table for one
barely above a whisper …
year-end dinner

snow crystals
on my neighbor’s windows …
Foreclosure askew

first job interview
my shadow
on the sunlit snow

strawberry stains
on the corners of my son’s mouth …
his laugh in my laughter

laid off again …
this snowy night lengthens
car by car

alone with my shadow
on the childhood beach
gull after gull …

Chen-ou Liu is the author of two award-winning books,  Following the Moon to the Maple Land  and A Life in Transition and Translation. His tanka and haiku have been honoured with many awards.