Tanka by Gabriel Rosenstock

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Pic by Daniel Frank

 

Gabriel Rosenstock’s Tanka Series – 3

1.

even when not conscious
beloved, of my actions
i sought you all along
                made a path to Your door
                for where else was there to go
 
Man on a cart in wood – Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch

 

2.

I send them out on the wind
butterfly inspectors
flowers that are perfect
                    are not for you, beloved
                    a tiny flaw awakens your compassion

Butterflies and Flowers- Odilon Redon – circa 1910-1914

 

3.

why am I waiting for You
in an unfamiliar place
and in another time
             is there no now, no today
             what hour is waiting to be born
 
Duane Street, New York – Louis Comfort Tiffany – 1877

 

4.

even as it was playing
i heard the music dying
even as girls danced
                 maggots wriggled, beloved
                 death is the only door to You   
 
Chahut – Georges Seurat – 1889 – 1890 – France

To read more Tanka by the same author click here

About the Author

Photo: Jim Berkeley.

Gabriel Rosenstock is a bilingual poet (in Irish & English), haikuist, tankaist, playwright, novelist, short story writer, essayist, translator, writer for children and champion of ‘forlorn causes’ – the phrase is Hugh MacDiarmid’s. He is a Lineage Holder of Celtic Buddhism and a member of Aosdána (the Irish academy of arts and letters). Among his awards is the Tamgha-i-Khidmat medal (Pakistan) for services to literature. Gabriel’s most recent volume of poetry is Glengower: Poems for No One in Irish and English (The Onslaught Press).

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