In soft graphite shade
I frame a calm steady gaze,
Her strength, quiet shown.
A belt gathers light and cloth—
poise held gently in stillness.

Pencil whispered shapes
Curved thought resting in her eyes,
Beauty drawn in grey.
Shades and silent light surround,
a quiet story wakens.

Each careful stroke drawn—
Paused I stare, my heart strings stirred
Lines become my dream.
Somewhere between shade and soul,
I fall in love with my art.

By Paul Baldry (LongJohn)

In Falling for a Reflection, I explore waka poetry shaped by the act of drawing. As a graphite portrait forms, each verse follows what I see and feel—the shadows, the gaze, the quiet emotion. The poem grows with the image, capturing the point where observation, art, and feeling merge into one.

A modern linked waka sequence, or a renga (linked verse) perhaps a cross of tanka and waka to the purist, my defence is I’m just an amateur trying his best.

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