Frank J. Tassone

Tag: haibun

  • Homecoming

    Frank walked off with his friend from home. We called him at least once a week. Sometimes, we’d turn on FaceTime. We laughed at the shenanigans of other parents, and of some of his friends still at home. He made new friends, kept up his studies (We hope!), enjoyed the party scene, and continues his…

  • A Glimpse of Fading Light

    The Eastern Horizon brightens after six in the morning. The Western horizon dims by five in the afternoon. The days contract ever more, as November deepens. Darkness grows. Nonetheless, another year passes. Another Veterans Day, in which we honor those that served. Another St. Martin of Tours, in which we honor the one that laid…

  • An Uneasy Rest

    Voices. The small, polite chatter of acquaitances catching up. Banal remarks like, “He was so close to retirement,” and “What will his son do now?” I try to open my eyes. Nothing happens. I urge my lips to shape the words I want to say. Again, nothing. I try to lift one of my crossed…

  • Ultimatum: an #AmericanSentence #Haibun/#Prosery

    The fires grow. Fallen men groan, holding their trembling hands over hemorrhaging wounds. A rancid odor worsens. The mansion that served as a warlord’s fortress begins collapsing in on itself. Neither of us care. We face each other, ten paces between us. Firelight flickers off of our swords. The coldness in his eyes belies his…

  • Courting Mortality: a #Tankaprose

    “Who wants to live for ever?” Freddie Mecury of Queen sang. You say that you do, and so many would agree. “Who wouldn’t want to be forever young?” you all ask. Tell me this: where do you think you would find such immortals? Striding the banks of the Sein? Sipping Cappuccino on the Palazzia? Gazing…

  • A Day Out

    I sat listening to Haiku Pea in a NY Presbyterian waiting room when she came back. The staff told her they’d contact her when she could schedule her CT scan. Emblem would preauthorize in their own due time, of course. As we exited the outpatient building and crossed Washington Avenue, she shared her disappointment. While…

  • #Haibun-block

    The drought continues. What roared through verdant channels now trickles. The lion’s roar is a kitten’s purr. Empty space calls forth a steady blankness. Haiku flow easily enough. Tanka pour out with little difficulty. But haibun? I am William Shakespeare from “Shakespeare in Love,” lying on his apothecary’s couch, saying, “I’ve lost my gift.” The…

  • Back-to-school Coronal Blues: a #haibun

    The mosquitos keep biting. They move as fast as flies these days. Rainfall from the showers brought by the recent tropical storms must have been good for them. Not so much for me. Three days back in the classroom. Many wear their masks correctly. Some slip their noses free or take too long reapplying them…