Tanka Writing Roundtable • Fall 2011
Dr. Randy Brooks

Waiting
Wondering
Wishing

A Tanka Sequence

by

Brittany M. Mytnik
&
Morgan Ewald

bm

dust floats
in the ribbons of light
that filters through half opened blinds;
I lay in my childhood bed,
wishing

in my childhood bed,
feeling the sun on my skin
i lay and wait . . .
soon, i remember,
soon

me

bm

in the stale, hospital waiting room
an elderly couple
celebrates a grandchild's birth--
i watch
twisting my wedding band

my left hand
feels bare, and
i start to wonder,
is there something 
wrong with me?

me

bm

bright red markings
decorating answer
after wrong answer--
you had known
i would be a failure

deep red,
the sudden sparkle
of a costume in the light,
on top of an elephant,
she waits

me

bm

meditating
for the first time
i probe the darkness 
behind my eyes
for an escape

stepping into
the shadows
i am able to release
the unending wrath
of my other half

me

bm

grand oak tree
reaches his shadow
toward me
closer
with each passing hour

rushing to get past,
to press the spot
on the trunk
Crookshanks dodges
the Whomping Willow's blows

me

bm

after years
of climbing
we sit upon
this long dead
stump

sitting under the stars
with him,
i start wishing--
suddenly,
a shooting star

me

bm

a painter's ladder
i have the urge
to climb it
and reach
the stars

her brush
makes swirls in the water
when she empties
the color
from it

me

bm

the last drop
releases its grip
on the edge of the milk carton
reminding me 
of how empty i feel

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