1

forget-me-nots
caress my ankles
along the forest path . . .
a melody
i almost remember

Sophie Nicholson

2

mascara on my cheeks
from the night before
all my problems unsolvable
or I just
need a shower

Sophie Nicholson (5)

This one made me laugh. Sometimes the world just feels like it continues to pile onto you and every little thing adds up and you are so distressed and surrounded by a growing list of things to do and it’s overwhelming, and in that swarm of chaos you neglect your needs and taking care of yourself when, truthfully, that is really what you need most in that moment. A shower is really refreshing and proven to help you feel better if you start kinda just hating your life, as hygiene is a really important facet of taking care of ourselves and helping us feel our best. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024

I really liked this tanka. Looking at it now, I really like how the first three lines are much longer than the last two. It kind of plays more into the fact that the last two lines are not nearly as serious as the first three. It seems like the world is ending and nothing can go right, but maybe it's just the fact that you need a shower. It will cleanse you all your problems, maybe physically and mentally. I really enjoy the turn because it allows for a playful tone to come in at the end. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024

3

bumble bee rises
out of the leaves
she picks up
hey,
I live here

Randy Brooks

4

still mom’s
little girl 
though I’m
old enough to
drink her wine

Leah Flint

As usual, tanka with the word “mom” in it always gets me. However, this one incorporates more of a mother-daughter relationship than a sole focus on mom. I love how Leah put the idea of growing old and how scary that can be into a poem where a mom might think the same things. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

5

the playlist
you made for me
over and over and over
just
to feel you here

Leah Flint (4)

I love this tanka. It’s very simple in language, but it still invites a lot of emotional complexity. I love the absence of a word like “played” or “listened to” for the line “over and over and over.” The absence of a verb here makes me feel the desperation of both the creation of the playlist and the listening to the playlist as an obsessive act meant to soothe the feeling of missing a loved one. I love the way this tanka captures that longing for the people we love when they’re distant or perhaps no longer accessible to us. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

6

dating phase
I stare at you and wonder
what we could be
— hope that
you hope it’s forever

Leah Flint (6)

It’s difficult to find tanka where the language is my favorite part, but this one hits that spot. The “w” sounds in “wonder what we” rings my ears nicely along with “hope that you hope.” Overall, the message is brilliantly executed with perfect language that sounds simple but portrays a lot. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

7

does my anomaly
not speak to you?
am i not statistical enough?
telling stories to
a doctor

Eden Niebrugge

8

a bar of soap
turning smooth
i am 
scrubbed clean 
of you

Eden Niebrugge (6)

I liked this tanka as well, and I think it is very comparable to 'mascara on my cheeks'. I love the tangibility of the bar of soap and how you can visualize it turning smooth after much wear. Maybe it's worn so smooth because you scrubbed and scrubbed trying to get rid of that person. I liked how in class we discussed the fact that it could be a mental scrub as well. You're fully getting rid of that person mentally as well as physically. I also enjoy that 'i am' because it allows the reader to be more in the tanka as themselves. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024

I like the imagery in this tanka. I imagine this as someone standing in their shower after a breakup or conflict with someone, and taking a long time to ponder over what happened. Maybe they’re angry and they scrub the bar hard over their limbs as they shower, wearing it down. At the end of the shower, they feel better, like they’ve cleansed themself, literally and figuratively, of this person. Leah Flint, Spring 2024

This tanka reminds me of a lot of other poetry and music that uses the act of becoming physically clean as a metaphor for becoming spiritually or emotionally clean. I love the tactile imagery of a bar of soap turning smooth from consistent use, and I appreciate the simple and succinct way it’s tied to being clean of someone. I imagine this tanka would be soothing for someone going through a bad breakup or physical healing from harm. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

9

Easter brunch
at a restaurant
missing my father
who always
cooked

McKenna Beals (4)

I talked about this tanka in class, but many traditions are built around the holidays, even if they aren’t events or activities you do with your family. Small things often become the norm, and we only realize how much they mean to us when they’re no longer there. I was very fond of Easter growing up because my Dad’s side of the family would get together at my grandparents' house and my grandma would cook for us. She always made a cake shaped like a bunny head with a bowtie, and I loved having that for dessert. They no longer live in that house, so it’s very nostalgic to look back on the holidays and the traditions we used to have that we no longer partake in. Leah Flint, Spring 2024

10

stomping above
God, do you hate me?
nine hours
of sleep
down the drain

Sophie Nicholson

The voice in this tanka is what I was most drawn to. There’s a weariness to it that I can heavily relate to- despite the clear level of rest the narrator has gotten (or tried to get), the noise above them persists and continues to interrupt it, making for a fitful night of little proper sleep, and that sucks. The capitalization of God also caught my eye initially, and I love the way it reads in this exhausted irritation, as though this is a conversation that this person has often with God, and, being God, he never answers. It reminds me of when people use the phrase “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers” in an ironic way. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024

11

watching the kids
partake in the fun
i once enjoyed
the future taking
my childhood

McKenna Beals

12

late at night
I get on
the wrong train
going away
from you

Sophie Nicholson (5)