Letter of goodbye

under the willow
she rereads his tear-stained
goodbye letter

Goodbye letter

under a willow

their favorite rendezvous

he rereads

her crumpled letter

of goodbye

misty afternoon
she takes a last look
at the leaving train

From my book, Rustle of bamboo leaves

Coming home

two rainbows arch
in the misty sky
this early summer
he will be home soon
to his wife and daughter

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 1, No. 3. Spring 2007

Aloneness

strains of ukulele
fill the sultry night
she fingers the dried lei
and hugs the memories
he left behind

Modern English Tanka.
Vol. 2, No. 3, Spring 2008

Wildflower watching

Watching
the wildflowers
with their wayward daughter,
still hard to fathom why her mom
left them.

Expatriate

distant shore / the expatriate yearns / for home

Unused coffee mug

the coffee mug
with our pictures on it
I ordered a while back
remains unused
in the cupboard

Sketchbook, Vol. 4, No. 6
November/December 2009

Winter moon