Gabriel Rosenstock’s Tanka Series – 4
1.
the flower seller is left
with her flowers
I am left with my poems
will they wither and decay
beloved, what happens to poems that die
2.
stay among flowers
they are your true companions
in fragrance and innocence
we must wait for many aeons yet
beloved, before the world is ready
3.
emigrants waiting for their ship
what will they bring with them
to a new world
beloved, what will be in me
of You in worlds to come
4.
what layers are there
that make up You and me
peeling an onion
until nothing is left
beloved, how many layers can there be
To read more Tanka by the same author click here
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).
