In the past few days, I've added several more tanka to the Marjorie Content tribute.  I plan on writing poems for at least three additional photos. I wish more of her images were available on the internet.

the yellow butterfly
not settling
on any flower
until it reaches the one
nearest the drinking fountain

"Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."


~ Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990)*


*author (along with Raymond Hull) of The Peter Principle  


The Peter Principle demonstrates how some politicians get elected to office.  It also applies to certain CEOs whose names are currently in the headlines. 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle

a full swing
and another miss
the evening star
waiting outside
the batting cages

voting day
as if I could
right any wrongs
armed with a ballot
and felt-tip pen

The tribute to Marjorie Content has been updated with three new tanka inspired by a Canyon de Chelly photograph.

Marjorie Content

ensconced on
the fireplace mantel
a flowered vase
I love how it reflects light
without knowing its age

hoping to eradicate
any signs of neglect
I brush my teeth
with renewed vigor
before going to the dentist

undoing an entire game
of solitaire
with control z
I wish it were as ez
to take back careless words

"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they will kill you."

~Oscar Wilde

Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet (1854 - 1900)


There's another variation of this quote attributed to Billy Wilder.