tanka/tanshi/senryu cluster

 base of reason, koi ponds don't have fish 

overnight working: sepia pictures of foreign folks 

unsure of lots, speeding somewhere in his car

nighttrain January's cold highlights my loneliness i suppose

shotgun houses: whats comin' off the bayou at night

'gimme a whiskey...' self-loathin' is a constant companion 

frustrated—ordering another Lyft taking a swig of gin

mention of 'peach skin,' everyone thinks its a haiku...

indecent as the falling of tiles from your roof

taste of fall 

in each apple-bite

some nights 

i wanna be lascivious 

like Oscar Wilde 

approaching 

forty-three soon...

finding 

that i enjoy displaying 

indecency for shock-value

increased libido...

men

these days

are so beautiful 

are so delectable 

passing 

of another era...

again wondering 

how many years will i 

be granted to live 

simmering greens

on the stove

amid baked chickenscent 

realization that i am 

still man'less

tonight 

stepped outta myself

went to a bar...

met him over margaritas 

wrapped him in a Chinese quatrain 

koi pond's 

dryness—

working hard 

to put away my

inner villain 

New Years: huggin' strangers liquor flows like river

not enough

talk about our 

inner darkness...

on the stove 

a whistling teakettle

pacing 

in this night coolness...

4 am 

the time when thoughts 

undress themselves 

randomly 

thinking of Marquis De Sade...

would we have been 

melodramatic lovers 

a scandalous pair

De Sade's "Justine"

tale of sexual masochism

often worrying about 

living single

more than my kinks 

passing by 

the same dog

tonight 

the gods aren't home 

and humans aren't aware

quietly walking

the length

of this quiet hotel

up one pair of stairs

and down another 

indulging in 

chocolate Symphony bar—

the musty scent in the hotel stairwell 

a rainstorm's tantrum 

against the train's windows...

my mint tea isn't 'minty' enough 

lines between fiction and reality

blurred—

mating cats and arguing neighbors...life 

with hometown friends 

all the laughter and drinking...

all things become important

peddling of baby ducks...

leisurely stroll with you

along the Danube

the wounds in my heart

...my own

personal stigmata i wear for pity

my world

slightly schizophrenic...

this 

frenetic pace of the locals

tattooed on my eyes