tanka string

 over a meal 

of steak and potatoes

mentally condensing

the mundane 

into five lines

.

during 

our argument

i dramatically fall

to the floor like 

Lady MacBeth 

.

Victorian water lilies

in the backyard

trying to trace

the footsteps 

of my fleeting childhood

.

desiring 

only quiet

i continue 

folding 

paper parakeets

.

a dramatic shift

in our relationship 

lately 

i've been looking at his shoes

with contempt

.

dust

on the lobby's

faux 

potted plant...

no children 

.