Modern English Tanka
Autumn 2006

visitation . . .
my brother's watch
beeps
to let me know
he'll be gone soon



family gathering;
the silence
between my mother
and stepfather
colder than the rain



new law!
nine o'clock curfew . . .
alone
my father drinks
with the lights off



mother and i
share grandma's quilt
to stay warm . . .
the old scars between
us still not stitched