I Do's Tanka

sunlight

tinted with the scent

of tulips ...

their I do's echo

in this hospital room

 Gusts, Fall/Winter 2020

Red Dress Day Tanka

written one day after Red Dress Day

another

indigenous girl missing ...

the minister’s response

with a twist to his mouth

I'm working on it

PoemHunter, May 6 2021

Smoky Darkness Haiku

Two Hundred and Fifth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

howling

into smoky darkness

stray dogs in Delhi

PoemHunter, May 4 2021

Midnight Shift and Lamppost Shadow Tanka

midnight shift done ...

in the lamppost shadow

a worker
takes off his mask and whistles
slightly out of tune

Gusts, Fall/Winter 2020

Last Breath and Delhi Skies Tanka

Two Hundred and Fourth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

the last breath

escapes their father's lips ...

his masked sons' anger

burns like row upon row of pyres 

darkening the Delhi skies

PoemHunter, May 3 2021

Festival of Sorrows

wave upon wave

of black-hatted heads

one scream, then many ...

mud-stained kippahs

in the gathering dark

lines of body bags

distant sirens 

the faraway look 

of a lone boy

PoemHunter, May 1 2021

The Same Face, One Hundred Days Later

This Brave New World, V

Biden won! 

And so did corporate elites!

with fists in cold air

rows of masked protesters march 

into the gathering dark 

two masked women

sit behind the President

who gives a speech ...

the word growth becomes heavy

and heavier on a migrant's mind

NeverEnding Story, April 30 2021

Notes:

1 "The Big Role That Big Donors Still Play, Quietly, for Joe Biden," The New York Times, Feb. 12 2021, updated

2 "It's about time," USA Today, April 29

For the first time in history, two women sat behind a president during an address to a joint session of Congress. 

The historic image during Joe Biden's speech Wednesday is 245 years in the making since the nation's founding.

"Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President," Biden said as he took the podium. "No president has ever said those words from this podium and it's about time."   

Added: Two Hundred and Third Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

the hands

of my grandfather's clock

dragging each second

in my quarantined mind's eye

the three-year-old me

Zipped Body Bags Haiku

Two Hundred and Third Entry,  Coronavirus Poetry Diary

zipped body bags

this lingering smell

of monsoon rain

PoemHunter, April 29 2021

Sleets of Moonlight Tanka

dust motes
adrift in the sleets
of moonlight
my father slips in
and out of himself

Gusts, Fall/Winter 2020

Chinglish and Connard Tanka

One Hundred Ninety-Ninth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

snaking lines

outside the testing center

a white man

speaks Chinglish at me

I respond with a smile, connard!

(French, one of the official languages of Canada: asshole!)

NeverEnding Story, April 27 2021

Added: Two Hundredth Entry

a rover

searches the Martian dust

for ancient life ...

a masked shelter cook mutes the TV

then starts chopping bags of potatoes

Added: Two Hundred and First Entry, written in response to Chloé Zhao's Oscar award winning movie, Nomadland

I'm just houseless ...

this social distancing 

between me

and a masked old woman

with an accent like mine

Added: Two Hundred and Second Entry

the smoke

from row upon row

of funeral pyres

streaking the Delhi skies  ...

a stray howls into the night

Migrant's Hands Tanka

wrinkled lines

on this migrant's hands ...

at sunrise

a letter to the son

he has never seen

Tanka Society of America Anthology, 2020

Crane Rising into the Light Tanka

after layoffs

the first outing

with my dog ...

I see a crane rising

into the light

Frameless Sky, 13, 2020

One Breath Away Tanka

the pull

of my girlfriend's hand . . .

one breath away

from a red butterfly

coupled with another

Frameless Sky, 13, 2020

Sliver of Moon and Short Life Haiku

a sliver of moon 

in the predawn sky … 

this short life 

German Translation

eine Scherbe vom Mond 

im Vormorgengrauen ... 

dieses kurze Leben 

Chrysanthemum, 29, April 2021 

One Year Later

With a frown, the chief medical officer again remarks, "This is a marathon, not a sprint."

"But even a marathon has a finish line. This virus has always been few steps ahead of us," comes an unexpected response from a young reporter in the back corner of the conference room.

surge upon surge 

my morning tea bag

steeping darker

German Translation

Ein Jahr später 

Mit einem Stirnrunzeln merkt der Chefarzt wiederholt an: „Dies ist ein Marathon, kein Sprint.“ 

„Aber auch ein Marathon hat eine Ziellinie. Dieses Virus war uns immer ein paar Schritte voraus“, war die unerwartete Antwort eines junger Reporters in der hinteren Ecke des Konferenzraums. 

Schwall um Schwall 

mein morgendlicher Teebeutel 

dunkler durchtränkt 

Chrysanthemum,29, April 2021 

Black Man and White Cop Tanka

written in response to the Derek Chauvin trial verdict for the killing of George Floyd and Joe Biden's remarks

for a moment

our country can breathe without fear ...

until somewhere

some young black man collides

with the shadow of a white cop

NeverEnding Story, April 21 2021

FYI:  ... This can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America. Let’s also be clear that such a verdict is also much too rare... excerpted from Remarks by President Biden on the Verdict.

Food Bank and Red Martian Dust Tanka

lines of people

snake behind the food bank

on TV

a drone flies high then lands

in the red Martian dust

PoemHunter, April 20 2021

Cherry Blossom Rain Tanka

a girl
pirouetting alone
in the cherry blossom rain
as if tomorrow
has yet to find her

German Translation

ein Mädchen 

dreht Pirouetten allein 

im Kirschblütenregen 

als ob ein Morgen 

sie noch vorfinden müßte 

Chrysanthemum, 28, 2020

A Bank of Dark Clouds Haiku

One Hundred Ninety-Fifth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

the wisps spread

into a bank of dark clouds ...

three-million mark

NeverEnding Story, April 18 2021

Added: One Hundred Ninety-Sixfth Entry

thunderclouds

another coffin lowered

into a mass grave

Added: One Hundred Ninety-Sevenfth Entry

the mournful sounds

of a lone Scottish piper

echo off church walls ...

the masked Queen in black 

alone for the first time

FYI: Wilfred Frost, CNBC anchor and son of David Frost, said on Saturday morning that the queen's "bubble" was her husband prior to his death. He added her being alone at his funeral is quite poignant, saying, she will literally "have no shoulder to cry on," "Queen Elizabeth says goodbye to Prince Philip with a note laid on his casket," Today, April 17, 2021

Added: One Hundred Ninety-Eighth Entry

sharp spike in cases ...

through the hallway murmurs

of triage care

Quarantine and Robopet Senryu

self-quarantined

the robopet shadows me
from room to room

German Translation

in Selbstquarantäne 

das Robo-Haustier beschattet mich 

von Zimmer zu Zimmer 

Chrysanthemum, 28, 2020