ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

BEWARE OF THE QUIET

Do not allow the quietness

that saturates the halls of night

break through the dawn.

For it will shatter all perception

of time and space, grabbing

reality by the throat.

Then where will the sense

of priorities lie, except among

the fallow ruins of an ancient past,

defying the depth of disregarded

wisdoms, challenging all known facts,

until there is no truth left.

Adhere to the movement of slow

creeping convention, while the

lamented longings are just out of reach.

For the quiet is rooted deep within.

THE FINAL ACT

Bone chilling, cold shoulder,

he says his good-byes and

spreads his wings. Freedom

his only desire. Crumbling dreams

in his hands, like so many dried

winter leaves. With an audible

sigh, he disperses them to

the universe. By all that is holy,

I cannot breathe. He has crushed

the very life from out of me. Fingers

touch, hearts do not. Farewells

are always hard. A little death

each new day, without him by

my side. Physically, he is still

here, but his heart is miles away.

I cannot bring him back to life, if

he does not want to stay. Bone

chilling, cold shoulder is his finale.

DIAGNOSIS

Maybe poems are just vain attempts

of lost souls trying to find their way

through the mire of life. Grasping

at fleeting beauty, and delving into

dark psyches. Finding release in

their personal expression. A way for

the writer to purge their torments,

and empty themselves of their sins.

Using rhyme and metaphor to heal

the wounds of time, while trying to

sooth bruised egos. Maybe poems

are just vain attempts at immortality.

The diagnosis is still incomplete.

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry, has been internationally published, and won poetry awards from numerous publications. She lives in Delaware, USA.  She loves gardening and cooking.  Chris lives with her husband and three cats. Her most recent credits are: Pomona Valley Review; Ariel Chart, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, Oddball Magazine, The Paragon Journal, The Stray Branch, Trigger Fish Critical Review, Foliate Oak Review, Better Than Starbucks!, Anapest Journal, Mused, Apricity Magazine, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, Scryptic Magazine, Ann Arbor Review, The McKinley Review.