By: Ann Christine Tabaka 

Empty Nights

whispers in the dark
all that is left of our love
reaching out for you
you are no longer there
– empty nights

Time

the boisterous rumbling of a kitten
all too soon becomes
the muted purr of old age

Hope

hope is a song
sung softly in the night
whispered on a prayer

Innocence

growing up
we did not speak of such things
we turned our heads
and hid our eyes

the innocence of childhood
washed away
with a single tear

Empty

the empty space within me
is the place you used to fill

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About the poet

Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry; nominated for the 2023 Dwarf Stars award of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association; winner of Spillwords Press 2020 Publication of the Year; selected as a Judge for the Soundwaves Poetry Contest of Northern Ireland 2023. Her bio is featured in the “Who’s Who of Emerging Writers 2020” and “2021,” published by Sweetycat Press. She is the author of 16 poetry books, and 1 short story book. She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking.  Chris lives with her husband and four cats. Her most recent credits are: The Phoenix; Eclipse Lit, Carolina Muse, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, Ephemeral Literary Review, The Elevation Review, The Closed Eye Open, North Dakota Quarterly, Tangled Locks Journal, Wild Roof Journal, The American Writers Review, Black Moon Magazine, Pacific Review, The Silver Blade, Pomona Valley Review, West Texas Literary Review.