Ann Christine Tabaka
★ ★ ★ ★
POETRY
![Andrew-P-Dillon-taryn-elliott](https://thewildword.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/andrew-krasilnikov-ann-christine.jpg)
Image by Andrew Krasilnikov
Racing Dreams
Dreams of racing above clouds haunt my past.
Peering down on fearsome foes.
As a child I would wake with a start – still
breathless from the chase.
Dizzying images of trees swirled beneath
my running feet – furiously trying to stay aloft.
Exhausted – heart pounding / drenched in sweat.
I pulled the covers over my head – hiding
from myself. Trying to make sense of what
felt so real – yet was an illusion.
Years walked pass / first slowly / then faster.
Ages sped by in a dust storm of misaligned events.
The dreams became less frequent, but persisted.
It has been years since I had this dream / still
I cannot shake it. It follows me into old age.
Aching limbs trying to race from some perceived
harm. What does it all mean? I run from myself /
I never catch up. I race my dreams to the end.
I fear – falling to earth will be my final dream.
Sunrise Holds Memories
I walk past dawn – feet sinking deep in wet sand.
Salt air fills my senses. Thunderous sound of crashing
waves echo in my head. Southpoint is empty this time
of day – it is mine to absorb. The tide rolls out carrying
expectations on its shoulders. Sunrise holds memories.
I climbed a mountain once – in the Colorado Rockies.
Air thin as a noon shadow – Mt. Sneffles towered above
clouds. Ice axes and canteens escaped, racing down
cliffside along with my dreams. So much snow – the
memory brings a chill on this abandoned day. I become
lost in faces, places, & events that swirl like an eddy
caught beneath the pier. Sunlight makes its entrance.
Beach glass & tumbled shells sparkle in delight. Images
recede – memories are tucked back into a locked
box of time. The sun touches my face & I walk off
to meet my future – dawn following in my footsteps.
![AndrewPDillon](https://thewildword.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ann-Christine-Tabaka.jpg)
Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the 2017 & 2023 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; featured in the “Who’s Who of Emerging Writers” 2020 and 2021.
It’s appropriate that these poems were accepted by a German publication. The first word that came to my mind was Angst. Here’s where Siri lead me:
“The German word Angst, fear, came into the English language in the early 1940s. In its English, psychiatric sense, “angst” signifies a feeling of insecurity, anxiety, or apprehension.” And, Chris, here you have brilliantly found the words to express those elusive but deeply felt, difficult emotions. XoRita
How do I submit to Wild Word? greenfaith2@gmail.com
Faith Green