a friend waning
like a firefly . . .
who will tend
his spring garden after
the winter moon sets?

In memory of Jerry Kilbride

betrayed by a friend
is worse
than by a lover . . .
there are secrets
a lover doesn't know

alone
too many years
i have become
the only guest
in my apartment 

accepting loneliness
as a gift . . .
i toss
pebbles
into a drowning moon

i'd rather be with a
faceless lover
than one who stares
into my empty eyes
asking questions i can't answer

growing up
i felt invisible . . .
my mother
did she know
the depth of my love?

after painting her lips
she has nothing to do
but count the endless
chokecherry petals
falling in the mirror

i've grown fond
of silent lovers
who needs lies
who needs
forever land?
 

you said
i was more comely
than the fairest wildflower
now, i see you have
plucked them all

Tanka Splendor Award, 1996

as if i could
lure him back --
peonies flooded
in moonlight
on the bed stand

first pub. in Blithe Spirit, 2003

detaching
from my dysfunctional family
i find myself . . .
now
what?

does a woman ever find
a man to love her
with total abandon?
spring rains overflowing
the begging bowl

sleeping
with the stars
instead of you . . .
i dig a grave
for loneliness

having hot flashes
on a hot date . . .
where in my handbag
can i yank out my
youthfulness?

memorizing your face
every detail
every curve . . .
tracing your birthmark
with my tongue

first published in raw nervz haiku 1995

wind i will not hurry
to this wedding while
i am still unwed . . .
autumn leaves keep
falling endlessly

first published in American Tanka 2000

going
with my friend
for her chemotherapy
i arrive home & re-examine
my breasts

first published in tangled hair 3 2001

making grandmother's
cassata cake
i ponder the beauty
of her sicilian eyes &
the hills of her village

first published in tangled hair 4 2004 

even at 84
how caustic
my father's words
my therapist's number
disconnected

first published in tangled hair 4 2004

Recommend this article...