Japanese Tanka game

[mazHur]

In such a dark night
surrounded by limp shadows
life passes by alone;
how can I hope to be free?
snooping demons all around!


hunger
-------------

[Pendragon]

The Burning desire
for sustenance lest you die
makes starving declare
that moldy piece of cheese feast,
an apple core delicious...


thirst

[Paige19]

the cistern's low,
sour brown water from the taps,
an obstinate sky.
turkey buzzards overhead,
something's gone down near the marsh.


waiting

[atiguhya padma]

Breathings escape them
Wisps of used energy float
Away, unwelcome.
They silently pass. The train
Imprisons them in mind-time.


Confessing to one's self

[mazHur]

Confessing to one's self

Why should I confess?
Why should I accuse myself?
Why should I repent?
All is destined to happen;
It just happened that is all!

destiny
______________

[qimissung]

destiny, sweet love,
awaits me in the shadows,
importuning me to leap.
Shall I leap without looking?
Or beckon logic to my aid?


becoming

[TheFifthElement]

What the light told us
was nothing compared to what
we discovered. Here
where hands meet, with eyes open,
the mouth whispering: I am.



sensation of falling

[mazHur]

slipped over the rock
total darkness all around
he caught on the edge
frozen to death until day
break, to learn earth was just nigh!


hallucinations
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[atiguhya padma]

That strong waxy smell
The rope between my fingers
Whirlpools in my head
Emptiness a sea below
I let go, earth rises up

Circumcision

[blp]

Ought we to apply
Ockham's Razor to bodies?
Which appendages
are unnecessary?
Disgusting, stupid idea.
Cut circumcision itself.


Smoking

[atiguhya padma]

Ephemeral smoke
Does its damage, pirouettes
In the air, dancing,
Like some lithesome lamia
Pleasure its poisoned weapon

False smiling

[Il Penseroso]

Begin at wrinkles,
clutch for a grip under eyes,
pull up from the edge
of glass-rimmed lips, the curtain
closed, thick brocade shimmering.


a whispered conversation

[symphony]

the words came in air,
or, perhaps, the air itself
came in through the words:
the fantasm of a breath
carrying gentled meanings.


a black umbrella flying against a gray sky

[atiguhya padma]

Ever had a crazy
Kite shield your wits from storm?
The wind erupts with
A bellyful of laughter
As the canvas splits its sides

Bathysideromophobia

[mazHur]

noise gives me headache
please keep off your diesel truck
let me enjoy life
let me go to the highest
cliff and dive down sea bottom.


love bird

[qimissung]

bright azure soul, your
slate gaze hooks me from afar
bring halcyon love
shimmering feathered warmth with
wings, beating against my heart

stalactite

[alakungfu]

wooden slivers drip
from the rafters borne aloft
in Thumbelinaland
a dimpled island of tunnels
in times seldom visited

cyclone

[TheFifthElement]

spinning tubules of
dark-dry air, touch the ground - jump -
suctioning debris:
cars, homes, grass, bones, picket fence
dancing around wind's maypole.

balloons

[Indy]

The party is grim;
Filled with stark remainders,
Were going nowhere.

Balloons harshly restrained,
Their potential constrained.

Next theme tides

[PoemsEulogy]

Surfboard pieces, some
Were swept away by the tide
Like the teenager
Out here alone, with a board
That is now pieces of wood.

Next theme: whispers

[krymsonkyng]

huddled youths' hushed breaths
hoarse giggles and hidden smiles
eyes and voices low

"see how Clark peed his trousers?
that must be embarrassing"

Doctor's Orders

[mazHur]

you will have to help
yourself if you want to heal
regardless of age
fall in love with any thing
you will get well without pills.


angry woman

[PoemsEulogy]

Your child's cheek is scarred,
Your handprint doesn't fade fast
And the sharpness of
Your ring incriminates you.
Your bitterness never fades.

~
Cellophane

[atiguhya padma]

Shimmering ridges
Fold around the fresh wet wounds
Moist. Crevices catch
The air in pockets, seal up
the life-sustaining fluid.

Fatalism

[mazHur]

Ever seen a bird
or an animal hoarding
daily merchandise?
Only Human beings hoard
they of hunger only die!


hurricane
-----------------

[atiguhya padma]

Wasn't it nineteen
Eighty-seven? The window
Chaotically
Exploded. Trees worshipping.
Elizabethan excess.

The Antikythera Mechanism

[atiguhya padma]

Corrosive colour
Haunts the dreams of scientists
Spending endless time
Peering into ancient past
As their lives slowly crumble.

Goodbye

[Elision]

I wave goodbye and
You wave goodbye and in time
we will forget love
and fork out large mortgages
Live pension dreams, buy coffins .

Next topic: Vanishing tricks

[mazHur]

Vanishing tricks

the phone is ringing
lovers are fixing a date
all done they move out
the guy sights an ugly girl
love's delirium is gone!

Infidelity

[Il Penseroso]

Sex in small snail stop
mornings. Payment for the room.
Messages like husks
peeled from painted lips. Her tongue
like a livid tentacle.


a tangram

[cacian]

a tangram



a triangle cut
a parallelogram
a square of strict sides
a hobbiefor which mind asks
''puzzled are we yet''?

solliloquy