December 2015
Ken Slaughter
kslaught1@gmail.com
Recently retired, I live in Massachusetts, with my wife and two cats. I worked for many years in Information Technology, and have been writing poetry most of my life. I was recently elected Vice President of the Tanka Society of America, beginning in 2016.
Author's Note: Tanka has been my primary focus since I began writing and publishing these little poems in 2011.  I find that tanka is a great way to capture significant moments in life, in a way that resonates with others who have had similar experiences. In this issue I would like to celebrate the form by publishing some of my personal favorites.  I hope you like them.  A quick note about the last one: will I hear it?  My brothers and I used to play a game called Four Square in the street with our friends.  We would play early in the evening, after dinner.

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a backpack
with my life story inside
the truth
I twist and bend
just to get it in



skipping stones
all those summers
with my brother…
the tiny ripples
of a water bug



at game time 
my son can't find his glove... 
the smell of dust 
as I search for something 
to say to my ex-wife



snow swirling
over an open field
after the layoff
I miss my turn, and find
a new way home



a mountain 
wrapped in purple haze 
if only 
I could go back 
and misspend my youth



an orange moon
rises over the beach…
holding hands
we see our shadows
in a new light



an empty can
all that remains
of the party
sixty-three
and still thirsty



will I hear it
when it’s my time to go?
my mother’s voice
when the streetlights come on
calling me home


Credits:  a backpack first published in Atlas Poetica 17; skipping stones first published in Skylark 3.1; at game time first published in A Hundred Gourds 1.2;  snow swirling first published in Skylark 3.1; a mountain won 2nd prize in the 2012 annual tanka contest; an orange moon first published in Ribbons 8.3; an empty can first published in Ribbons 8.1;  will I hear it first published in Ribbons 11.1
©2015 Ken Slaughter