beauty everywhere

2.

it is not what it’s about — never ever is
all of this is metaphor — I hate to leave home
it is not about the house — but rather change, loss
putting things in a suitcase — could be a coffin

NONET  (9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 syllables)

1.

last year it was recommended that
one baby aspirin is good
and now they tell us: no, no
do not take this daily
it will do you harm
so no wonder
neurosis 
sets in
fear

2.

when everything is said and done
will we still tell ourselves nonsense 
about how good things happen 
to people who’ve been good,
how illness results
from bad choices
it’s so hard
to face
truth

BUTTERFLY CINQUAIN (2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2 syllables)

grammar
punctuation
the beauty of commas
periods and semi-colons
helpers
they keep words and thoughts organized
writing’s infrastructure
like traffic lights
saves lives

DODOITSU (7, 7, 7, 5 syllables)

people give advice about
how to pack and what to bring
they say: just the essentials
how can I pack love?

TANKA (5-7-5-7-7 syllables) 

1.

it is black Friday
when people go to the mall
like lemmings, in droves
they stand on line, pack the stores
American holiday

2.

magical thinking
it’s a good way to waste time
or maybe your life
it’s reality that rules
not airy-fairy wishing 

SHADORMA (Spanish six-line syllabic poem 3-5-3-3-7-5)

no one knows
that I wear his watch
and the time
ticks away
wrist to wrist, his and now mine
minutes, hours, years