Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024

I.

in the garden
something aflutter
a hummingbird?



II.


holy terrors
promenading in costumes
Halloween memories




III.

crow conference
in the trees
pandemonium



IV.

bone-on-bone
eighty-nine years
still walking



V.

Halloween night
rain dampens
the spirits



VI.
 
apples rotting
on the branch
birds and bugs


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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024

I.

dead leaves
underfoot
potato chips




II.

wind
blowing
silence




III.

two crows
fighting
road kill




IV.

gust of wind  leaves twirling in choreographic patterns




V.

red leaves
everywhere
a masterpiece



VI.

heavy rain
on the umbrella
drum roll



VII.

shocking red
maple trees
breathless



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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024


I.

Walking   piles of leaves swooshing  here and there



II.

Dawdling on this clear, crisp morning
What better way to pass the time!



III.

birdsongs
chainsaws
all in the mix

IV.

today

all is painted yellow
yellow leaves
yellow chrysanthemums
yellow sun
yellow truck
yellow taxi
yellow submarine

V.

Two eagles on a treetop   swarming crows



VI.

 Singing in the rain   a choir of birds



VII.

Twilight   black clouds   a streetlamp glowers



VIII.

Evening walk  dark streets alight with Halloween ghouls


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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024


I.

Flock of wrens    foraging poetry



II.

Downpour  no umbrella   the smell of wet leaves



III.

rush hour
slow walk home


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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024


I.

Giant Halloween skeleton   momento mori



II.

friendly dogs barking
wake up!



III.

Morning lethargy  walking into a leafy-orange burst of light


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Marie Bortolotto 2024

Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto 2024

I.

Someone pruned my favourite rosebush    no more blooms



II.

Blustery clouds whirlwind of crows    oracular murmuration



III.

Myriads of leaves falling from the sky   raindrops


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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto

I.

The decay of autumn roses   one more blooms



II.

How I love autumn!   golden-cloaked leaves aflutter



III.

Red alchemy  the japanese maple tree enchants



IV.

walking  gothic afternoon  a grey gloom gathers



V.

Old Chinese woman beware of the dog   lost in translation



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Tanka
by Otagaki Rengetsu (1791- 1875)

In a mountain village
alone, gazing at the moon...
To whom I might write
“A beautiful evening!”
then await... there is no one.

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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto

I.

leaf blowers    nemesis of peace



II.

leaf blowers  
whatever happened to the art of raking?



III.

old momentos  declutter the mind   

IV.

japanese maple flaming red    the heart skips a beat



V.

soon, trees bare their branches    winter's wrath



VI.

sleeping child
break free of thoughts
the world sings!

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Marie Bortolotto 2024

Poetic Utterances (Non-Traditional Haiku)
by Marie Bortolotto 2024


I.

pedestrianism
person in need
crosses the street



II.

cheery hello    raking leaves, the woman's face brightens



III.

twilight    tree silhouettes against the fading blue-grey sky



IV.

whispering voices in the library     
old memories of evening Mass 

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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto

I.

walking   worries fall away like autumn leaves



II.

walking    silence, only the crackling of leaves


III.

walking alone
where are my cat friends?



IV.

city traffic
money drives people
around and around



V.

today    the sunshine eclipses tiresome thoughts


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Free Verse Haiku
Taneda Santoka (1882-1940)
from Santoka :: Grass and Tree Cairn
Translations by Hiroaki Sato

Taneda Santoka was a Japanese haiku poet
who specialized in free verse haiku during
the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

This the tooth that came out just like that
Horori to nuketa ha de wa aru

Cold clouds hurry
Samui kumo ga isogu

My hometown’s distant tree buds
Furusato wa toukushite ki no me

Thump on my hat was a camellia
Kasa e pottori tsubaki datta

The moon bright I go home
Tsuki ga akarukute kaeru

Clutching a balloon that wants to fly into the blue sky child on my back
Aozora ni tobitaki fuusen o shikato motsu sena no ko yo

Poetic Sketches
Free Verse Haiku by Marie Bortolotto 2024

1/

rain falls relentlessly     a rosebud blooms

2/

sudden downpour --
soaked in myriads of golden-red leaves

3/

autumn storm --
petrified roses tremble
in the wind

4/

heavy-footed    the sound of birdsong enlightens


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Tanka
by Otagaki Rengetsu (1791- 1875) 

1/

Lines
in the twilight mist
where they go I cannot see
I envy the wild geese
only their voices trailing behind

2/

The mountain-going robes
of a priest
soaked through
in the pine wind amid these peaks --
a voice in the mist.

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Poetic Sketches
Marie Bortolotto

1/

after

the

storm

 black-robed -- crucifix hanging

the

Russian

Orthodox

priest

inspects

his

church

property

2/

alone
in the rain 
a sparrow
takes wing

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

oh, this rainy
red-soaked
heart of mine
relinquishes
fallen leaves
to the sullen
autumn wind!

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

guarded heart --
a siege of rain
disarms me

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The Garden Of Poetry
by Marie Bortolotto 2024

Let me share a secret --
to enter the garden of poetry, avoid haste
or straying from the path, grasping
                        every eye-catching appearance
                                            that beguiles you.

Which do you choose;
           this one or that one?

Don't be fooled.
Let go of petty hankerings.
           You must learn to slow down, linger,
                        fall in love with the world, again, and again.

 
The way in is not through your eyes, but ears.

Listen! Wait!
For ripening speech, still, holy on the vine;
           for muted utterances to sprout under your feet
                        from the heart of existence.


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Poetic Sketches
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

rain-soaked morning
no one wandering about
only me and a crow

2/

sheltering arms -- an umbrella of red-soaked leaves


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Poetic Utterances
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

your last breath
doesn't exist --
so you can relax
and breath now

2/

an autumn butterfly
among dead flowers
seeking solace


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Poetic Utterances.

1/

It’s okay to breathe
shallowly to understand
how your heart works.

excerpt from “Somewhere in the Looming Fear”
by ANNE CECELIA HOLMES

2/

The future is a rumour like the past.
The new anxiety supplants the old anxiety.

excerpt from “Nebraska”
by MICHAEL DUMANIS

Art by Marie Bortolotto

Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

gloomy clouds -- a ray of sunlight peeks through grey thoughts

Marie Bortolotto Art

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

underfoot --
faded voices
of dead leaves

 

2/

construction site --
the pink Chinese Church is resurrected

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

rain-soaked
under an umbrella
golden leaves

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

walking on sunshine
how beautiful!

2/

morning walk --
a melodious bird song
fills my heart

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

October sunshine!
walking through a leaf storm

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

ruffled crow
on a stop sign --
red alert!


2/

retirement dreams -- an old man pushes a bread delivery trolley

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto

glittery dew --
the last rosebud
sheds tears

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Poetic Sketch
Marie Bortolotto

a black crow keeps watch
atop
the pink Chinese Church

Poetic Sketches
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

sad memory
mother washing
breakfast dishes

2/

fluffy clouds
blue skies
walk onwards


3/

What should I do?
So many poems awaiting a voice!

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Poetic Sketch
by Marie Bortolotto


Buddhist temple
on the horizon
a mountains sits

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Poetic Sketches
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

how sad!

last flowers of summer
turn their death masks
toward the ashen sky


2/

breathing in
breathing out
each day
a miracle


3/

lost poems --
arriving from nowhere
memory releases them
into the wordless realm


4/

searching for poems --
how many miles have I walked in these shoes?

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Haiku
by Marie Bortolotto

chilling wind --
a rosebud clings
to the branch

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Short Verses
by Marie Bortolotto

1/

fleeting moment --
I release my grasp
as
a
dead
leaf
falls
to
the
ground

2/

an old couple shuffle
along the path
with heavy footsteps
a stroke of insight
lightens my heart

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Short Verse
by Marie Bortolotto

autumn eve
yellowed leaves fall
this way and that
scattered thoughts
in the wind

Marie Bortolotto Artist

" Poetry is the way to live with a true and honest heart."

- Ozawa Roan (1723 - 1801) from Unsung Heroes of  Old Japan
  written by Isola Michifumi

Ozawa Roan was a waka poet and scholar of Japanese classical
literature, who lived during the mid-Edo Period

Art - Marie Bortolotto

Short Verses

1/

Reflecting on this fleeting
world
makes me sad --
like rain from the sky
my tears falling

2/

How enviable
true to their hearts
they bloom
such fleetingly, gracefully
falling cherry blossoms


~ Rengetsu, Japanese Artist, Poet, Nun (1791 - 1875)

Art by Marie Bortolotto