choka-tonka (2005)

Choka

drowsy sun yawns

twilight stretches into night

mist gathers in the valleys

owls seek their prey

talons pierce warm trembling flesh

screams echo through dark stillness

final sleep hushes

gentle breeze hums lullaby

until sun rolls into day

why is there no rain

the land cries out for water

but cannot shed tears?



Tanka

with a scent

evoking a certain

sense of loss,

lavender in flower

around my old home