Ann Christine Tabaka (USA)

Exclusive: European poetry: Curated by Agron Shele

Ann Christine Tabaka (USA)

Ann Christine Tabaka has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry, has been internationally published, and won poetry awards from numerous publications. She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and three cats. Her most recent credits are: Pomona Valley Review; Ariel Chart, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, Oddball Magazine, The Paragon Journal, The Stray Branch, Trigger Fish Critical Review, Foliate Oak Review, Better Than Starbucks!, Anapest Journal, Mused, Apricity Magazine, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, Scryptic Magazine, Ann Arbor Review, The McKinley Review.

*(a complete list of publications is available upon request)

Kenya

The dream becomes real

before my eyes.

Golden sunrise,

blazing vermillion sunsets,

lush green savannahs.

I have witnessed all.

Great Rift Valley,

Cradle of Mankind,

prehistoric memories

reverberate throughout.

At Lake Nakuru,

a thousand diamonds dance

as flamingos march the shoreline

of shallow water.

Breathless rush of wings

rising from the marshes.

Leopards crouch in wait,

while mischievous baboons

and monkeys tease from above.

Crowded villages filled

with friendly smiling faces,

and the laughter of children

playing ancient games.

Amazing sights, creatures,

landscapes and people,

cataloged forever in my mind.

A journey of the heart fulfilled.

The dream becomes real

before my eyes.

Asking Directions

How do you know

which way to turn,

when you come

to the fork in the road?

Directions notwithstanding,

can you ever know

the right path?

Life is filled with obstacles

that none of us comprehend,

yet we continue on

until the end, never knowing

where we began.

We do what we can,

and along the way,

we may make a friend or two,

if we do not fear to ask directions.

Lost in Time

Sometimes life goes thundering

past at a blinding speed, loosing

all concept of time. The tasks and

chores that fill our lives seem an

unending litany of busyness.

Missing the sweetness that a

moment allows, the day drifts

on in breaths and sighs. Stop,

step back, open your eyes. Wrap

yourself in the wonder of now,

for in a moment it will be gone.

vanished with a whisper, like the

morning mist evaporating in the

warmth of the newly risen sun.

Hold on to each breath and allow

it to fill you with the beauty that is

before you. We are only here for

an instant, then we fade along

with lost memories hidden among

the cobwebs of space and time.

Setu, September 2019