ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

Missing In Action

Another moment passes

as if it did not exist.

Vanished from time eternal,

the past is a dream.

Did I walk those fields of green,

or touch that ancient ruin,

one wonders, questioning sanity.

Looking back at images,

was I really there?

Remains of glorious vacations,

now filed in boxes on a shelf.

Glimpses of a distant yesterday,

fragment then coalesce.

Trees no longer climbed,

except in one’s mind.

Memories of past events,

now wandering illusions.

Fleeting emotions grasp at

obscure bits of recognition,

while trying to capture shadows,

evaporating in front of me.

The past so quickly fades

as reality takes over,

for all we really ever have

is this present moment.

Night Closes Her Eyes

Night keeps her secrets

that daylight tells,

hiding lovers from themselves.

Truth breaks through,

streaming between tiny cracks.

Walls cannot hold back the sun.

Darkness hides among its fears,

silencing morning’s knock.

Yet morning is persistent.

The lies we tell are buried there,

deep within festering wounds.

Wounds that weep lustful tears.

Night keeps her secrets,

that morning tells.

Night shall not open her eyes for you.

Negative Space

Humming a tune,

the song is never sung.

Strumming the cords,

a melody is lost.

Counting minutes,

hours turn to days.

Seeking direction,

a course is all but set.

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA

ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. She is the winner of Spillwords Press 2020 Publication of the Year (Poetic), has been internationally published, and won poetry awards from numerous publications. She is the author of 10 poetry books.  She has recently been published in several micro-fiction anthologies and short story publications.  Christine lives in Delaware, USA.  She loves gardening and cooking.  Chris lives with her husband and three cats. Her most recent credits are: The American Writers Review; The Phoenix; Burningword Literary Journal; Muddy River Poetry Review; The Write Connection; Ethos Literary Journal, North of Oxford, Pomona Valley Review, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, The Hungry Chimera, Sheila-Na-Gig, Foliate Oak Review, The Stray Branch, The McKinley Review, Fourth & Sycamore.