tanka – Page 2 – One Woman's Quest

Lifeblood (tanka)

Imagine orange –
a lifetime of suppression,
roots tangled in black,
rebellion a given –
art bleeds essence at last

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Art my own)

A branch is falling,
family tree faltering
Where do new sprouts bud
when major limbs have died?
Orphaned mood fearful of rot.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

River in the sky
exudes an eerie glimmer
cloud forms orchestrate
haunting melody – music
eliciting soulful tears.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

Bright, full moon night
I am mesmerized, smitten
project a portrait –
memory etched in shadow
I listen for her refrain

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

Positioned scapegoat
remind me why? This exile
arid, confusing –
did not create the chaos;
merely tried to rescue you…

(Tuesday, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

Unquenchable thirst –
drink from the fountain of wild
yet plain, I remain –
sixty years of repressed fire
shall not be easily quelled.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter. Image my own)

Melancoly drags –
one young lovelorn foot stuck in
regret’s muddy path –
ignores what is near, mistakes
what if for what is. Tragic.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter. Image my own)

Dare I look for self
in cloud formations, as if
true essence dwells there?
Naturally, I search outward
afraid to find nothing within.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

How the young sparkle
dreams of Santa’s arrival –
I drink of their cup
borrow the giddy whimsy –
Joy a welcome contagion.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

This body fortress
stories untold, locked in cells
I am brick by brick
self-made, deluded – haunted
by expectation’s ruins

(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)