1

dead winter leaves
crunch under my feet
in the back of my mind
it’s supposed to be
snow

Sylyr Choe

2

the way grandma
calls grandpa’s name
real slow, cranking up
the volume like
a tornado siren

Randy Brooks

I spoke about this poem in class, but I love that I can hear my grandma saying my grandfather’s name when I read this poem. It’s very nostalgic to me and the imagery is strong. My little brother picked up on my grandma saying things to my grandpa when we were over at their house when he was barely a toddler. My whole family got a kick out of him repeating “Dave!! DaaaaAAAAAvvvve! Come get in the car Dave!” as he walked around the house. Leah Flint, Spring 2024

3

only one allowed
I hold her hand
laughter as
the piercing needle
goes in

Sophie Nicholson

4

the necklace
that once resembled
love and adoration
now echoes of
control

McKenna Beals

5

this was
supposed to be easier,
this semester.
my to-do list 
longer than santa's

Eden Niebrugge

6

moving plants
from house to house
like a child caught
in the middle of a divorce,
their leaves no longer green.

Eden Niebrugge

This tanka spoke to me as a college student who has plants. Moving plants frequently back and forth can stress them out, not to mention changing environments affect plant growth differently. When they can’t expect consistent levels of light, humidity, temperature, etc., the plants can suffer. This poem effectively captures those ideas and the struggle of owning plants while living in two different places. I love the dark comedy of comparing plants to a child in the middle of divorce. It captures a sense of tragedy and humor simultaneously that really appeals to me. On a mechanical level, I like that “moving plants” is on its own line to start, because it conjures up both the act of moving them and the idea of plants moving. The structure of “from house to house” flows well and visually constructs the move from one house to another. I love “their leaves no longer green” as the final line because it conveys that sense of loss. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

7

spreading the jam
to the edges
you smile
I’d make the world spin backwards
if I thought it might please you

Sophie Nicholson

I particularly enjoy the first three lines of this tanka in that it can be interpreted two different ways with two completely separate scenes or meanings. I enjoy the idea that “I” is observing their lover spread jam to the edges of their toast, noting this down in their head. The lover then looks at “I” and smiles. I also love the word “please” instead of “happy” or other phrases in that line. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

I find this to be so heart-warming and domestic. There is a double-meaning in the spreading of the jam and the way the person’s smile sits on their face that is connected through the edges of each- spreading jam to the very crust (edges) of the bread, and the edges of the person’s smile, and I love the imagery that this tanka conjures in knowing and loving someone so well that you can make them smile simply because you know how they like their toast (completely jelly-covered). There is a love to this tanka that reminds me of how it feels to come home to the person you love. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024

I forget which of us wrote this one and to be frank I don’t remember the name of the person I think it was. Apologies. However, I picked this one because I think it’s beautiful and encapsulates what I like most about Tanka. This was not originally one that I had on my list of favorites, which is precisely why I like it so much. The meaning that I found so beautiful was something I only discovered with the help of the class. I originally believed that the last 2 lines of the Tanka were a little too straightforward and could be helped by a little more subtlety. I now believe that this would be opposing how it’s meant to be read. The first three lines are meant to set you in almost a memory of this moment. The 3rd line being, “you smile”, is a beautiful turning point that makes all of the composure of the Tanka fall away. Whatever poetic words may have been said were lost in that smile. What is said in the last 2 lines is the only things that can be said, they fall out of your mouth whether you want them to or not. This Tanka developed and changed the more I was exposed to it and I am glad that we talked about it. If we hadn’t, I fear I may have never grasped the potential that it held. Josh Lowe, Spring 2024

8

falling on hard times
a gentle reminder
rooted in struggle
we are . . .
human

McKenna Beals

9

birds sing their songs
in the early morning
quiet hours
while I choke on the perfume
of your funeral flowers

Sylyr Choe

I really like this tanka. We discussed in in class some. I believe that there is this extreme emotional difference between the first and second part of the tanka. It seems as though this comparison between the beautiful birds’ songs and the choking on the smell of the funeral flowers allow for two very different feelings to be expressed. I just really like the division especially from the 'quiet hours' line, which emphasizes that transition between the two. You can also just picture the scene and having the birds tweeting outside a window and the sun is shining in, but the funeral flowers reek of 'death' in a sense. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024

10

a wistful, aged smile
asking the internet
why
I find old people
so cute

Leah Flint

11

crew cut
and khaki pants
mother’s idea
of my
school avatar

Randy Brooks

12

teacher reads
his poetry
I remember how
my father
read to me

Leah Flint