An Aztec jade skull

I saw as a child still haunts;

beauty and horror 

Drink and sup and make 

merry before the sun comes up

to drag us all down 

Whether a trick of 

the eye or a mental lapse 

a stranger appears 

In dappled light the 

squirrels play among the trees, 

shaking the branches 

Beginnings tend to 

be easier then endings,

such as this haiku 

Flippant flowers bloom

but briefly with delicate

allure before death 

Bastions for beasts with 

brutal intentions begin 

to slowly crumble