ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

INNER BEAUTY

Your visceral beauty

cannot be denied.

Countless torturous

paths have been trod,

yet you remain a pillar

of strength. Darkness

that surrounds all else,

does not encompass

you. One luminous star

in an vast ebon sky,

dispersing brilliance

on all you encounter.

A wisdom beyond words

emanates from within.

Teacher, lover, friend.

You wear your beauty

like a cape, enfolding

all in love. A shinning gift

bestowed on humankind.

Beauty is your name.

ASKING DIRECTIONS

How do you know

which way to turn,

when you come

to the fork in the road?

Directions notwithstanding,

can you ever know

the right path?

Life is filled with obstacles

that none of us comprehend,

yet we continue on

until the end, never knowing

where we began.

We do what we can,

and along the way,

we may make a friend or two,

if we do not fear to ask directions.

LOST PLEASANTRIES

It very well may be …

If you allow me …

The politeness of words continue.

A riddle, a game.

They are all the same.

We have not come so far.

Is the answer the question,

or the question a ruse?

We all abide our time.

There is no reason or rhyme.

In the beginning,

the end is near,

yet that is what we all fear

The page, dog-eared and marked,

turned so gingerly.

The journey on which we embark,

Is not for all to see.

And, words once so polite,

now crumpled on the floor,

while correctness and etiquette

go flying out the door.

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA was nominated for the 2017 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, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, The Hungry Chimera, Sheila-Na-Gig, Synchronized Chaos, Pangolin Review, Trigger Fish Critical Review, Foliate Oak Review, Better Than Starbucks!, Mused, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, The McKinley Review, Fourth & Sycamore.