Some years
back, over the course of a few months, Mike Montreuil and I co-wrote some
tanka. We traded prompts -- two-to-three
very brief lines that were not cast in stone, but served, rather, as malleable ideas.
For the five below, I’ve provided the prompt alongside the poem for those who
might be interested. mb
fading ink
all about the trenches
the smell of mud
reading between the lines
love kept grandpa warm
all about the trenches
the smell of mud
reading between the lines
love kept grandpa warm
to read in between
the lines
the lines
sugared almonds
my mother's cookbook
opening up
that sweet crunchiness
yesterday so long ago
my mother's cookbook
opening up
that sweet crunchiness
yesterday so long ago
recipe book open -
my hands travel
to a time in the past
my hands travel
to a time in the past
lace swirls
over deepest blue
our Earth
lying under the sun
one never looks sick
over deepest blue
our Earth
lying under the sun
one never looks sick
one never looks sick
lying under the sun
lying under the sun
yesterday
my firstborn daughter
was wed
in the morning light
the hills seem far away
my firstborn daughter
was wed
in the morning light
the hills seem far away
the hills seem far away
in the morning light
in the morning light
look out, world
'cause here I come
a woman
walking with a smile
and a springtime urge
'cause here I come
a woman
walking with a smile
and a springtime urge
spring time urge
the woman walking
with a smile
the woman walking
with a smile
Montreal poet Maxianne Berger and Ottawa poet Mike Montreuil co-edit the on-line periodical Cirrus : tankas de nos jours.
For more about Cirrus
