Tanka
lights through
darks
a sailing full moon
on my birthday…
three score years and two
in this, the year of the ox
drifting,
merging
gray clouds spiral at noon—
gunsmoke signals
primordial amoebae
seahorses sailing by
new morning
overnight demons gone
I awake
to start a day
of laughter
occasionally
I rub smooth breasts…
spring fever
cedar oil on ebony
bringing the goddess alive
Rengay
Between
The Steps
Barbara A Taylor, AU and
Martin G Cohen, US
temple bells
toll
rolling in another year
of hopes and dreams
trembling pine trees
the taste of snow
evil-free
shimenawa knotted white
at the entrance
in the sacred shrine
offerings for a beloved
with Hershey kisses
fortune cookies
wrapping up the future
a broken walkway
the old man and a toddler
sway between the steps
Solo
Rengay
A Fresh
Start
Barbara A
Taylor, AU
good
intentions
rolling in with
the year of the ox
kissed by a stranger
I’ll never see again
new year's morning
feeling my age
and counting
a fresh start
hamburgers
off the list
crossed out
my first resolution
clarity—
waves of sailing stars
across the lake
