5 Poems

Summer Love

(1 tanka and 4 haikus)


1.
They peak in August:
long, unwinding ribbons of
wrap-around love calls.

Heard, not seen, cicadas start –
then crickets and katydids.


2.
Hard to believe, such
volume from membranes and wings
in strident courtship.


3.
Relayed rattles in
lovelorn insect surround-sound:
sheer desperation.


4.
Hummy, buzzy sounds
along with higher choirs in
roadside romances.


5.
Frantic clicks and chirps
must outrun the coming frost
for next year’s chorus.

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