pale flowers pale proprietor pale ale
i have ordered you to the table
almost funny how quickly you arrive
and funnier
ethanol ice, roots and glasses crash in
celebration
oh branch, gnarled wood with a numbered
engraving - i send thanks
via application
payment as in a pitcher - forget
taste -  order it
sugary with a bit of weight yet
you never took credit for
sake of appearances
I only entered you
knowing you wouldn’t ask as much as
the others past 5pm
to sneak out your doors by 11
into gravel’d outposts -
into the dark crying out for something
like your lost beauty.

The sakura whispers
with the softness of first light,
but it burgeons,
as all brave hearts do,

it drapes its limbs
in the tender cradle of the breeze,
sending roots deep
to clutch the heart of the earth.

And when it blooms,
oh, how it blooms,
with the ferocity
of a love that refuses silence,

as if it alone
were chosen to guard
the fragile blush
of dawn,

its petals holding
the light,
infusing its essence
as it reaches for the sky,
yearning for the sun's warmth
and the rain's solace.

Sakura hesitates
in the moment before unfolding,
for it knows
that beauty unfolds in its own sacred time -

Life is a tender whisper
in the vastness,
and to blossom at all
is an act of divine grace.

Beneath the blossoms of Sakura's grace,
Where petals dance in a delicate embrace,
I found myself under nature's sweet spree,
A moment that sparked a love so free.

Amidst the cherry blossoms, pink and white,
Our hearts entwined in the soft twilight,
Whispers of love, like a gentle breeze,
Caressed our souls under blooming trees.

In the garden of dreams, where passion sowed,
Love flourished, a tender seedling that glowed,
Underneath the petals, where dreams took flight,
Illuminated by the soft, ethereal light.

You, my dear, were the essence of spring,
A melody that made my heart sing,
Blossoms fell around us like confetti,
As we embraced the beauty of love's decree.

Through the open window, love wafted in,
Like the fragrance of flowers on the wind,
Inside my house, a garden of emotion,
Blossoming love, a sweet devotion.

Your laughter echoed like a songbird's call,
In the sanctuary of our love-filled hall,
As Sakura's magic touched our abode,
The walls whispered tales of a love bestowed.

So, under the Sakura, our love did bloom,
A vibrant tapestry in nature's grand room,
I ask you now, with a heart sincere,
Will you be my spring, year after year?

For as the blossoms fade and seasons turn,
Our love, like Sakura, will forever burn,
A timeless dance in the garden of fate,
Where our hearts entwine, in love's estate.

Behind,
the season of snows and sorrows.
Bygone are its long frozen nights.

Spring brings
the promise of brighter morrows
and wonder to everyday sights.

I watch
as beautiful cherries blossom.
With them,
a light in my heart ignites.

Petals in the wind.
How like you
To leave me feeling scattered.

How like you
To take away my beauty
Without force, no shaking of the tree trunk,
Just the slow untangling, loosening,
Until I am adrift.

Do you hear it?
That gentle sorrow,
When all are marveling at the cherry tree,
The orchard in springtime,
The pretty picture it paints
In the skyline, the treeline, underneath hopeful feet
Of youth in the sweetness of first kisses, first loves –
The gossamer thread affixed in the fall.

In time, I will be made anew,
The petals you once brushed from my hair
Will not be mine anymore.
But still, each year,
I will relentlessly bloom
Until the axe has fallen, striking the heartwood.

to stand beneath a sunlit
flowering cherry
is to stand in the
presence of
god