aromatic steam
rises from a matcha bowl
waiting for your lips
to press against porcelain
sweet taste of jasmine flowers

our tantric dancing
trips the light of galaxies
we are earth and moon
cheek to cheek and face to face
inhaling each other’s breath

when we last parted
soft drumming of rain on leaves
was the only sound
the echo of your footsteps
already a memory

Kim M. Russell, 21^st May 2020

Image found on Pinterest

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar: 5-Line Japanese Forms

Frank T is our host for today’s Meeting the Bar, where we are celebrating National Tanka Month, or NaTankaMo and focusing on three 5-line Japanese forms: tanka, kyoka and gogyohka

Frank reminds us that tanka enjoys a long history in Japan and has given us a background to the form. Similar to haiku, tanka consist of concrete images and similar line…