takeout with you
fortune cookie says
“you see beauty
where others only see
ordinary”

Leah Flint

small town
Chinese restaurant
my favorite part,
reading our fates
to each other

McKenna Beals

greasy takeout
after a shitty day
crack open
an empty cookie
how unfortunate

Skylyr Choe

Skylar did a great job portraying how it feels to long for a wonderful meal or positive message at the end of a terrible day, only to never receive it. The descriptor words in this tanka showcase how terrible this person feels: greasy, shitty, crack, empty, unfortunate. It’s a beautiful string of words. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

fortune cookie
dry in my mouth
this delicate sweet
says to me
try again

Eden Niebrugge

small town
Chinese restaurant
my favorite part,
reading our fates
to each other

greasy takeout
after a shitty day
crack open
an empty cookie
how unfortunate

greasy takeout
after a shitty day
crack open
an empty cookie
how unfortunate

1

all out of words
I’ll drink the inkwell
if it gives me
something
to write about

Sophie Nicholson

This tanka was so captivating. I really like the exaggeration of drinking out of an inkwell – it sets this tanka in a time earlier than ours, where I think technology or easier writing didn’t yet quite exist, and to write was a special skill personal to the individual. Even so, I think this captures the feeling of when creative inspiration is lacking, which for many creatives or artists of their crafts is bound to be a universal experience. In this case, it’s writer’s block, and regardless of the medium through which they aim to capture their ideas, the experience is similar in its frustration. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024

2

assignment sheet
worn at the edges
just like me
never good at
following instructions

Eden Niebrugge

3

dog ear
on the page
your annotation
was our last
goodbye

Eden Niebrugge

This tanka makes me wonder about the story behind the book, the annotation, and how the annotation could be a goodbye. I personally am prone to dog-earing and annotating most books, often because I buy a lot of used books and they’re already well-loved at that point. I like this kind of tangible relationship you can have with a book. It makes me think of the ways books can change you, and the ways you change them back. It’s like a reciprocal relationship. There are echoes of that relationship in this tanka, but there’s also a goodbye. This tanka plays with language in that way, which is really interesting to me. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

In class, I love that we talked about how there could be a comedic interpretation of this poem. When I first read it, I think of someone special gifting the author an annotated book. Whether they passed away, moved away, or there was some kind of split in the relationship with this person, the annotations in the book are the last pieces of “dialogue” they have from this person. It’s very bittersweet. It was brought up that the person reading could be irritated by or disagree with the annotation, and they jokingly (or seriously) decide that they won’t be speaking to the book-gifter again. It’s quite funny to envision the poem this way! Leah Flint, Spring 2024

4

for her birthday,
an uncertain future
in a box of
“open when” letters
she can’t wait to read

Skylyr Choe

5

tucked inside a drawer,
a rough draft of
the last letter
I thought I’d ever write.
it did get better.

Skylyr Choe

Mental health is something of great importance to me, so this poem tugged at my heartstrings. As Eden pointed out in class, I like the idea that the letter is a rough draft, so this person was planning but hadn’t finalized anything. Before things could get worse or they decided to revise the letter and carry out their plans, things started looking up for them. This makes me really happy, and I love the mix of emotions this poem makes me feel from beginning to end. Leah Flint, Spring 2024

6

new edition
of an old favorite
in your arms
i read aloud
this happens all the time

Sophie Nicholson

7

pen pals separated
by 362 miles
write to fill
the time apart
Mom and I

Leah Flint

I love this tanka because of how much I relate to it. The tanka captures that feeling of writing someone letters and waiting for it to arrive, and it has a wonderful understanding of the way we do these things in an effort to close the distance between us and a loved one. I love that the pen pal’s identity is only revealed at the end—it’s not a friend or romantic partner, but a mother the speaker is writing to. And the way it’s phrased as “Mom and I” makes it clear this pen pal relationship is reciprocal, which is very sweet. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

I don’t know why it took me this long to realize it, but I love the phrase “pen pals.” Despite it feeling like long lost friends or lovers, this tanka uses it to specify the growth of a child turning into their mom’s friend as life continues on. The specificity of the miles makes it really feel personal, and I love how it leads up to a very sweet yet bitter ending. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

8

entering
another world
immersed in the
vivid transformation of
times new roman

McKenna Beals

For starters, I love the structure of this tanka from one word → two → three → three → three. It’s like a flower growing throughout time! Until the last line, I’m left wondering what it’s about, questioning why we’re entering another world with a vivid transformation. How magical! Yet, it’s simply times new roman, the font every book and writer uses. An amazing way to show such a simple thing in life. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024

9

I wait to finish it
— your favorite book
tabbed and annotated
until we part
for summer

Leah Flint

10

surrounded by people
i'm texting you and
you're texting me
like we're passing notes
in middle school

McKenna Beals

This tanka is so cute and funny to me. I passed notes in class a lot in middle school, and I love how this tanka correctly identifies how texting someone in the same room as you feels kind of similar. You’re secretly communicating, and it’s just for the two of you to share. I also  like how this tanka is structured, with the first three lines setting the scene and the last two introducing a simile. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024

11

wondering how
Eurydice felt
knowing her lover
would always make
the poet’s choice

Skylyr Choe

I really liked this tanka after hearing the myth behind it. It lets you enter the tanka as the reader of the myth itself. You have the omniscient view of everything that's happening, the characters, the reader, and the poet. You know that the character is going to make his choice every time no matter what because that's what the poet has decided. I think it's very interesting to think about. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024

12

lamp-lit room
no more time
left to waste
I lock myself in
and write my way out

Sophie Nicholson

13

sneaking a little note
or word of encouragement
into my planner
she never fails
to surprise me

Skylyr Choe

14

sleeping next to
coffee cake crumbs
and an empty mug
the open window
turns a book’s pages

Eden Niebrugge

I’m a big fan of coffee cake (and love Eden’s food poems). The scene this tanka sets is so serene and aesthetic, and when imagining myself in the tanka I feel so happy and calm. I love the idea of drinking your favorite beverage and eating a little snack while reading a good book - that’s one of my favorite ways to relax. I also love nature, so the open window and light breeze add to the idea that it could be spring or summer, but the author is still getting to experience the weather from inside. I love the way this tanka makes me feel and could read it over and over. Leah Flint, Spring 2024

15

passing images
day to day
i see the world
in terms
of tanka

Sophie Nicholson

I talked about this tanka in class, and I really like how it wrapped up our class in a nice little bow. I haven't personally had that much experience with poetry prior to haiku and tanka, but I have really enjoyed it. I can see how experiences and images can be turned into these short poems that are filled with so much meaning. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024

16

falling in love
with fiction
dreaming of a job
where i sleep
on a bed of books

Eden Niebrugge

17

the book's hardcover
worn over time
nevertheless
the story endures,
untouched and pure

McKenna Beals

I really love this tanka. I mentioned it in class, but there is something so heartwarming about seeing things that are worn down or very clearly often used over time – be that a fraying thread or hole, a once crisp page now softened and creased, or stained despite having been washed several times, there is a love there. Something you take care of despite the fact that time is having its way on those items, and I really appreciate when those kinds of scenes can be set up and establish this gripping sense of nostalgia. Books are often so good at doing that kind of thing, and I love the contrast between the worn down cover of this book, but always being able to cherish the story that remains inside. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024

18

sticky notes
on the mirror
remind me to “smile :)”
as I hold my hair back
and swear off drinking again

Skylyr Choe

I also really liked this tanka. I like that it's funny but also ironic. Words of affirmation are pretty popular right now. We kind of touched on the ones around Millikin in class, where people tell others to smile or that they're beautiful on sticky notes. It's funny because it there in a moment where smiling is probably not what you want to do at all. They've got a bad habit of drinking until they're sick which is emphasized with the "again". Getting sick while being told to "smile" by a sticky note that you probably put there in the first place is humorous. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024