Ghosts Of Old Lovers (5 Tanka) Poem by Ben Gieske

working late
through a sleepless night
today
reluctant to be called
yesterday

driving
along the creek
slugs of smoke
smudge through
the morning mist

the smiling house
feathers my feet
I quicken my pace
along the street
with a smile

restless night
wishing for what I don’t have
so little sleep
blue ocean washed away
memories pulled by the tides

ghosts
of old lovers
sighing
embraces remembered
h-armless