A Tanka For All Seasons
A Tanka For All Seasons
I
Small pronged buds simmer
shrill feathered pipes like organ
young leaves by wet branch
poetic pump drinks and drains
ruffled clouds talk to valley
Lilac bush turns black
hit by armfuls of lightning
flash-bulbs of thunder
now the rain is coming down
smudges of night as if coal
Garden listening
to the lonely drops of rain
branch splashes window
creates a pattern of vein
that quickly turns to droplets
Rain causes mind blink
lightning illuminated
inaccessible
area of consciousness
will suddenly see the light
Mop of hair from hat
weather buried in the mind
a stammering mush
these seasons stand against me
till resurrection of spring
August nights ripen
fresh soil swollen and spongy
Elm decomposes
this trespasser without sound
raindrops fill roof and gutter
The rain is alone
trespasser watching the night
drips off roof gutter
collect rain as loneliness
silent weeping beads witness
II
Wait for sky to wake
from a deep serious grey
this rain whips the air
drones of wind twirl on a course
hood from coat over our ears
Astonished pine trees
offer alarmed calls to spring
awkward wooden home
birds prisoned due to the rain
to avoid the denim blue.
Pine cones pop in flame
warmth in a grey boiling smog
a blue morning cold
summer snow in the desert
our lips frozen still will stick
Choking shallow tears
hear crumbling leaf silence
summer says hello
blinding with flashing sun
these old souvenir snapshots
March April and May
set free like the bulls in Spain
cry the frenzied birds
our galoshes frivolous
same with our unbuttoned coats
summer breaks on through
a tanka for all seasons
swan song to grandstand
overshared nature of spring
dancing with the winter’s cold
Seasons do not miss
safe from night of fire for heat
to budding tulips
hiding face in a handkerchief
to sun bathing barely dressed.
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Nicely written tanka that provides vivid imagery. Well done, Jamie.
Thank you Phyllis. Jamie