Tanka

by

Jane Kohut-Bartels

The moon floats on wisps

Of clouds that extend outward

Tendrils of white fire

Burn up in the universe--

Gauzy ghosts of nothingness.

Shooting star crosses

Upended bowl of blue night.

Imagination

Fires up with excited gaze!

A moment-- and all is gone.

Glimpse of a white wrist-

The river of blood beneath

This is seduction!

But catching a cunning smile,

One learns all is artifice.

Whose bold words are these,

To the wife of another?

Who bade me untie,

The sash of my silken robe

And bare my breast and belly?

I shall not brush locks

That obscure my face and mouth

Where I felt strong hands

Of my lover displacing

My sharp disdain with his lust.

Give me a moment!

To catch my breath and settle.

Give me some peace now.

Stop kissing my hands, stop it!

What if someone is spying?

Presence of Autumn

Burst of colors radiates

From Earth-bound anchors

Sun grabs prismatic beauty

And tosses the spectrum wide!