Swinging their clasped handsA romantic moonlight strollTheir new beginningOcean waves washing awayMemories of past lovers
Issue 6
51 tanka by 39 poets, from Tanka Journal’s free online edition.
Also in print
Issue 6 in paperback
This issue was printed by Prolific Press. Copies are still available in the bookstore.
Buy the paperbackGrandmother’s treasureCream, peach cameo locketOnce loved remembranceLaid in a pawn shop windowSuccumbed to financial need
My head aches from hoursStaring at a handheld screenNothing to see hereDistraction passes the timeAllows life to be ignored
Silence at sunrise:only the sound of breakers—morning, lost in fog—I am adrift on the shoreunable to set my sail
a fallen appleasleep in the grassfirst starshow quiet the twilightat harvest’s end
Christmas Evebeneath the pear treea dead bluebirdoutside the hospicesilhouettes and shadows
First LetterThrough blown pink blossomsGusts untangling night secretsHard buds underfoot -Our fragrant dying still lifeFalling together in blissReply LetterKicking wind-ripped budsNever to bloom yet we kissedBlue starlight fading -Golden reverie awakesBeholds your splendor anew
Swaying willow treeweathering life's ups and downswhispering prayerssinging each moment's lyricsto the rhythm of our hearts
Glorious, my starAlone with me in the nightCast off the shadowsAs I rest safe in your armsProtected until the dawn
Blue has spilled overthe hillside. Little bent bellsring in the season.A forest of your blue eyes.My first smiles of Spring have bloomed.
Smelling of summer lovefresh grass and flowers,noses kiss love,friends fold into nothing,together we sit alone.
world whitened with snowtrees now brides in frosted gownsshadows morrow growthstrength in each winter's passingour wedding day promises
She pocks the damp airReading Braille in the dewdropsHer palm slipperyReaching for the lightning strikeIt ricochets off her hand
She taps the batonThe orchestra straightens upHer posture perfectShe makes a frantic motionAngels play the instruments
first lettermy gardenthese late spring morningsforget-me-notsblooms and memoriesmore longing than brightreply letterneareryour heart than your doordaisieswith my message for nowonly "he loves me" petals
Duty is like dust--dry disregarded fragmentsI cannot quite graspthe visible spec ridinglife’s air-conditioned currents.
Remember the kiss--your soft honeysuckle lipsapologizingfor being unexpectedand lingering for dessert.
sandalsby the open doorwanderlustignores the broomsweeping needs
Droplets dripping from the rusting water spigot alone, abandoned—While a worn trail fades into the distant jade horizon.
First cup, passes onYielding forth to the nextDepth of Grace's kissFlitting moment drawn of easePours past and then on again
Sunrise radianceRapture on the spider's webCyclic LitanyIn the murky brine of lifeSweet sorrow of graceful 'morn
September eighteenth:Thought I would break when you held meBut leaving broke meInto a thousand piecesOf hard-earned glass-blown hearts
Vibrant orange bloom Drifts silently from its stem Roots are now toxic She starts to fade in the sun … I know why she had to run.
Crows gather in massTo watch the coming sunrise,As the light explodesDark wings take flight with purposeGuiding forth a brand new day.
Birdsong wakes me nowInstead of traffic alarms.My bed, warm and soft,Piled high with pillows, blankets--But without you… so empty.
I am not bleeding--You kiss me like I’m dyingeven so. No tears.So strong, these crumbling facades.But I still know you’re breaking.
summer coat sleek greyPeblita, eyes like Shiva,toes small and tippy,stares out from cool barn darknessdebates what carrots are worth
it's an odd feelingyielding and firm all at onceyour lips against mineand my legs almost give wayyet I'm strong as a mountain
The Louvre echoeswith a hot dusty silence:Paris in summer.Even tourists have vanishedand the Tower looms, forlorn.
crocus emergescracks through thawing frosted grounda widow’s first smilebeginning life with new eyesfinds the season beyond death
One highway ridingOn the back of another.Deep blue horizonHoping for a miracle:New sky way creation
glass of chardonnayawaits as I try to forma thought in my mindthen suddenly it's spillingon the paper, through my pen
his savory lipscolliding against my ownwholly enamoredtasting my next fifty yearsunconditional promise
Winters day is shortThe temperatures are fallingI feel the crispnessin the air surrounding meand breathe in deeply
Mourning's ragged depthsTears well, spill over, bathingYour grief, fierce and wildLiquid sorrow, lamentingYour heart's brokenheartedness
Scarlet red bee balmHummingbird hovers, perchesOn spiky hairdosSummoning the butterflyAnd buzzing pollinator
changing languageswe drank nectar from a vaseAugust sun’s amberthen embers – your fingerprinton the glass, scintillating
midnight a thick thudon floorboards, silken dusk droppedcoldest ground – crescentmoonlight lost underwateryour voice farther and farther
Silken cords bind wristsInvitation for struggleInstead I submit—The art of hidden beautyUnfurls through gasps of desire
Beyond the hill’s crestMorning’s faintest blush arrivesSoon you will wakenFor now, shadows remain stillEven loons silence their calls
WHISPERINGYet another ripin ears of fading flowerson my washed nightgown,death’s whisper in the winter.Arms of the gown cling to me.
darkness, do not partgloom the ocean of this mindstars, do not shine brightbitter water, veil his lifesuffocate my memory
The baby’s cryingagain my window is closedthe rain coming strongmuffling the sound of her wailsmaybe I should move again
Aphrodite fairBefore, I did curse your name.Now, tender kissesGrace my life. Your songbirds sing,Filling my heart with sweet music.
rare steak and red wineour camp not seen by rangersLamb’s Canyon, hiding,pines whispering about usthe creek keeping our secrets
I heard the fledglingClumsily hit the windowConfused in a dazeI heard your heart beating fastfirst flight leaves me in a trance
fall trees line our pathlacy bones against the skywe stir up the pastour feet shuffling the leavesechoing through the seasons
Her postings pregnantWith unfulfilled promisesNew allies daily...Shame came for her when they sawHer lover was my husband.
Hypnotized by hueSmoldering essence of lifeBurning up slowlyConsuming love for warmthPassionate glow of the night
Your eyes upon me,My heart aching for your loveEmpty hope is mineBecause mine you'll never beWant is all that remains here
paper wings flutter,bright tulle twirls round and around,laughter fills the air...glitter trickles to the floorto fly was more than a dreamResponse:strong hands reaching high,spinning, making memorieslittle girls change youmaking boys into fathersturning shadows into light
Issue 6
Poets in this issue
- Zach Agnew1
- Laurie Beringer1
- Jodie Brown1
- Cathy Bryant1
- Anna Cates2
- Jakob Chapman2
- Meghan Coates2
- Leon Coningham1
- Suzanne Cottrell2
- Matthew Cowles2
- Alex Douglas1
- Mary Crane Fahey2
- Susan Gentry1
- Michelle Holland1
- Lianne Kamp1
- Rebecca Kane1
- Joseph J Kozma1
- Jody Larson2
- Ron. Lavalette1
- Iris Lee1
- Thomas Locicero2
- Roxana Lopez1
- Kenzie McCurdy1
- Bill Melton1
- Averyll Mercer1
- Grace Neff1
- Zoe Nikolopoulou1
- Christina Perry2
- Rachel Pond1
- Jackie Maugh Robinson2
- Melissa Robinson1
- Chanacee Ruth-Killgore1
- Angela Sargent2
- Tiffany Taylor1
- Heather Teague1
- Elizabeth Tyrrell1
- Yvonne Vinstra1
- Adele Wegner2
- Paul Wooldridge1