Tanka Sequence
Lost Love
I wait for his call,
but the telephone's mute.
The clock's ticking
and the beat of my heart
fill the dreadful silence.
/zr
My answering machine
blinks a pulse,
but there is no message—
bluejays shriek
at the frozen berries.
/ts
Thrifty squirrels
long buried all the nuts
from the pecan tree -
my true feelings hidden
deep within my heart.
/zr
Each distant look
pulls me farther away—
I sit on the beach
by a dying fire,
its embers twinkle once.
/ts
Cannas and asters
give way to chrysanthemums—
rainy time approaches;
slowly smothering my love,
his reproaches...
/zr
Forests of green
contrast with bleak fields
dormant with snow—
my harvested memories
lie curled and yellow.
/ts
"Adore me,
but don't ask for anything"—
is it his wish?
My love, a summer butterfly
...becomes a gnat.
/zr
Power failures
intensify everything
beyond the flame—
our love dies
from sheer neglect.
/ts
With each year,
more gloom in the house...
Pouring salt
on my rival's mums,
with Venus as my witness.
/zr
Our dusty
memories lie
hidden in the attic—
I'm surrounded
by my pain, a chrysalis.
/ts
December 2007
