Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Tanka--By Elizabeth Howard--United States

we build a fire in the cabin
settle down on sleeping bags . . .
all night wasps buzz and fall--
at dawn we lie hostage
to a carpet of torpid wasps 
_____________________

a boy nets a crab
watches the net dissolve
in the crab’s claws--
as recompense
he boils the crab for lunch
_____________________

the boy tosses a stick
the labrador retrieves it
untiring --
I sit watching,
my shoulder unhinged
_____________________

Elizabeth Howard lives in Crossville, Tennessee. She writes poetry and fiction. Her poems have appeared in Comstock Review, Big Muddy, Appalachian Heritage, Cold Mountain Review, Poem, Still, Mobius, Now & Then, Slant, and other journals.

2 comments:

  1. Elizabeth,
    A nice trio of tanka. I enjoyed them very much.
    Your friend,
    David Fox

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