Poetry in the Moment

An Epigram

2012-02-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Eros is the encoffiner of my poetry

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Death Epigram

2012-02-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Death's tail wags my Muse's dog

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Haiku

2012-02-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

for Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)

Charles Dickens
in a bookstore window...
homeless youth's gaze

Published on World Kigo Database

Love Haiku

2012-02-07T06:49:00.001-08:00

Love River...
she and I ankle-deep
in stars

Published on Prize Poem

Note: The Love River or Ai River is a river in southern Taiwan, known as a romantic place for couples to explore and relax

Blossom Haiku

2012-02-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

falling blossoms…
her last laugh
in my laughter

Published on Prize Poem

A Tanka

2012-02-06T05:16:00.001-08:00

a thin girl
carries a placard that reads
“We want bread
…and roses too!”
overcast skies above Athens

published in Haiku News, 1:4

Relationship Monostich

2012-02-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

beige clouds blurring my ancestors and I together

Published in Shot Glass Journal, #6, February 2012

A Monostich

2012-02-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

poetry loves transitive verbs but I fondle abstract nouns

Published in Shot Glass Journal, #6, February 2012

A Monostich

2012-02-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

night falls between her breasts the creaking bed by frosted windows

published in Shot Glass Journal, #6, February 2012

New Year Haiku

2012-02-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

do I need to wear
Father’s face over mine?
first sunrise

Published on the Asahi Haikuist Network (Feb. 3, 2012)

Spring Monostich

2012-02-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

spring break butterflies fluttering in twos I do it alone

published in Shot Glass Journal, #6, February 2012

A Monostich

2012-02-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

poetry peeks into bodies of others while reading the size of my heart

published in Shot Glass Journal, #6, February 2012

A Monostich

2012-02-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

azure skies blades of churning water slash each other

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Love in a Foreign Land: A Haiku Sequence

2012-02-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

April rain...
chasing memories
of my dream

love-in-a-mist...
is there a way back
for both of us?

one star
between bare branches . . .
thoughts of home

standing where
she left for the south...
carved names in snow

Published in Lynx, XXVII:1, February, 2012

Moon Monostich

2012-02-01T07:51:00.001-08:00

a heart-to-heart talk with midnight moon

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

For Years Now: A Tanka Sequence

2012-01-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

for W. G. Sebald

my hometown
memories hang from the eaves
of a rooming house
they tremble faintly
each time a day passes

loneliness
has her black eyes
through them
I see my past rolling
on the screen of spring nights

in mind space
time moves in my direction
it curls back
when I visit my mother
in daydreams

everyone I meet
speaks with a funny accent...
in dreams
I return to my hometown
an ocean away

Published in Lynx, XXVII:1, February, 2012

Moon Monostich

2012-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

plunge into the river of the moon where Li Po leaped

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Relationship Monostich

2012-01-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

my hand trembles under her blouse a train horning afar

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Dream Monostich

2012-01-30T06:56:00.001-08:00

the bird of youth comes in dreams singing my eulogy

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Dream Monostich

2012-01-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

the bird of youth comes in dreams singing my eulogy

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Monostich

2012-01-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

poetry shouts take the garbage out when I do home recycling

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Monostich

2012-01-29T07:03:00.000-08:00

farmhouses slipping by a CN train zips through the prairie

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Winter Monostich

2012-01-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

the shadow of poetry crosses the window filled with icicles

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Love Monostich

2012-01-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

love being pissed into a toilet my sex lying flat in bed

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Moon Monostich

2012-01-27T06:28:00.001-08:00

drunk on moonbeams poetry melts the ice inside me

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Moon Monostich

2012-01-27T06:28:00.000-08:00

drunk on moonbeams poetry melts the ice inside me

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011
reprinted on Salamander Cove (Jan., 31, 2012)

Winter Monostich

2012-01-27T06:27:00.001-08:00

the shadow of poetry crosses the window filled with icicles

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Tanka

2012-01-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

late into the night
unable to sleep again
I wander
the corridors of memory
unable to find EXIT

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

A Monostich

2012-01-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

white night I write into the darkness

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Haiku for the Courageous Egyptian Youth

2012-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

My Dear Fellow Poets/Friends:

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power. But, rather than celebrating this great day, the Egyptian youth are taking to the streets once again to protest the military's abuse of power.

Here is my haiku for these courageous young people:

Tahrir Square at dusk
"Down with military rule!"
a girl raises her arm

Published on World Kigo Database (Egypt)

Spring Tanka

2012-01-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

once again
the silence of a blank page
fills me with dread --
a lone star blinking
on the last night of spring

published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Winter Tanka

2012-01-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

the voice
inside my head
drags my feet
down the yellow brick road . . .
crows hover in this winter sky

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Loneliness Tanka

2012-01-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

eating alone
I scribble a few verse lines
on a napkin...
a long sigh emerges
from the waitress's pale lips

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Autumn Tanka

2012-01-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

autumn night...
I bait a crescent moon
with my mind
angling
for her flower heart

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Christmas Senryu

2012-01-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

no white Christmas…
Global Warming For Dummies
at 50% off

Published in Haiku News, 1:2, January 2012

Butterfly Tanka

2012-01-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

a summer butterfly
has flown my muse
into nowhere
I start envying
things that have wings

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Dream Haiku

2012-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

chasing the wind
on the first day of spring
dragon kite dream

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Loneliness Tanka

2012-01-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

measuring
the weight and length
of loneliness
I count the stars
sparkling in the spring sky

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Loneliness Haiku

2012-01-21T06:56:00.001-08:00

holding
winter moonlight in my hand
length of the night

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Relationship Haiku

2012-01-21T06:56:00.000-08:00

lamplit snow
pieces of her letter
on the wind

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

New Year Tanka

2012-01-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

a blue moon
on my fortieth New Year's Day
I still fail
to become a phoenix --
a heap of embers

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Autumn Haiku

2012-01-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

not a word
since our last moonlit kiss
yet autumn...

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Relationship Tanka

2012-01-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

the photo of her
wearing a lily-white dress
on that spring day...
it floats on the river
of my winter memories

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Summer Haiku

2012-01-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

Tabla class
summer rain against
the window

Published in Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011

Nostalgia Tanka

2012-01-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

a close-up
of mother and me...
between us
a surging sea
and nine autumns

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Dream Tanka

2012-01-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

climbing
a ladder against the wall
can I reach
the window of our childhood
and peek into your dream?

Published in Magnapoets, #9, January, 2012

Mirror Tanka

2012-01-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

staring
at myself in the mirror…
I march
into the summer of '89
reflected on the CNN news

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

A Haibu about Martin Luther King Day

2012-01-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King Day...
a butterfly kite goes down
behind the hill

Published on World Kigo Database (Martin Luther King Day)

New Year Senryu

2012-01-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

New Year dinner
my spinster aunt asks for
two fortune cookie

Published in Magnapoets, #9, January, 2012

Relationship Tanka

2012-01-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

I curl up
in the blanket
she gave me
the spring moonlight gathers
at the empty side of the bed

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Simply Haiku's "TOP TEN LIST"

2012-01-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

My Dear Friends:

I was just notified that I was on the Simply Haiku's "TOP TEN LIST" of the World's Finest Living English language Haiku Poets for the Year 2011 (Simply Haiku, 9:3,4, Autumn/Winter 2011)

Here are the selected haiku:

moonlit pond...
a frog penetrates
itself

(Simply Haiku, Summer 2011)

holding
winter moonlight in my hand
length of the night

(Simply Haiku, Autumn 2011)

winter dawn
a butterfly wakes up
in my dream

(Simply Haiku, Summer 2011)

Note:

We are asked frequently who our favorite English language haiku poets are. We think of an English language haiku poet as someone who writes haiku in the English language, even though it may be their second language…

Saša Važić and I (Robert D. Wilson) read through hundreds of publications searching for the finest living English language haiku poets. The selection process wasn't easy. We didn't compare notes or discuss potential winners during the first few readings. We individually pared down our list until each of us had approximately ten poets. From there we worked together discussing the poets and their poetry. A winner wasn't selected on the basis of a few good haiku. Although three are listed under each poet, we selected poets whose haiku were consistently superior to other haiku poets…

Read the full text here

Eleven Kinds of Winter Loneliness: A Haiku Sequence

2012-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

For Richard Yates

silence
between the moon and me
November snow

December roses --
looking at the photos
of my youth

the snowman
washed in moonlight
foreclosed home

winter raindrops
dotting my attic window
morning coffee stains

solstice…
the blizzard makes Toronto
the size of my room

Christmas morning
waking, I find myself
with just a pillow

the length
of my poems unpublished
year's end

new year
cobwebs in a corner
of the ceiling

the wind whips
the For Sale sign
New Year's dusk

sleepless…
cherry tree branches laced
with snowdrops

winter dream...
stirring embers, Prometheus
glances at me

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Nostalgia Kyoka

2012-01-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

eating a Big Mac...
alone in the attic
I ponder
the Chinese word for home:
a pig under the roof

Published in Prune Juice, #7, Winter 2012

Loving the Collective, Loving to work: A Haibun

2012-01-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

Strolling past Jianguo Road, Beijing, I see row upon row of workers in red uniforms doing their company cheer:

Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Give me a squiggly!
Give me an M! Give me an A! Give me an R! Give me a T!...

When working in state-run department stores, Chinese workers used to look like stern-faced mandarins, keeping a watchful eye on goods. They now sing company songs together, persuade all the passers-by to go into the store, and most importantly, answer picky customers’ questions with big smiles.

Red Guards, Red Guards…
anything new
under the rising sun

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

(Note: The title and the opening line of the haiku come from the lyrics of We Are Chairman Mao's Red Guards)

A Story about Life: A Haibun

2012-01-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

He holds the baby tightly outside a Starbucks window. Inside the cafe, she leans toward the man in Armani, whispering in his ear. Two cups of coffee untouched.

her silence . . .
the bare maple holding
a hazy moon

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

The Secret Code: A Haibun

2012-01-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

“We all held our breath, waiting for the electronic current to pass from one hemisphere of the cat's brain to the other…" The words explode out of his mouth.

"Please slow down, I can't keep up with you."

"My friend, you have the brain of a poet; it works too slowly. In short, we were successful. We heard the brain pulse loud and clear.”

long way home…
humming Yellow Submarine
to myself

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, November/December 2011

Christmas Haiku

2012-01-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

candlelit Christmas tree
in the basement apartment
shadows and I

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread

Christmas Haiku

2012-01-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

Advent candles --
a broken wooden cross
in the prayer book

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread

Christmas Haiku

2012-01-11T06:45:00.001-08:00

alone with my dog
the scent of Christmas candles
lingering

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread

Christmas Haiku

2012-01-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

alone with my dog
the scent of Christmas candles
lingering

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread

Loneliness Haiku

2012-01-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

alone at dusk
I add one more candle
to the cake

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread

Shadow Haiku

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

candlelit study
three shadows chase each other
around the wall

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread (Editor's Choice)

Editor's Comment:

Candles can be a source of entertainment as exemplified by the [haiku above].

Relationship Haiku

2012-01-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

alone by candlelight
thinking of that spring we met
and another spring…

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread (Editor's Choice)

Editor's Comment:

Chen-ou makes us linger reading this and trying to come to grasp with a lot of possibilities. Does “Alone” mean one or two? Then the double use of “spring” sends us off into many guesses about that other spring.

A Monostich

2012-01-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

I dream of the poem taking refuge at my breasts

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Relationship Tanka

2012-01-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

last day of spring
a pair of butterflies
fluttering
in and out of the silence
that stretches between us

Published on Romance Under A Waning Moon

Candle Haiku

2012-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

St. Gertrude website
he clicks to light a candle
for his daughter

published in Sketchbook, 6:6, Nov. / Dec. 2011 "candle(s)" Haiku Thread (Editor's Choice)

Editor's Comment:

I had to google St. Gertrude website to find out what Chen-ou’s haiku was all about. I found that the site features the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude, a museum in Idaho with over 60,000 artifacts, displaying 10,000 of these, and which has been operating for 80 years. What’s remarkable is that each object is accompanied with the story of who possessed and used it. Chen-ou highlights such individuality with “one by one” emphasizing the importance of each member of the family. I encourage you to google the site.

A Monostich

2012-01-08T07:58:00.001-08:00

the poem screams at me, The author is dead

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Moon Haiku

2012-01-07T07:27:00.003-08:00

Moon festival
curling myself into
a ball

Published in Fri Haiku, No 4, 2011

A Monostich

2012-01-07T07:27:00.001-08:00

gazing upon the newborn poem I trace its birthmark with my nose

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

A Monostich

2012-01-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Shenzhen workers lining up ants hurry westwards

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Autumn Haiku

2012-01-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

a leaf
clings to the maple tree
alone at twilight

Published in Fri Haiku, No 4, 2011

Moon Monostich

2012-01-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

winds howling ghostly pasts embrace the empty moon

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

The First Touch of Love: A Haibun

2012-01-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

When they arrived at Wasaga Beach, surprisingly only a few people were there.

They strolled along the white sand shore, soaking in the sight of the emerald-green water. Then, they saw a pair of seabirds glide over the water.

She broke the silence, whispering, “Have you ever been with a girl before?”

“Not … not exactly,” he stammered.

She smiled up at him, "When you watch me through your telescope, do you do it to yourself?”

He felt embarrassed and lowered his voice as he answered, “I used to… a long time ago.”

She leaned against him, murmuring, “You know when a woman wants a man, she gets all wet inside.”

Suddenly, she grabbed his right hand, placed it on her left leg, and slid his hand further and further up. When she began to moan, he shuddered, breathing more and more heavily…

He clutched her thigh and caught his breath; then he released his grip. “Already?” She smiled

a lone star
on the tip of a crescent moon
that summer in our eyes

Published in Contemporary Haibun Online, 7:4, December 2011

A Monostich

2012-01-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

gazing upon hairy bamboo sheaths girls giggle

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Lost in Translation: A Haibun

2012-01-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

O Canada…
remembering her monotone
of "what do you want?"

The day after the Civic Holiday, 2003, I was in the Ajax Go Station to buy a ticket to Toronto. I found quite a few people lining up. I got in line and waited for my turn, as all Canadians do.

"Next in line."

"Tan-ride ticket to Toronto."

"What?"

"Tan-ride tic-ticket to Toronto."

"What did you say?" She raised her voice.

"Tan-lide tic-ticket to To-toronto, please."

"I don't know what you were saying." She answered like a stern faced mandarin.

Her black co-worker, from whom I’d bought tickets several times, avoided eye contact with me.

"What do you want?"

I took out the notebook from my backpack, and wrote down “I want a ten-ride ticket to Toronto” on a blank page. I showed it to her and gave her my Visa card.

one-way platform
an unknown flower bending
to the wind

Published in Contemporary Haibun Online, 7:4, January 2012

Time Monostich

2012-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

a 7-11 store in Chinatown time is a passing guest of Yukon

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Shadow Tanka

2012-01-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

a white church
overgrown with ivy…
a raven
darts in and out of
the shadow of the cross

Published in American Tanka, January 2012

A tanka about Religion

2012-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

the priest claims
all creatures are naked
in God’s eyes . . .
an elusive smile
on his daughter’s crimson lips

Published in Atlas Poetica, Social Realism Special Feature, Jan. 2012

New Year Tanka

2012-01-02T07:38:00.002-08:00

a little cock
stands on the granary
greeting the sun
I start the first poem
in the Year of the Dragon

Published in Eucalypt Challenge 11, January 2012

New Year Tanka

2012-01-02T07:38:00.001-08:00

in my New Year dream
a golden dragon hovers
above the sea...
I brood over having
a child of my own

Published in Eucalypt Challenge 11, January 2012

Nostalgia Tanka

2012-01-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

bare maple tree
standing on the front lawn…
with no one around
I speak to it
in my mother tongue

2011 "Best of the Best" Poetry Award (Tanka Category)
selected by the Founding Editor of Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine

New Year Haiku

2012-01-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

New Year
a dewdrop holding
the morning sun

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, New Year's Haiku Festival, 2012
and Wednesday Haiku Feature (Issa's Untidy Hut, Jan. 2)

New Near Senryu

2012-01-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

fans camp outside
for my poetry reading...
New Year's dream

Published in Sketchbook, 6:6, New Year's Haiku Festival, 2012

Nostalgia Tanka

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001-08:00

mid-autumn night…
the wind whispers to me
Chinese words
that offer me a home
in the shape of a moon

Tanka First Place, 2011 San Francisco International Competition Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California
Published in Mariposa

Judge's Comment

The originality of the images coupled with the evocative sense of ‘stranger in a strange land’ merited a 1st Place award. The first two lines appear to lead to a traditional path. The third line is the turning point that brings this tanka to the next level. The fourth and fifth lines complete the journey. After reading this tanka I found myself looking at the moon with new eyes and listening to the language of the wind.

Relationship Tanka

2011-12-31T06:51:00.000-08:00

her toothbrush
in my medicine chest
declares residency…
gazing at the mirror
a face hard to recognize

Tanka Third Place, 2011 San Francisco International Competition Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California
Published in Mariposa

Judge's Comment

The apparently effortless humor of the poet adds lightness to this tanka and makes it stand out from other submissions. But there is something more: a conflict present in the last two lines. This tanka led me toward another reading of Salad Anniversary by Machi Tawara. For this I thank the poet.

New Year's Eve Haiku

2011-12-30T06:37:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve. . .
writing my ex's pet name
in the window frost

Published on the Asahi Haikuist Network (Dec. 30, 2011)

Autumn Monostich

2011-12-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

my poem fluttering against autumn gusts

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Summer Monostich

2011-12-28T07:49:00.001-08:00

the chime recites my poem caught by a summer breeze

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

A Day and Eternity

2011-12-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

day carries me through
night takes me beyond
between day and night
I float among words

hope locks me up
angst sets me free
outside hope and angst
I wander through poems

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 211

Shadow Kill

2011-12-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

Drinking alone by moonlight.
Shadow, I miss us having the time
to talk everything to death
like we used to under the sun.

He says nothing, staring at the moon.
Then I club his head, slit his throat
pull forth the guts, tear the body
into pieces through which I wade.

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

A Tanka

2011-12-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

long day's work...
the Chinese takeout brings
the steamy smell
from Mom's Taiwan kitchen
to my Ajax attic

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Relationship Tanka

2011-12-24T06:27:00.005-08:00

she and I
now speak different languages
but sleep in the same bed....
what was and what is
an ocean apart

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Dream Tanka

2011-12-24T06:27:00.003-08:00

I can't open
my eyes in spring sunlight
can you, Issa?
this floating life
is a dream without you

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Summer Tanka

2011-12-24T06:27:00.001-08:00

a butterfly
beats its wings on the window...
I blanket
my one-week-old tanka
waiting for summer rain

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Summer Tanka

2011-12-24T06:26:00.001-08:00

a raven
perches on the white cross
by the roadside
of Highway 401...
summer clouds fleeting

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Loneliness Tanka

2011-12-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

another holiday
alone in the attic
a fly
batters itself restlessly
against the sunlit window

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Autumn Tanka

2011-12-23T07:02:00.001-08:00

startled pigeons
fill the autumn sky...
thoughts of her
dart across my mind
like tongues of fire

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

A Tanka

2011-12-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

with the rope
of my unpublished poems
I hang myself
in a rooming house
filled with windowless nights

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

Moon Tanka

2011-12-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

hunter's moon
rises over the attic
night blankets
my fallen dreams...
their twisted mutters

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011

A Tanka about Writing

2011-12-21T07:49:00.001-08:00

like a silkworm
spinning its cocoon
I wrap
my grief-stricken heart
with words and imagery

Published in Sketchbook, 6:5, September/October 2011