Silence; by my knee

silence

follows me around

at my heels

in midday sun

a field of white stars

—Moonbathing, 12, June 2015

by my knee

a soft thud and rustle—

I pause

to take another look

at an ugly brown bug

—Skylark, 3:1, Summer 2015

Buying

buying 

a garden statue ...

my slight pause

before I accept

the chip in her angel wing

—Skylark, 3:1, Summer 2015

I once wanted

I once wanted

crystal and bone china …

now, a new broom

with long, stiff bristles

for whisking up debris

—A Hundred Gourds, 4:3, June 2015

How I bristled

how I bristled

at ruffles, bows, and hats,

favoring

my baggy play dress

made of pillow ticking

—Skylark, 3:1, Spring/Summer 2015

For years, my grandmother loved to see me in hats and bows—and hats with bows. That may have been okay for my dolls. But it wasn't for me, though in my humble opinion I did at least try to cooperate.

My play dress looked like an old-fashioned striped pillowcase. I still remember one of the teenage boys next door rolling down his bedroom window and teasing me about it (in a good-natured way).

Clouds of smoke

clouds of smoke

from a too-hot skillet –

my thoughts 

swirl with the uncertainty

of what's to come

—A Hundred Gourds, 4:3, June 2015

Announcement: 2015 TSA Members' Anthology

The Tanka Society of America (TSA) is pleased to announce the publication of a members’ anthology in the fall of 2015. This year’s anthology will be edited by Claire Everett, a widely known tanka poet and editor of Skylark Tanka Journal. David Rice, TSA’s Ribbons editor, will do the design and production. We’re very excited about this anthology, which will complete a year of events celebrating TSA’s fifteenth anniversary.

– Margaret Chula, TSA president and anthology liaison
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See the TSA website for more information. If you’re not a current member, please join or renew soon so you'll be eligible to participate.