Pat Nolan

SOME TANKA

     I am the cool guy
I see in the mirror
     no adjustment necessary

a bony white cloud hand
reaches across the blue

*

     Late evening
a moth frolics inside
     the paper lantern

too often I allow myself
to be entertained

*

     The older I get
the harder it is to keep up
     with my vanity

threw out my knee
dancing in the kitchen

*

     Wind blown blossoms
robins stake out
     a stretch of bare earth

he who laughs last
laughs alone

*

     On a day like this
the bench in the yard a throne
     in a palace of light

a sprig of wisteria tops
the fir with a purple tassel

*

     A father dream wakes him
hot tears fall on his hand
     the hand that waved good-bye

wild onions flourish
in the old tin bucket

*

     The part of myself
I tend to deny leaks out
     the tip of this pen

please say "I love you"
with a neon sign

*

     Sun's wide low arc
sweeps across the yard
     snow won't last the day

once you know it all
boredom comes easy

*

     Shoes finally kicked off
whole day on my feet escapes
     through the tips of my toes

albino spider descends into
a last glimpse of daylight