Songs Sung to a False God by Ann Christine Tabaka

where are the voices that used to sing, as 

dawn first lifted her eyes? the darkness of

a thousand clouds now suture morning lips. 

time passes through my fingers, day into 

night, and night into day. where have the

song larks gone? the pond is dry. the grass 

is brown. did I leave the door open again?

i listen with my heart, but hear no music.

standing beside the willow tree, I touch

your memory. I once worshiped you as

men do now, but you left when winter

came. cold hearts bleeding for redemption,

they sacrificed their children, one by one. 

following blindly, praying for crumbs. once 

vibrant voices, now silenced by pain. the 

whiteness of winter blooms into spring, 

as you return once more. you hold out your 

hands, waiting for love. no gifts fill your 

coffers. no songs fill your ears. truth

has opened my eyes. the false god is dead.

Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. She is the winner of Spillwords Press 2020 Publication of the Year, her bio is featured in the “Who’s Who of Emerging Writers 2020 and 2021,” published by Sweetycat Press. She is the author of 15 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: Eclipse Lit, Carolina Muse, Sparks of Calliope; The Closed Eye Open, North Dakota Quarterly, Tangled Locks Journal, Wild Roof Journal, The American Writers Review, Burningword Literary Journal, Muddy River Poetry Review, The Silver Blade, Pomona Valley Review, West Texas Literary Review, The Hungry Chimera, Sheila-Na-Gig, Fourth & Sycamore.

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