Sonnet 38 – Intriguing Uniqueness by Dennis Lange

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From high above, the tiny figures move
Like clones, their pace and look almost the same.
They seem as poured from mold, or in a groove,
Pale pieces playing parts within a game.

E’en from the level of the street, the mass
Keeps marching much in step like armies file,
Their faces – this or that – all fit a class:
A studied look or quick-lived frown or smile.

E’en greeting or a nod won’t tell the tale;
It takes relationship before one can
Discover what is hidden by the veil
And find the hidden thoughts that make the man.

From far away, men look the same, like ants.
It is the closest look that separates, enchants.

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photo by Marcelo Terraza at http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mmfzcdy/%3E+Block+1

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2016.

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Oh, Shiloh! by Dennis Lange

By Johnston led, Confederates
…Were cats along the way
And crept up on the Union, Grant,
…The unsuspecting prey

At Pittsburg Landing where they camped –
…That’s not the name we know.
There, near a church called place of peace,
…Was war – Oh, Shiloh! ohhh!

The unprepared were driven back;
…Two miles of ground were lost –
And men! The South had gained that day
…But Johnston was the cost.

The general, his many men,
…And even more the foe
Had bled away the last of life
…Near peace – Oh, Shiloh! ohhh!

Night fell and Grant, saved by the bell
…(That is, by troops of Buell),
Though beaten badly would attack
…The morrow with new fuel.

The first day was the Union’s ebb;
…On Monday was its flow.
With greater force, they took the same
…Two miles. Oh, Shiloh! ohhh!

The greater loss in men and land
…Upon the second day
That balanced what the Union gave
…Was suffered by the Gray.

Two thousand nearly, for each side,
…Received a fatal blow.
And thousands more were casualties
…For naught! – Oh, Shiloh! ohhh!

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2016.

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In The Season Of The Battle by Dennis Lange

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In the season of the battle,
Restless nations test their arms,
Like two bucks in mating season
Fighting for a new doe’s charms. 

Nations fight their foes with armies.
Armies fight their foes with men.
Men of flesh and blood are fragile
They still lose when nations win.

Like the leaves in their war season
Many wear the green of life.
Some few turn all shades of yellow;
Others bleed out in the strife. 

In the season of the battle,
Some will stay and some will fall.
Hardy are the heroes standing,
Honored those who give their all.

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photo by Agnes Scholiers at http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/nFStM9k/Leaves

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2015.

 

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Three Rock Haiku by Dennis Lange

Rocky Stream

The stones flow
In a hard river
Past the shore.

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Crafted With Care

Stone mason,
A circled circle –
An artist.

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The Rock Ranks

All armies:
Cold, hard, dead, and stone
In the end.

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Stream – photo by Graham Soult at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mHT0JxO/Texture+-+Cobbles

Crafted – photo by Adrian van Leen at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mmzRdU0/wheeled+hole+in+the+wall

Ranks – photo by coolhewitt23 at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/oCmFCyW/stone+soldiers+fortress

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* The haiku I write are lines of 3-5-3 syllables instead of 5-7-5.

See Haiku article here for explanation, if needed: https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/haiku/

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2015.

 

 

 

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