String #1.. Ten Tanka

dusk in their eyes
suddenly finds reprieve
when an owl
disturbs branches
and the moon startles them with light

call it effervescence,
the lilac's lean for
parting rays
new raindrops meet
disapproval and an inward pause

nighttime quivers
make us run to our shoes
and the pants
we jump into
take us to a den of thieves

at the campus,
they dare not embrace
an alluring bench
to rest their old legs
these sauntering alumni, suddenly shy

O lyre,
do not mermaids sway
and clouds part
for a grateful moon
when her lips greet mine in half sleep

his eyes absorbed
the epiphany's call to
meld with roses
to dispel all dark clouds
with a petal's calm

the confluence of
will and might neath the pillow,
in his viens, shimmers
as a new dream enters, to
enliven his weary heart

the radio will
soon confirm the earthquake; it
howled through my ears
as I slept and, ruefully,
I await the specifics

tears will fall
to caress a smile's glimmer
and watch it fade
for more tears to follow
emptier still

our handholding
makes onlookers smile
as larks above
nestle—or pledge to the moon
more entertaining wings