A poem I wrote when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, four years ago.


I have witnessed
the dawn of a new era
when people of all races
and creeds can dare to dream
in color blind America today

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

barbecue scent mingles
with children's laughter
inside their fence
outside, two homeless kids
share a burnt burger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

the flower’s essence

lingers long after

its bloom wilts

remembering the lives

she touched on earth

Modern English Tanka

Vol. 2, No. 1, Autumn 2007

Wife's death

brisk breeze blasts
the last remaining leaf
this blustery day
his wife of many years
has gone to rest
                    For Darrell

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 2, NO. 2. Winter 2007

Autumn wind

the autumn wind
scatters the dried leaves
in the family photo
her face is gradually
and slowly fading

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 2, No. 1. Autumn 2007

Autumn wind

the autumn wind
scatters the dried leaves
in the family photo
her face is gradually
and slowly fading

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 2, No. 1. Autumn 2007

Make-believe love

her make-believe love
holds me hostage
a little bit longer
the last leaf falls
in the brisk wind

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 1, No. 4, Summer 2007

Widower

the widower explains
to his visiting son
why he chopped their shade tree
twice there, he drawls
I tried to hang myself

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Homeless

barbecue scent mingles
with children’s laughter
inside their fence
outside, two homeless kids
share a burnt burger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Two rainbows

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

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

Widower's love

buds burst
in the leafless tree
this early spring
the widower’s love
reawakens

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 1, No. 4, Summer 2007

Winter moon

The tanka poem above was published without the picture in:

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2006

Fantasy fling

warmth of her touch
in that snowy weekend
fantasy fling
am I ready or a fool
to fall in love again

Modern English Tanka.
Vol. 1, No. 2. Winter 2006

Dormant seed

a sliver of light
slices through
the icy landscape
beneath the snow
a dormant seed awaits

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Fantasy fling

warmth of her touch
in that snowy weekend
fantasy fling
am I ready or a fool
to fall in love again

Modern English Tanka,
Vol. 1, No. 2. Winter 2006.

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

Homeless

barbecue scent mingles
with children’s laughter
inside their fence
outside, two homeless kids
share a burnt burger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Spring time

spring time
a rainbow forms
in the sprinkler
he waters the lawn
from his wheelchair

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

Widower's first date

widower’s first date
her aggressiveness
unsettles his driving
oh how he wishes
he’s ten years younger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009