Joy in the Land of the Living

I.

Open the gate:

outside, the woods are quiet

inside, the city's sound

Tickled by 

wind impatient:

surprising joy

A bee's wings

buzz my ears

in honey sound

Stranger 

across the street:

in a moment, we're one

Reason undone

by logic's law:

lay down and give me a kiss

I kissed you

but all I tasted

was chocolate

Drunk with night

the morning stars

sang each other's songs

II.

Life's a record;

the joy

is in a name

She wore the colors of earth:

her face a ring

her palms the warmth

Marathon miles

a century smiles:

she was only thirty

The dream ended

when time was creeping 

out of sight

Orphans

laid her robe

in living earth

III.

I went for a walk

with God

in rapturous talk

A sermon on pity

is worthless if witty:

what does a good man feel?

Do we weep in joy,

or weep in pity?

Our soul is in the winter's grip

Embracing 

the salted herb

I tasted the honeyed fruit

IV.

The water is shallow

the fields are fallow:

five hens came home to roost

The mists of pleasure 

hide the treasure:

a land of dreams

Defiling desire:

her beauty

a train of youth

The stroll

of marriage:

two joined in weakness

V.

The earth

is where you've been before:

foundation of stone

Modest as cake

we walked

to the final day

Born into a world of joy:

the bones enwrapped, 

an earthly toy

Beauty in ashes:

her laugh

emanates above

He repents

but do we joy

in his release?

Note: This is fiction; the narrator "I" is not myself personally. Written for Haiku Heights' 5/26/2012 prompt, "Joy."  Also linked to dVerse. I was going to link it for the Saturday prompt because it started off on a similar theme, but then it got a bit too heavy for the theme, I thought.