Gabriel Rosenstock’s Tanka Series – 7
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1.
they stand in judgement
‘j’accuse!’ they say with one voice
it penetrates me
‘you have sung nothing!’ they say
‘She awaits the song of songs’
https://www.wikiart.org/en/huang-yongyu/cranes-1978
2.
see beyond organs
beyond the desert of skin
the mirage of eyes
hear beyond the range of ears
the dust storms of emotions
![Adam and Eve, 1965 - Carlos Alonso](https://uploads1.wikiart.org/images/carlos-alonso/adam-and-eve-1965.jpg)
3.
how can this be true
how could words represent You
if words could see You
they would surely hold their breath
a breath longer than a book
![Man Reading, 1922 - Eduard von Gebhardt](https://uploads6.wikiart.org/images/eduard-von-gebhardt/man-reading-1922.jpg)
4.
it cannot be known
cannot be understood
or communicated
why then, beloved,
do i look for You in words
![Diving, 1932 - Koshiro Onchi](https://uploads5.wikiart.org/images/koshiro-onchi/diving-1932.jpg!Large.jpg)
About the Author
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). His website: https://www.rosenstockandrosenstock.com