TANKA poems written in past Decembers

1998
recycling
week-old newspapers
I haven't read
hoping what I don't know
won't hurt me
~ ~ ~ ~

1999

no gift for me
under my tree
a reminder
that my beloveds are gone
never to return
[from M Oakley, AD-G]
~ ~ ~ ~

2005
do I
or do I not
invite him
to a New Year's Eve party?
I'm afraid of the "message."
~ ~ ~ ~

2006
first night in many
that our beloved longhair
won't jump into my bed.
his teenaged master finds
him lifeless in the road
~ ~ ~ ~

2008
after two nights
and a day, wind chimes
suddenly quiet
cold front & thunderstorm
finally passed through
~ ~ ~ ~

2011

an unwelcome gift
from California to Maine:
black widow spiders
in a shipment of parts
to a shipbuilding outfit
~ ~ ~ ~

2014
resting
atop
a hay bale
the black cat
watches
[photo, R.McFarland, AD-G]
~ ~ ~ ~

2015
dropped foliage
revealing a nest
in the dogwood
on closer look
a branch of oak leaves
~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~
c 2016 PL