standing once again
feet planted on foreign soil
voices surrounding
words incomprehensible
battles fought futile for him
other writing
a tanka: the expat
self-imposed exile
drinks his cup of bitterness
chokes on memories
no good comes from withdrawing
a time to return draws near
a tanka: for Frank
sadness weighs heavy
weight at times you cannot bear
but bear it you do
you endure tarnished but proud
head high, spirit unbroken
a tanka: no easy way
watching from afar
hearts will break in two in three
pieces fall away
there is no easy way out
and staying is harder still
Margarita DeAngelis
Margarita was ripe
before her time
at thirteen she was with the bad boys
causing Timmy Jessen’s downfall
and giving Jimmy Johnson one month of bliss
at fifteen she dated college boys
and though I was long gone
by her eighteenth year
I’m sure she married well
she once confessed to me
she did not want to end up
like her older sister Francine
handed off from the Galtieri brothers
to Tony Esposito
and then down the line
this in a moment of self-reflection
they all often had with me
but I do believe
she made it out
if anyone did
with fewer scars
and even less memories
a tanka: for Guitar Girl
guitar girl strumming
music to soothe her own soul
joyous in her world
a smile on her lips so bright
love in her fingers for life
a tanka: vanishing breed
ancient dinosaur
too sensitive for this world
with regret in heart
goes lumbering off to lie
with his own vanishing breed
a haiku: expectations
you should never live
for others’ expectations
yours are hard enough
old wounds: for RK
old wounds resurface
there is no peaceful life
they come in the light
numbers roll off oily tongues
grease marks along the corridors
the same old logic in the air
reduce this
cut back that
be mediocre rather than right
little ordinary men in touring caps
the enemy is not so easily perceived
but the casualities are always visible
when education takes second place
to the bottom line
and those with principles
lose heart
a haiku: color
a black and white world
color dissolves into space
ever since you left