Senryu, Haiku and Tanka by Joe Sebastian

SENRYU

circus in small town
the long shadow of the clown
on stilts

a trail of footprints
on slushy footpath-
flip flop


HAIKU


mid -afternoon-
our shadows cling 
to ourselves

dandelion moon
a million wishes
ascend the sky

monsoon moon-
a silvery shadow on 
the plantain tree

showing me how
to travel the world—
dandelion seeds

bent scarecrow-                       
sparrows muster at the edge
of the fence

harvest moon-
shadow of cobra stalking 
mice in the rice mound


TANKA


leaving
the hill
behind
leaving a bit 
of me behind

moon on the mountain rim
tell me 
how far shall i plod along
before fading into the 
darkness of everything ?

saffron robes
shiny shaven head
a rookie monk
recites prayers eyeing 
the pesky fly

footsteps in footsteps
of all sizes on the sand 
how hard we try to
fit in where we do not belong 
than where we do

Joe Sebastian - A Gold medallist post graduate in Political Science and International Relations ,serving the Government of India and currently posted as Principal Commissioner of Income -Tax, has recently penned a collection of Haiku poetry titled 'MYRIAD MUSINGS'. Married ,he lives in Bangalore India with wife,daughter,son and a Golden Retriever . His work has been accepted/published in various international journals including ,The Wales Haiku Journal, Mayfly, Creatrix, Cold Moon Journal, Presence, Haikuniverse, Dylan Thomas Anthology, The Haiku Foundation, Asahi Shinbum,Muse India, Haiku Xpressions,The Akitsu Quarterly, Failed Haiku,The Bamboo Hut, Poetry Pea, The Sunflower Collective,Stardust Haiku etc .His other interests include travelling, music ,organic farming /gardening and its advocacy and conduct of sports and games for the mentally challenged.