bear witness

i've kept myself from you
in our times together
you the friend parent child
teacher boss,
not invited to my arsenal
only i am witness to

but i give my self in words,
arrogantly sure
you crave to know
the intuition sagacity
insights of my exploits,
which only i am party to

words insistent on release,
written across my dreams
waking me for nightwork
before the lines are lost
to sleep's bewilderment,
written on scraps of my day
sticky-note-yellow
engulfing my desk until
transferred word for word,
notebook alters words to poem

madness rage lust injury
revenge satiation
slither from my pen,
not always intended
always kindred
to appetite for discourse,
words come

^

Biography

A lifelong native of Albuquerque New Mexico, which is in the desert southwest of the United States, Cathy Calkins frequently uses the beauty of the New Mexican landscape in her traditional haiku. A nurse, with 16 years of working in intensive care nurseries, she also has a degree in secondary education, and plans to finish her Master's degree in American History. In addition to haiku, she also writes free verse and short stories. She began writing as a teenager, and has been influenced by the works of Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Ray Bradbury, Charles de Lint, William Shakespeare, Robert Heinlein and Michael Herr. Music has also influenced her writing, including Janis Ian, Eric Clapton, The Doors, Lennon and McCartney and Carole King. A volume of haiku, in collaboration with Dean Groff, is now in its final editing, before being sent to the publishers. She contributes and is a board manager for MadPoets online magazine, at www.madpoets.com.