baby is crying
the three year old is “why-ing”
daddy fell off his pulpit
one eye spied red-blooded male
thought it okay to take life
With frayed emotions
the whisperer in the night
its paper-thin wings
combating inner demons
- release your anxiety
Dejected psyche
it's not a computer game
prove the demons wrong
deny their dark existence
- quiet with your inner thoughts
the Biltmore Hotel
appears through my car window
by my new office
two workplaces as bookends
to forty years and one life
TO THE WHY OF WARS
Why are there still wars?
A perennial question;
A simple answer:
God gives humans their free will;
They choose theirs, instead of His:-
THIRSTY PEACE WALLOWING
In life’s wet streamings–
Sweat, tears, and painful peeing–
Peace wallows in thirst:-
Today’s warring wet waters,
Quenching greed’s evil thirstings:-
golden leaves drifting
trees whisper in the wind
forlorn reveries-
trees once wearing stained glass hues
hold a few golden children
your gaze hides a love
entrenched deep within your heart
peeking through the veil
a shy glance that holds my world
like dahlia blooms all seasons
the sun still rises
the moon also but shyly
following cycles
as certain as my feelings
for you though you notice not
My love slowly grew
Since I found someone new: you.
I always just knew
That you would soon love me too.
For you, I'll live this life through.
A gurgling brook
Surrounded by large oak trees
Flowers everywhere
And a blanket for the ground
Best picnic place ever found!
FOREST SOULS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
burst of vibrancy
leaves amber, peach, and crimson
late autumn harvest
a time of serenity
forest souls sparking to life
Was it I wonder
For cracks on heels he was mocked
Or to meander.
No, to have for values walked
That he was heavily docked.
______________________
Tanka (Senryu + couplet) |12.09.2025 | irony, meander, values
SILENT FOREST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
silent forest deep
ancient secrets guarded, kept
mossy paths unfold
the past whispers, tales told
nature's wisdom to behold
spider web artwork
a dewy autumn morning
bead embroidery
adds shine to everyday life
utility is z e r o
The brooding moorland
Is windswept and desolate...
And gives nothing back.
In this vast, hushed upper-land...
A very dreadful beauty!
-------------------------------------
Inside that wide void...
A resounding emptiness
Which fills the whole sky.
For never greater volume
With such solitude than here.
-------------------------------------
Strange, shrill calling birds
Above the rippling heather;
Their ragged shadows
Buoyed up on combing waves
Pushed out with each surge of wind.
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Specific Types of Tanka Poems
Read wonderful tanka poetry on the following sub-topics:
art, animals, christmas, death, family, flowers, food, friendship, funny, kids, life, love, music, nature, nursery, parents, sadness, school, spring, sports, summer, war, winter
and more.
Definition | What is Tanka in Poetry?