Tanka

the rancor in your eyes
and in your boyfriend's--
how can I
get rid of the albatross
around my neck?



petals fall
in the soft glow
of paper lanterns
-sakura at night
or the dust of moon?

More haiku

our leisure talk...
a butterfly forming
within its pupa


a prayer-note
against a blizzard
butterfly wings

green Sunday--
when did last we count
the dragonflies

Haiku

a ruru calls...
how long will
the last leaf last



clouds pile up--
hoping against hope
for a glimpse



your soothing words...
sip by sip
the storm disappears



back home...
pots of chrysanthemums
waiting

3 Tanka

how does one
speak without words...
once again
the twinkle in your eyes
breaks our silence



making the pup
learn rock'n roll
Elvis
cries hoarse all through
Thanksgiving Day



the cat
roams around apples
on a table--
how long can we chat
about the weather?

Tanka

concealed
between the cracks
my anguish
will the blizzard spare 
our prayer note

Spring Haiku

leaves in March
eye contact with my
new neighbour


still i
hang on to your thoughts
a broken dream-catcher

pale faced day

colours of Holi sticking

to your palm lines

Tanka

morning arrives
wrapped as a gift
tied with the charm
of your laughter:
"Happy All Fools Day!"


so easy
to deceive me
after a few drinks--
i always end up
on my side of the mirror


awestruck
the roadside fortune-teller
looks at me--
signals change
at the near bend

Easter haiku

nailed Jesus
so much of mist
covers the blue

flimsy clouds

after you left
spring is amid clusters
of hollow words

when the sky becomes golden
with expectations
I look out for seeds of rain

a blue chested bird
resumes its babble to its mate

Yet I'm no fruit-fly
to buzz around vines

I rather like the quiet pigeon
picking up days in its feeder

after you left
spring is amid sunsets
with flimsy clouds

a stack of turtles

seemingly stationary
like a stack of turtles
the evening clouds remind me

of the sea
the night after a season's first storm
a neem tree that looked naked

yet all seems to be not lost
as the stack of turtles slide
to let in

a half-dead light
and we start to search
for leaves missing

one two three
like infants we love to count
our happiness

how much rain could make a puddle
and how many puddles must coalesce
to make a river

our river
our sea

the neem sways its head
does it want an answer

turtles in the sky chase a dying sun

Must we cross the bridge

there was the old nodding head
with an odd query in his eyes
what will happen to them

who are they

the sunrises and sunsets
that we're leaving behind

I'd love to think of myself

yes yes the cat thinks so
it will find a cosy corner for sure
but what will happen to others

Can't you abandon your all

no no its not about all
only my worries stuffed inside
a mahogany case

and the soil of my land

haiku

that spring
to this one ...
a map of cherry bloom



will she say 'yes'...
leaves half-eaten
by locust



dream catcher
moonlight spinning its web
around us




eavesdropping...
the secrets shared
by autumn leaves

Tanka

our doctor
explains the use
of pacemakers--
my heart stops
thinking about you

napthalene smell

no more
the sun-bird's song
can she put off
the choking smell
of napthalene

zebra pattern

how soft a light
forming zebra pattern
by my window...
how many years did i pass
holed up amid stones