First III (tanka)

3 of 12 in the Jemverse ’12 months III’ series

And so November
Colder days have taken hold
As wrapped up people shiver
into the winter
with the swansong of Autumn
for the year-end’s curtain call

First II

2 of 12 in the Jemverse ’12 months III’ series

October is here
as autumn waits in the wings
and the greenery turns brown
leaves begin falling
for the underfoot crunching
into the face of winter

Tri-Tanka V (coffee)

Fussy? Yes perhaps
but for me there’s no excuse
for tasteless coffee
made carelessly without soul
Listless, dull and moribund

Tri-Tanka IV (Lancing Beach)

Once again relaxed
Lancing Beach does that for me
Every single time
The sound of the moving sea
The sight of the ocean waves
And I’m in my element

Tri-Tanka III (light)

Yes, it is morning
But time clings to night time still
and my pen falters
Caught between a moment there
the clarity hides behind

Tri-Tanka II (Festive)

All decorations
up by first of December
Christmas is coming
Though earlier every year
commerce would have us believe

No bah and humbug
despite my reservations
As into spirit
flowing with the tinsel here
my heart goes to the yuletide

Tri-Tanka I (tanka)

To start this series
in thirty-one syllables
Japanese Tanka
A short song to bring you joy
Jemverse social media

So here are first lines
Crafted by the poet’s hand
Found and captured here
To form and syntax structured
Voicing life in five short lines

Tanka: Morning Love

 

you awaken me

dove’s wing kisses on pale skin

Last day tanka

Twenty seventeen
And with Auld Lang Syne tonight
For sake of old times
We’ll take a cup of kindness
Old acquaintances renewed

Christmas Mummer – December 18, 2017 (tanka)

eventide
waltzing through the street
winter mummers*
twirling golden fairy lights
one for every season

gsk ’17

Autumn Reflections (haiku -tanka)

 

orange squash
bubbling in a pot
silence deepens
then from the window
laughter! children playing ball

evening shadow
in the naked kaki* tree
a last leaf falls

gsk ’17

• kaki – persimmon

Dichotomy (tanka)

Without is sunshine
new green, a warm gentle breeze—

#Tanka: Scorching

Scorching summer sun

 

Throws shadows on hot pavement

#Tanka: Reflection & Vision

Memories fill hearts

#21 POETRY =

By Charles Robert Lindholm 

Poetry =

#Tanka: What Is Love

 

Savage heart ponders

 

When desire runs rampantly

Help for a haiku

Stuck in a Haiku?
Feel that you’ve nowhere to go?
Why not try Tanka?
Two extra lines to play with
and thirty-one syllables

©Jemverse

Rest in Peace

tanka

I lie down in peace
releasing all cares to God
who works while I sleep

Fog on the Ring – tanka

Fog thick as pea soup
shrouds the Sussex countryside
Trees hide like shadows
Quiet whispers, coy and shy
as again I climb the Ring

Lazy day – tanka

Breakfast in Brighton
November morning sunshine
follows after rain
Both providing sustenance
for lazy Sunday slowness

Leonard Cohen – tanka

Leonard Cohen plays
his music to the angels
in the small hours now
Melancholy fades away
as Leonard now rests in peace

Yuletide Promise – tanka

Christmas in the air
from a large Yankee candle
A fragrant garland
hints of promises to come
within its flickering flame

Last Lavender – tanka

Yet, as winter comes
the last lavender remains
Born of the summer
it stands, poignant to remind
us of warmth now lost to chill

Summer’s Child – tanka

Thoughts turn to summer
upon these cold winter days
and a part of me
hibernates and pines away
Here, bereft, cries ‘Summer’s Child’

Halcyon days – tanka

Woodsmoke lingers here
on the days dying embers
fragrant on the air
It permeates my being
The whimsy of halcyon days

The long mile – tanka

I walk the long mile
the sea sings her songs to me
and I am at peace
In this place my heart and soul
with the ocean are as one

Defeat

Captured by demons.
Long nails gouge my ego
With gnarled fingers.
Ever they’ve crept in my wake.
At last, my race is over.

Hummingbird

Tanka Poem

Tiny hummingbird,

Wings flapping, in air sustains.

Flying up and down,