ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

BLIND FOR A DAY

If we all could be blind

just for one day

blind to status

blind to our differences

blind to the color of our brother’s skin

if we could see with our hearts

not with our eyes

would we act differently than we do now

If we needed to reach out

to hold out a hand

to help each other along the path

would we live differently than we do now

for only through blindness

can we begin to see the truth

We are all the same in the dark

LIFE AFTER DEATH

A question is posed, is there life after death?

There are so many deaths besides the final one.

We die a little every day, kicked in the gut by life.

Doors slammed in the face of opportunity.

Relationships that have gone into mourning.

Withered flowers, petals falling to the floor.

Fleeting instances lost from memory.

Dying embers from extinguishing fires.

Each a little passing that chips away at our existence.

Yet life goes on in heartbeats and breaths,

prevailing beyond the extinctions that bite at our backs

Until the final demise.

WHAT WE SAY

Sometimes words are not enough

But words are all you have

At times the words are accessible

Other times they are convoluted

You cannot take words back

Hoping things will turn out right

It is impossible to extract

The day out of the night

You know what you want to say

You know what you need to do

But the words sour in your mouth

And never seem to form

As you wait for the right time

Which never seems to come

And so you continue to

Swallow your own pride

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA is a nominee for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. She lives in Delaware, USA.  She is a published poet and artist. She loves gardening and cooking.  Chris lives with her husband and two cats.    Her most recent credits are Page & Spine, The Paragon Journal, The Literary Hatchet, The Stray Branch, Trigger Fish Critical Review, Foliate Oak Review, Bindweed Magazine, The Metaworker, Raven Cage Ezine, RavensPerch, Anapest Journal, Mused, Apricity Magazine, Longshot Island, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, Scryptic Magazine Ann Arbor Review.