beneath dim moonlighther heart bursting into flameslove set on firehis touch sparking friction, heatat dusk, two lovers combust
Issue 9
35 tanka by 25 poets, from Tanka Journal’s free online edition.
Also in print
Issue 9 in paperback
This issue was printed by Prolific Press. Copies are still available in the bookstore.
Buy the paperbackSnow falls quietlyUnder a silvery moon.I forget the coldBeholding winter beauty.I need no warmth on this night.
The crickets will singThe song of a green springtime.Waking from slumberThe sun, covered, long hiddenGlows upon a reborn world.
veins of frost encroachwe enter heart of winterin frozen silencehe slipped away, not a word --Better cold than face goodbye
the curve of your hipsthe rhythm of pounding wavescasual minutesbecome a thousand hoursin the winter memory
blue morning gloryunfolding in a pure skybeside a ram’s skullmy uncharted road beginsin the twilight of morning
Spring Tanka SequenceTall skeleton Treefills with new leaves and flowersin only three dayswhile new moon meditates onwhat she can see in the darkLike spring flowers, moonbegins to open her eye;three days in the darkhave taught her what turtles knowwhen they bury eggs in sandAnd egg is a seedburied deep in my body;a poem is an egg,after three dark days it cracks,my spring daughter pushes through
side by side since birtheach day we walk togetherbrother death and I…under sunshine and through darknesswe follow the path we find
I wander the yardListening to the wondersWatching the sun riseA woodpecker in a treeFinding peace with the soul
Heroes come and goLife-long battles with day-dreamsOpening new doorsAs flexing muscles aboundUnder golden canopies
Following the dayPassages open pathwaysThrough the yellow dawnIn step with wind-swept momentsFollowing the path beyond
Whispered promisesFaded photos, hands trembleMissing in actionEvening news footage, phone ringsReluctant, then joyful tears
Thorough ants busyat the base of the willow.The fog enshrouds both.There is a universe hiddeninside this gluttonous gray.
Removing your robeTouching your shoulder’s bare skinVulnerable, exposedA river birch’s peeling barkWhite trunk undraped, circling hawk
Your rapid riverpulls me asunder with grace,giving love’s waterto quench an undying thirstand steal my chilled breath from me.
Pulled by the blue moonfrom the still of deep waters,you swell and sands rush,your crest shattering on shore—we linger to feel your wave.
anger flairs againtears are rolling down my facetime changes nothingcould you abandon your wayswill I realize my part
Silver moonlight shoneon my mouth ripe with question –down on bended kneeI asked you to join my lifeand share all the moons to come.
Did I gasp out loudwhen you fell to bended knee -words released to airwhich I caught in happy handsthen blew my yes back to you.
Blue sky stretches outBare feet move over green grassYour pull captivatesDancing in warm, sun-kissed airEver tethered together
Floor-scrubbing childhoodwore away my fingerprints;your slavery, momcould not penetrate my skulland flatten my furrowed brain.
Peering out windowsHearts race, future starts anewFast forward, doors closeSomber eyes do dry, take timeIt is all about choices
cold winter eveningfather thumbs seed cataloguesknowing all alongwhen spring planting time arriveshe will have been laid to rest
tumbling mountain streampurling around polished stonessins with happy songlanguage understood by nonemessage understood by all
Sugar-crazed duelsincrease at the pinkplastic bulb of the feeder;the greater the abundance,the more bitter the battle.
You turn in my mindCircling like a song half-learnedOn brief sweet snatchesOf melody that draw meTowards each re-encounter.
Waving from ship’s bowmy heart as broken as yourssealed by decisionsmade long before our stars crossed –my fate lies in distant lands.
bathing in the Sunbright bronze rays sinking deeplywarming Moon’s cold boneshis Light is then part of herabsorbed; like salt in sea air
Running in the fieldCrowd cheering in the standsThey just scored a goalThe game is almost overPeople, all the bets are off
Her desire for changejob accepted overseasexcited but tornflames diminish, embers dimCan relationship survive?
Penned Dear John letterdeposited in mailboxirretrievableemotions fluctuatedmoved forward with no regrets
All is gathered inJust the gleanings now remainHonking Whoopers landThey earn their keep in the fieldsSeasonal migrant workers
Biting winds cut deepMaking us bow in mourningWinter has arrivedOld branches may break and dieReplaced by new growth in spring
strewn across my pathlitter words flung at randomempty promisesI step lightly over allgrateful for self-reliance
Dawn-doves coo and preen.Sun feathers a woman’s cheeks.Asters, larkspur bow.The wrought-iron gate rattles.Tumbling tears test the tombstone.
Issue 9
Poets in this issue
- Susi Bocks1
- Holly Brazzle1
- Cheryl Caesar1
- Suzanne Cottrell3
- John Elliott2
- Arvilla Fee3
- Michael Flanagan1
- Gail Greenwood1
- Tim Heerdink1
- Fiona Jones1
- C L Killgore1
- Bruce Levine3
- Madeline Lipton1
- Elena Marzotto1
- Dennis Maulsby1
- Nan McLamb1
- Bill Melton2
- Robert Miner1
- Jennifer Montgomery1
- Karen Mooney2
- Ann Orr1
- Christa Planko1
- Rachel Pond1
- Shannon Thompson2
- Katherine West1