December 2014
I have survived 30 years in Information Technology and am now retired. I live in Massachusetts with my wife and two cats. My tanka poetry has been published in many online and print journals. I won second place in the 2012 Tanka Society of America contest, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 contest.
Author's note: Haiga (or Tanka Art) is a juxtaposition of either haiku or tanka with a photograph or any other digital art. The photo is intended to enhance the experience of the poem. Below are a couple of my published poems with my wife’s photos.
A Funeral for Roses
Last night they stood tall
like white queens
with nothing to say, at all,
about dying.
By morning they were drooping
with the weight of time
heavy on their shoulders
and they couldn’t be saved
so tonight
I attend the funeral.
Flowers step softly
out of their arrangements
into the receiving line
where close relatives
of the dead roses
extend their leaves
to grieving guests
while an Easter lily
with body bowed
folds her petals
and kneels in prayer,
reverently paying
her last respects
to the wilted blossoms
in the coffin.
F O U R T A N K A
|
blank squares in a crossword puzzle my brother left at the cancer clinic… answers we never find gentle waves rocking the boats… another storm my mind predicted never happens the goodnight kiss my daughter says… what she missed the most when I left home a circle of sunlight surrounds my mail slot… yes, Mom I hear you the best is yet to come |
Credits: Blank Squares (2012) and Gentle Waves (2014) received honorable mentions in TSA Contests; My Father was originally published in Notes From the Gean; The Goodnight Kiss is from Gusts 16; He Went to Heaven was originally published in Atlas Poetica 13.
©2014 Ken Slaughter