Four Tanka
By Matsukaze
by evening
our outdoor-selves zipped
within thick
sleeping bags. near a fire
we speak mountains and mist
with his Giaconda smile
my reflection
ties a bushel of thoughts tight
with rubberbands
and silence
behind
dark curtains
a cool
room of stretched shadows
and his slow breathing
on this Nerudaian-evening
his voice,
whispering leaves as
he tells me of his departure--
in the distance a crying train.
I belong to several haiku and tanka groups on facebook,
in one of which, Five Line Poems, I
encountered this poet. There are many good poets in that group, but this man's
work consistently delights me. So much so that I didn't pick out one special
poem; I wish I'd written most of those I've seen, so I just went to the group
and grabbed the most recent four. (I thought I should give you more than
one, as tanka are so short.)He blogs as Matsukaze, at bamboo songs (tanka) and Blues for Haikai (senryu). You're liable to find some haiku there too. On facebook he posts under his own name, Orrin T PreJean, and his profile tells me that, among other things, he is a male alto counter-tenor.
Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written
This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).
