Four Tankas

By R.K. Singh

1.

tears dry up

leaving no marks where her pain

ends and mine begins

on the face makeup damp

with aching sweat and cold sighs

2.

when I wanted to change

seats my friend said she can

only if the door's locked

the light out and her mom

in another city

3.

too small to explore

the sea of the unknown:

island existence

breathing hell of darkness

dreading hungry excursions

4.

dark alleys

chaos on the road

fear delays

homeward move at nine

lumpens lie in wait

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Ram Krishna Singh, an Indian English poet, has been writing  for about four decades. A former professor of English at IIT-ISM in Dhanbad, India, he has published more than 160 research articles, 175 book reviews and 42 books, including Sense and Silence: Collected Poems (2010), New and Selected Poems Tanka and Haiku (2012),  You Can’t Scent Me and Other Selected Poems (2016), God Too Awaits Light (2017), Growing Within (2017), and  There's No Paradise and Other Selected Poems Tanka & Haiku (2019). http://profrksingh.wordpress.com .

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