once
I watched an ant
crawling
the mountains bottom
it started to run
half its legs on the ground
in an alternating tripod gait
with quantum steps
my eyes followed
mind took me to the summit
there I wanted to be
but wind
blew me away
down the other side
breathing in breathing out
I follow my breath
on a lavender path
where I can see
below above and around
breathing in breathing out
ants are tickling my feet
carrying morsels
flowers and thyme
I can hear their feet
as I hear them say
"we bring food to the colony
an afterthought party will follow"
am I invited
"yes, if you help out"
so, I follow them
back to the bottom
the sugar is in my pocket
I've humbled down
knowing the other side
breathing in breathing out
breathing in breathing out
Genie Nakano
I left the world. It was getting too heavy, surreal like a Dali nightmare. Clocks falling off trees, big blinking eyes in the clouds. Plus a pandemic was going on. The White House announced it on Friday and the Eagle didn’t fly. So I decided to leave the world. I made a deal with my dreams. The deal was–pick one of my dreams and I could be there.
I chose the misted magical forest with a small stream running through it. This dream was special because it had a marvelous scent. Though my dreams are always in color most are not gifted with fragrance — this one was. As soon as I got there–I knew I made the right choice. I was in bliss the moment I opened my eyes.
a wise woman
in Norwich, England once said
"When we are old and careless"
inside my bones clattered
for a moment I was free.
cold bones
luke warm blood
wrists
of a sparrow
no wings.
my left hip
clicks in a silver joint
unstable yet balanced
titanium tensile strength
decrees to out last me.
something of beauty
yet not beautiful
an old woman
who knows herself
the one I want to be.Genie Nakano
originally published in "Storyteller", 2014, self published, also Published in Atlas Poetica a tanka journal, circa 2000.
I changed the title for my blog because I saw this photo of dew on purple leaves. Purple is my favorite color "Murasaki" means purple in Nihongo.
originally the title was "Holy Bones". I think Murasaki is much better don't you??
A ballet dancer
looks at herself in the mirror
everyday
as a matter of fact
a check on reality
a retired
ballet dancer--facts change
is that really me
in the mirror
the front or the back
bring out
the bike
the scales
take a walk
retard--the old bastard of time
some say
lucky to be alive at our age
and furthermore--
never want to be
twenty again
I sit here
chin rests upon my hand
in thinker pose
wondering--a fair trade
wisdom for youth??
Genie Nakano
originally published in Atlas Poetica, editor M. Kei: number 13 Autumn 2012
I sing upon a star
coyote by my side
earth trembles
with aches and growing pains
a birth overdue
Genie Nakano
originally published in "Coloring In", 2016
I sing upon a star
coyote near my side
earth trembles
with aches and growing pains
a birth long overdue
Genie Nakano
originally published in "Coloring In", 2016
A Tanka Response beginning with Genie Nakano from Los Angeles, CA, United States and Gerry Jacobson from Canberra, Australia–Australia’s Capital. Gerry’s tanka are italicized.
Governor declares
our city is in drought
barefooted
in the falling rain
happy I don't believe
oh there's
carbon in the air
and the levee is dry
for the climate
is a changin'
oh, sky don't cry
trees that look up to you
are dying
from your tears
that drop the acid rain
ribbon gum next door
attacked by chainsaws-
I leave the house
and dull the pain
with tea and cake and poetry
prose
keeps the insane, sane
after I'm underground
I'll have no use for words
earth churns winter into spring
out of tombs
and sepulchers
the wildwood grows
fertilized
forgotten griefs
seeds
blown to foreign lands
burrowing deep
into black lava sands
a hybrid survives
Australian airman
'neath English turf
since
1941
"greater love hath no man"
pulling me down
the cries of living ghosts
mankind
with war and bombs
sets the earth on fire
scarred
by broken glass
my playground
rubble and ruin
the bomb sites of London
ashes, ashes
on fallen snow
the mulberry tree
blooms again
nature changes -- never dies
crunching frost
in the glow of dawn
and the full moon
hanging out up there
with Jupiter and Venus
Genie Nakano, and Gerry Jacobson--a collaboration.
First published 2016 by
GINNINDERRA PRESS PO Box 3461 Port Adelaide SA Australia
www:gininderrapress.com.au
Gerry Jacobson In a past life, he worked as a geologist. Now he travels to visit grandchildren in Sydney and Stockholm writing tanka in the cafe's of those cities. Gerry also composes 'tankaprose, which has been published in journals including Haibun Today and Atlas Poetica. His recent chapbook, Dancing with Another Me, celebrates his resurrection as a dancer.
Genie Nakano 