a "just engaged" sign
on the ford mustang
that passes me on a curve
without warning
or brake lights

while potato soup
thickens . . .
the story of a chilly,
march afternoon
forgotten

on a road that follows
the mississippi
a billboard
with mark twain's silhouette
selling life insurance

For Mary:

surviving

another winter

a steady light

shining through

the lampshades of snowdrops

an iron nail
forged into
a wedding ring*
there's not much room
for a change of heart

*Such rings were also known as prairie diamonds.

as though the cattail
held a microphone
the trill
of a red-winged blackbird
crossing the pond

no longer part
of the bank's erosion
the roots
of a sycamore
grasping the twilight

ironing my way through
another gray morning
in each burst of steam
the powdery scent
of clean fabric

retiring after

years of hard work   
the corn planter
never complains
about the weeds

I've reached the one-month milestone.  11 more months to go.  At the year's end, I will post a page of the tanka I rejected from the 365 tanka experiment. 


In addition, any tanka that I've revised from my original post will be noted in the labels section with either "revision" or "revised tanka."  The revised tanka will stay true to the original post in theme. 


Most tanka will contain five lines.  There will be a few exceptions to this "rule" if I feel the breaks aren't working the way I would like them to.


The above photo is the corn planter that sits in our front yard.  The photo needs a lot of work but right now my primary focus is on writing at least one tanka a day.