Gabriel Rosenstock’s Tanka Series – 6
1. Jodhpur
freedom fighters, beloved
did they fight
for polluters exchanging
sweet nothings on small screens
show me Your real face
2. Mumbai
i could not find You
Mumbai was nothing
but the sound of zebra hooves
i wandered down towards Kamathipura
drank two bottles of gin with Namdeo Dhasal
Pic by Satish Krishnamurthy from Bombay, India – Zebra crossing, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47280506
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3. Zurich
we have made of Eden
a bloody mess, beloved
made pigs of ourselves
of whom do we beg forgiveness
believers in nothing but dross
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
