TANKA
a few twinkling stars
on a clear autumn night sky
calendar sheets and leaves fall
seven big yellow pumpkins
make season change joyful
last harvest of fruits
country in slowdown mode
blanket of hoar frost
vintners fill barrels and crates
provision for winter months
early sunset
puts blanket over green fields
full moon silvering the Reeks
last summer day makes heart heavy
we bewail lost time and warmth
leaves knock at window
storm rattles at barn gates
let’s prepare for storm and snow
farmer is counting his bales
the warm steam from his cow’s mouth
haunted house for me
a mystery in the field
black crows cry from far
time fragments cling to the walls
to witness gone time and lives
plenty blackberries,
laughing fruits burst with ripeness
walking past hedges
I harvest with both hands;
autumn provides abundance
grey dragon clouds
sky riders on white horses
storm wind tosses trees
blow dead leaves across the street
announcing early autumn
contents of kettles
brewing, maturing and fermenting
mash and malt, yeast, hops
bubbling, gurgling and boiling
beer, a foaming delight
a black stroke or stain
on an old valuable painting
romantic landscape
harms my old sad heart
deducting more years
gorse in January
mocks the winter
with its blossoms
I study the weather forecast
in fearful expectation
early train to Cork
waiting room full of people
no salute returned
all glued to their mobiles
autistic society
success attracts flies
rubbing shoulders with laureates
to get a bit of the shine
looking down on small fries
from a distance
bittern motionless
becomes one with the dense reed
withdrawn from the view
lake mirror untouched,
shows only the wide sky