KevinPaulMiller

metro

trains run through the galleries
yellow checkers through steamy streets

toughness and grit behind faint smiles
in the shadow of fallen towers

commerce is the rhythm, and the lyrics
are in every language of the world

on a good day, street musicians
open for the headline act

and marquee lights illuminate
the sweet tension of another night

player

he mastered
the equations of chance

then cut the deck
with a hopeful hand

and the sense
to ride momentum

beyond the nearest
neon star

Bela

genius in blue jeans
with an unlikely axe
strange stage mates flex
tones of a different shade

universal language escapes
the steel constraints of genre
grace notes kiss the grateful
ears of myriad disciples

girl in the dream

mensa mind
flashing in her
rock star eyes
cheekbones cut
into your memory

walking like a cat
along a high wall
on a cool night
borrowed
from your youth

detective story

unraveling the knots of crime
tied by the most nefarious men
and women who spin
their deadly webs

down dark lanes
with a trusted friend
to apprehend
the night itself

Kevin Paul Miller lives in Southern California where he writes verse as well as haiku and
related forms. His work has been published in Lily, Half-Drunk Muse, Modern Haiku,
Heron’s Nest, LYNX, Road Runner, Stylus and Full Moon. He is a member of the Tanka and
Haiku Societies of America.