5 tanka trials (5)

A Christmas Moment
Christmas lights flickered
In the darkening twilight
I beheld a smile
A beaming more radiant than
Moonglow through leafy silhouettes


Black Beauties
Fearsome black twins
Growling at strange intrusions
Flashing hostile fangs
Feigning ferocity to all
But truly amiable dogs

Bouquet
Garden flowers wait
For the beautiful lady
With gentle hands pluck
Roses, Azaleas in bloom
To grace a potter’s fine urn

Fading
Where is yesterday’s
Colored mantle on the lawn?
Gone without bidding
Adieu to the vibrant scene
Leaving only boring green

Ants
Hush now and be still
Listen to the hustling ants
Leaves, kernels, grains
Busy lugging and hauling
Precious gifts to the Queen

Taal Volcano

...........................Taal Volcanoooooo

it’s
just
a little
islet afloat
in an expanse
so serene and quiet
only a pulsating ember
creeps out of the milky mist
blazing violence now rarely seen
children on horseback on your slopes
unaware of the havoc you once caused

Light And Dark

Oh, the dark is a bottomless hole
Where evil and malice hold cabal
Conspiring against joy and delight
From fear and angst they brew
A maelstrom of nightmares
And watering roots of torment

Ah, Light, a boundless sky
Radiant with rainbows and
Swallows endlessly streaming
On a backdrop of green forests
And magnificent mountain crests
A display of God’s munificence

Darkness hides in inky pits
Conceals malice and malignant guilt
Light shines bright in splendor
Proclaiming truth and beauty
Yet Light thrives only in darkness
Without it no shine or glory

Leaving By Taxi

Tell him not to go
Tug at his coat sleeves
Cry out in plea
Won’t you?

He’s going now
All suited up in black
Sullen cabbie waits
In a gaudy hack

Cab fare is ready
Two minted coppers
On his very eyes
The flag went down

The taxi crept
In an unhurried pace
The radio droned a hymn
I heard him hum the tune

The hack sputtered
Bade goodbye to each block
Past known haunts and faces
Turning last into a gated arch

Being Human

Lord I do not wish
To hide from you
I’m too lazy, I say

You molded me
From lowly clay
Am I to blame?

Can I help it
If I err?
Only human, I say

Free will is
A handy phrase
Is it really there?

Glory I can’t own
The Fall, as well
Not mine to will, I say

It is God’s grace
If undeserved
Failure is the Devil’s

Conscience perplexed
Helpless yet blamed
Innocent but guilty

Simple minded me
In a quandary, accept
A mystery, I say

Crossings

Don’t change the linen yet
It’s still warm
With charm and laughter

Pat the sofa later
The hollow could still be seen
On the silky cushions

Let the blinds stay folded
The sunbeam remains bright
Casting soothing shadows

The bud is not in full bloom
Hold the florist’s shears
For another day

Let us not be eager
To shut the gate
Not just yet

5 Tanka Trials (4)

The Lovers
Lovers cowering
In the long shadows of dawn
Fearful to be seen
Anxious of the consequence
Of last night’s wanton delights

Indiscretion
Do you think in dread
That your indiscretion leads
To disaffection?
Fear not, a plucked rose remains
As sweet as those in the bower

The Quest
I sought in earnest
In secret paths untrodden
Neither man nor beast
Dare go the perilous quest
But only you can give me rest

At First Glimmer
I might chance to see
Your loveliness and your grace
In the first glimmer
Are you prettiest in sunlight
Or in the glow of full moon?

Divine Moment
I watched from the ridge
Careful not to disturb birds
Singing praise to you
The blooms blushed at your bare feet
In fealty to a deity

Elegy In A Flower Garden

every petal that falls even
from the homeliest blossom
is grieved by the congregation
of blooms in the garden

a solitary demise
is not an isolation

though not heard nor seen
the emptiness it creates
hangs heavy and tumid
untunes the euphony of echoes
and casts thick darkness
in the serenity of white clouds
puts the glade, the lake in gloom

pink and yellow bells toll
an earnest elegy for each fallen

5 Tanka Trials (3)

The Sculptor
These calloused hands
Once sought classic ideal
Hewing marble, chiseling stone
Faithless Galatea shaped
Thankless heart as cold as gems

Summer Time
Summer came knocking
Stirring lads’ and lasses’ hearts
With amorous ardor
Youth danced at the throbbing beat
Maddened by the torrid heat

Your Name
I mentioned your name
And songbirds sang it like a tune
They gathered around
The rosebush and the green ferns
Humming the wondrous refrain

Surfing
Surfing the vast net
Prodding the meek little mouse
Searching aimlessly
Going nowhere, everywhere
Lost in an ocean of clicks

Halloween
The scaly night
Looms over the city sky
Casting dread and gloom
Bats empty the dark belfries
Singing Halloween’s evensong

Jaded

Centuries of delight reprised
Weaving thru the statuary
Peeing Eros, spouting lion
Cold naked maidens and
Olympians with lecher eyes

Doorway upon doorway
Leading to a gallery then another
Daylight to twilight
Midnight to dawn
Oh what irksome ennui!

You awe at wonders only once
Not felt, if all over again
First gladiator kill gives the most thrill
The first kiss divine, then just lust
A debut is grand, what’s next, a parody

A continuum of sameness
A season of repeats
A looped tape of events
An echo playing pong
God stammering

What Kind of Poet Are You?

Why can't a modernist be
more like an imagist? said one

A modernist's craft it seems
Plays hide and seek
Not wanting to be found out
In one easy read
Muttering gibberish-like
Imagery seemingly indiscrete
But couching a hidden gem

An imagist tells you what is what
No games nor riddles in his verse
What you see is what you get
Lyrical lines, image well defined
Gushing populist sentiment
Yet profundity lies within

Oh, why can't an imagist be
More like a modernist? said the other

It may be a matter of choice
No right, no wrong no doubt
No one no better than the other
Apples and pears cannot compare