birdsong
even as the thunderhead
swells
tanka by tanka
the poet lives and dies

ten years old
he plumps my sick-bed pillows...
on the window ledge
hyacinths unfurl their sails
of clean, white scent
 

unable
to whisper it in your ear
shell-like
in the depths of night
a tanka hears my sadness

Claire Everett's haiku, tanka, and other poems have appeared in Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine, Simply Haiku, Sketchbook, Haiku News and Bolts of Silk. Recently she won 2nd and 3rd place in the Think Tanka 2010. She lives with her husband, five children, and two beautiful cats in County Durham, England.