Senryu, Tanka, Haiku, Haibun

Senryu
starving watchers
are discarded as
the starved watch

Tanka
eyes narrowed
leaning forward
upper lip curled
he mutters
no fries?

Haiku

Manna
the last page
sifts and is gone

Crane
dip your beak
once into my heart again

eternity blossoms
the stone lies
upon a crysanthemum


Haibun
The hospital is nearly deserted. The nurses eye me nervously. I walk into the nursery. Ignoring their stares I walk to the crib and look down. The soft whisper of her breath matches my own as I gently reach and carefully lift her into my arms. I stare. Dark eyebrows shadow brown skin. A frame of soft black hair. A rocking chair nudges the back of my knees. I gratefully slide onto the seat as tears silently slip down my face. I feel my back touch the cool wood.

stone never cries
a tiny heart flutters
to the sound of my tears

The small white coffin dares me to cry. Waiting in silence, friends somberly await my pace. The gentle cadence of verse sears my soul. Finished, silence descends amidst the murmur of sorrow. Feet, now anxious to tread life, move decorously toward waiting cars. I wait, uncertain. My mind urges me to move away but my heart is rooted in the soft dark soil.

winter's silence
motionless grasshoppers
take their vows