Tanka Writing Roundtable • Fall 2011
Dr. Randy Brooks

A Place Like Home
Selected Tanka

by
Brittany M. Mytnik

"A Place Like Home" is a collection of poetry in the style of tanka, that I have written in my first semester of college. The derived from the theme of finding a "home" in my tanka, whether external or internal. Throughout our lives, one of our main goals it to feel at home in our surroundings, with peers and lovers and family, and in ourselves. Many, if not all, of my tanka can be seen to reflect some aspect of a quest for "a place like home."

majestic and serene
white mist
rises from the river—
I once thought
home was on the other side

tension
as the wishbone
breaks
the smaller fragment
in my hands

my new apartment
littered with packed boxes,
and i wonder about
the men who will make
those their homes

the mournful melody
of the train whistle
passing through this tired town
someone is going home--
i wave.

watching the rain
illuminated by
cars' headlights
i remember when
you called me beautiful

faded pictures
in a dust coated album,
still smooth to the touch.
i feel the sudden urge
to walk

beneath winking stars
and watchful moon
we breathe with the trees--
any place you are
is home