Of Honor and Composure
Cherry blossoms fall
Petals descend silently
He hears each last one
A nearby stream soothes
Over time rocks become smooth
By its persistence
Many souls congress
Living, breathing habitat
All in harmony
Insects buzz about
Dragonflies are most graceful
Landing upon reeds
Frogs croak at nothing
To hear themselves, they enjoy
Tonguing any prey
A sword remains sheathed
To expose the blade means death
For the opponent
Up above is blue
Though the sun will be setting
And colors will change
The meadow is green
Lush grass flows far into trees
A distant forest
Calming winds blow soft
Flowing through the scenery
Upon our hero
He sits in mediation
Upon a gentle hillside
His thoughts in focus
A grey kimono
A sign of nobility
From subdued colors
He is deep in thought
Quiet reflection of life
Of what he has learned
Mastery of martial arts
Skill with katana unmatched
A code of Honor
Surpassed his master
And then set out on his own
No more to learn there
Traveling alone
The way of the samurai
It is in his blood
For years he did train
One can never stop learning
Each day, new lessons
Mind is well above
The way that others would think
At one with the world
From the deepest well
Is where he draws capacity
Move beyond action
Sun begins to set
Divine color paints the sky
Breathtaking vision
He senses presence
Emerging from the forest
With sinister plans
A rival appears
To claim the life of this man
Focus singular
The dark to his light
He rushes with blade in hand
Intentions to kill
Light stands to defend
Withdrawing his katana
Swords clash, metals meet
Even in power
Their strength is but one aspect
A battle of skill
Wit vies with cunning
Steel meets steel again and again
Only one will win
Dark has no Honor
Does not abide by the code
An army for hire
No room for light
In the blackest dynasty
His blood must be spilt
An old samurai
That has gained too much repute
As a force of right
Their numbers, endless
He fights with all he has left
It is not enough
Many of theirs, dead
Dark assassin, among them
Light fought with Honor
Battlefield, silent
The sun has set, all is dark
Gentle stream runs red
GuNNhead 
August 14, 2009 at 1:59 pm
“Frogs croak at nothing
To hear themselves, they enjoy
Tonguing any prey” is wonderful and my second favorite is..
“Battlefield, silent
The sun has set, all is dark
Gentle stream runs red”
Congrats on your first true attempt at epic haiku/poetry, it mustn’t have been easy. Keep it up!
August 31, 2009 at 4:46 am
Thanks for the kind words
Poems are not my forte
So, yes, this was hard!
August 16, 2009 at 5:48 pm
An epic haiku
unmatched by any others
A very good read
August 31, 2009 at 4:54 am
Words of praise in form
It’s an awesome idea
My hard work pays off
March 13, 2010 at 3:27 am
Wow, this truly was a special, one-of-a-kind piece. I hope you’re extremely proud of yourself.
My favorite haiku remains:
Frogs croak at nothing
To hear themselves, they enjoy
Tonguing any pray
It’s brilliant you were able to create 31 epic haikus. Sometimes I wish I could interview you about your stories in the event that you someday publish a book, as a sort of “special feature” for the reader. You made a logical story, with details about the scenery and about each character in haiku format. I don’t know if you realize how difficult that is. You’re a very special writer. And the title fits very well with the epic, oriental warrior surrounded by beautiful colors and nature theme you have going on.