Something simmering

chili simmering

outside leaves blanket the grass

Coltrane plays softly

my head rests on your shoulder

we sway then dip for a kiss

Tanka on Tuesday

Chilled northern wind gusts

STripping brown leaves from tree limbs

To blanket the grass

Gossamer milkweed seeds rise

Holding coat-tails of the wind

5.18 tanka on tuesday

I watch the sunset
in the puddle before me
reflecting clearly
scarlet and gold vividly
stretched across the horizon

5.9 tanka

through broken mini blinds
dawn splashes on the pillow
highlighting cheekbones
the tips of your eyelashes
golden in the early sun

5.7

I rock on the porch
watching the dark clouds smudging
miles away from me
it’s beginning to rain there
the cold wind carries the scent

5.6 tanka

mist brushing my face
fog rolls along the river
your dark eyelashes
thickly beaded with droplets
each refracting the moon’s light

Tanka 5.3

bright dandelions
stretching their necks far above
the soft green grasses
tip their faces to follow
the path of the summer sun

Tanka on Tuesday 4.27.21

seventeen starlings
perched upon a single wire
just after the dawn
only yellow beaks showing
against the mottled greyness

Tanka 4.25

puppy scampering
across green rain dampened lawn
wary of puddles
tiny, muddy paw prints prance
across the linoleum

Tanka 4.18.21

nearly 2 am
your fingertips trickling
alongside my spine
a low rumble of thunder
rain taps against the window