Tanka Writing Roundtable • Fall 2017
Dr. Randy Brooks

From the Outside, Looking In

by
Ben Williamson

Far from formal, and sure as hell far from perfect, my work is a look into the experiences and moments that have shaped me into the person I am today.

laying stiffly on the floor
motionless
an old dog
living his last days
on borrowed time

man and his dog
in a dove field
man’s best friend
laid to rest
on old stomping grounds

watching my
young cousins
chase each other,
the boundless energy
I had many years ago

baking cookies
with grandma,
stealing bites of dough,
some things we don’t
grow out of

cool summer night
fire pit roaring with life
burning marshmallows
as the light fades,
the conversations grow

as the sun’s rays drop
below the tree-line,
rod-tips dance
in mesmerizing unison as
nothing but current tugs the line

where the bluegill come easy
on the docks as a kid
life with no worry
I miss those days
but there’s bigger fish to fry

coloring outside the lines
in preschool,
i never was any good.
you made sure
i never forget that.

all the lights
turned down low
I close my eyes
and dream
that you were laying with me

I oftentimes get lost
and lose track of time and place
I catch myself staring
into those deep blue eyes
and I fall in love again

on the television screen
countless hours of bad news
I turn it off
I turn to you
for you are my entertainment