Tanka Kukai 04 Favorites
Tanka Writing Roundtable • Millikin University • Spring 2024
1 checking a box Leah Flint (4) |
2 bathed in moonlight Skylyr Choe (7) I like the imagery and word choice in this tanka. It feels very deliberate, and though I have no idea the circumstances of the composition, I can imagine this one taking time. It feels like every line is put to good use, and the words are so highly specific, they feel fine-tuned. This is like what I want to do with my tanka and only sometimes succeed in doing. I greatly admire it. I especially love the imagery of “soft fingers” and the way they only lightly “graze” the headstone. This isn’t something I’ve experienced, but the strong imagery makes me picture the scene so clearly. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
3 your hands full Sophie Nicholson (3) |
4 looking at the stars Josh Lowe (4) This tanka also reminds me of going to the same friend’s birthday party every year. They lived out in the country, quite a way outside of town. We lived in town, so the stars weren't always as bright as they were out there. We would get on her trampoline at night and just lay there and attempt to have a sleepover on the trampoline. It never worked though because it was the end of September, and it would always get way too cold. This tanka always plays a keen role in the remembrance of those clear memories. Why can I remember that so distinctly, but I can't remember simple things that had recently happened. I also like the clear could be referring to the sky as well. It's so clear, but I like that it also plays upon the memory of the individual. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 I love this tanka for purely selfish reasons. I feel like I could’ve written it because it’s so true to my own experience. My grandparents and cousins live in the country of southern Indiana, and I used to go there almost every weekend in childhood. One of my cousins had a trampoline, and while my parents would never let me have one, I loved jumping on it at their house. When we got tired of jumping, we’d often lay on our backs and look up at the sky. We only did this a few times at night, but I can remember those times so clearly. This tanka captures that sense of childhood wonder with the world and simple joys like trampolines so well. I read it as closing with disillusionment, as the speaker realizes how impactful and meaningful those childhood moments were in contrast with (what I assume is) adult life. I simply love it. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
5 trying to enjoy Leah Flint (5) |
6 a cousin McKenna Beals (5) Sometimes these tanka seem to hit the nail right on the head in regard to when they show up. This tanka is no different. Very recently I went through a photo album with my grandmother and there were many people in it that I had this same thought of. Something about the fact that there was this person that your loved ones speak highly of and knowing you’ll never be able to meet them makes life so much more complex. It’s like when you realize that an author has a bunch of extra lore for his novel that never even came up in the story. I truly think it’s very beautiful. My favorite lines are the last two in this tanka, “only a picture, in a gold frame”. Whenever someone is gone, and no matter how much we cared for them or respected them, they are always reduced to barely anything. While the frame may be expensive, and it shows they cared, it still pales in comparison to the hole they left behind. Josh Lowe, Spring 2024 |
7 the smiling man McKenna Beals (3) While I’m aware of the context behind this one, I also enjoy the idea that it’s about a husband looking upon his late wife in her open-casket funeral service. People explore grief in all sorts of ways, but at some age (very very late in life), it becomes a little easier to process. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 |
8 we called it a Fiesta! Josh Lowe (3) I didn’t have a chance to talk extensively about this poem in class but I’m always drawn to the food poems. It’s something I heavily relate to because food is really important to me and something that’s on my mind quite often. I’m very serious about my meals and always carry snacks on me, and have very fond memories surrounding meals with my family growing up. No matter how bad my day is or what is going on in my life, I know I can always make myself some yummy and nutritious food. I like this poem because it has a strong narrative voice and fun feel. It seems like the poet looks back on when they had less but were sharing it with someone special. Now that they have more, they look back on the memory and are still thankful for it. Leah Flint, Spring 2024 |
9 falling behind Skylyr Choe (7) |
10 i pop a pill Eden Niebrugge (3) |
11 watering Eden Niebrugge (3) |
12 naming the way Randy Brooks |
13 tying a clover necklace Sophie Nicholson (5) I really enjoyed this tanka because of the memory that it evokes. I mentioned this in class, but my mom used to make us little flower crowns and necklaces out of the clover flowers. It's such a distinct memory, and I remember her making them for the other little girls that we played softball with when we were young. She would just sit down and start making them, sort of like a little factory. It's funny the simple things that would make people be our friends when were young. Now things are so much more complex. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 Like I said in class, I always found myself wanting to find a cheat code for friendship. Whenever I would find something that people liked about me I couldn’t wait to give it away. I remember there were many times that I would make a joke that other kids thought was funny and then I would say it too much and annoy them. I didn’t have enough faith in myself that I could come up with a new one that was just as funny. In this tanka there is that sense of desperation shown as early as the first two lines. “tying a clover necklace, for all who ask”, there is no restraint when you’re a little kid trying to make friends, everyone is a potential friend and any skill you have is only useful in making sure they know how cool you are. Josh Lowe, Spring 2024 |
14 still, I play, Skylyr Choe (4) |
15 there was once a weird little boy Josh Lowe (5) This one starts off very “once upon a time,” like it’s a story and it’s time to buckle up and listen. The turn in this one sets up the tone for this tanka in a way that I can really appreciate – it starts off hopeful, then ends on a more somber note than would be expected with this initial tune of a weird boy who is confident in what he likes and what he knows, begging the question for someone who may no longer be as confident as his younger counterpart was. It feels very much like someone is looking at their younger self in front of them, and they don’t really recognize who they’re looking at. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
16 thick oil paint Sophie Nicholson (8) This poem is very lyrical and I feel like I could get lost in it. It’s very well written although simple. I love the idea that this person is so immersed in this painting that it feels like it’s engulfing them, and that they could live inside the thick brush strokes on the canvas. It’s magical to imagine! Leah Flint, Spring 2024 This poem reminds me of how, until I became interested in them, my parents never went to art museums. Art museums are a niche topic, no one really goes to them unless they explicitly enjoy art and would go out of their way to enjoy it in a big city. I have a poem about how art museums healed myself and my parents, despite them never enjoying that kind of activity before, and this reminds me of it! Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 I love this tanka. I ended up writing a very similarly themed one to this that was also a part of the kukai, and as an art student it really stood out to me in its descriptors. Oil paint is a notoriously time-consuming medium due to how long it takes the paint to dry when using it, but it creates this gorgeous effect when it’s dry, and produces a unique texture and shininess that other paints just can’t replicate. Light reflects off of it beautifully, and I’m always caught up in the details of paintings because I know what to look for and I like to see what went into their creation. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
17 finally, McKenna Beals (6) |
18 she tells me Leah Flint (4) |
© 2024, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.