Tanka Final Kukai 12 favorites
Tanka Writing Roundtable • Millikin University • Spring 2024
1 fever flushed cheeks Sophie Nicholson 1st Place - Mom Tanka Dr. Brooks' Favorite When I read this tanka the first time, I took it way to literally. Then when we discussed it in class, I realized how sweet it is. The 'medicine' that only a mother can give is such a wonderful way to describe the love that mothers' exude for their children. Even if you're sick, you know your mother will be there for you in a way that no other person ever could. A mother's love is irreplicable. My mother passed away in 2019 and I've had 'motherly' figures in my life since. They just cannot replace the innate love that my own mother had for my siblings and me. She was also a nurse, so this holds very true. She may have known the remedies to aid in illness, but the love is definitely what makes a difference. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 I’m a sucker for any poem about moms, especially if they’re sweet ones like these, but the alliteration of “f” and “b” in the first two lines make it flow. Like I mentioned in class, it feels as if this tanka is taking me into the house like a camera in a family movie. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 |
2 take my picture Sophie Nicholson I simply love this tanka. There is a subtle sense of desperation in this that reads so strongly of someone wanting to pour their entire heart into someone who may return their affections, and yet they voice it to nothing but air. There is a want for connection, human or otherwise, and an attachment that will strengthen how this person views themselves, but an over-dependence and misplaced belief in this person’s abilities to make them feel better. It is still romantic, but there’s this placement of the other on a pedestal that sets up the writer either for disappointment, hurt, or both. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
3 sometimes Josh Lowe Skylyr's favorite I love the repetition of the second and third lines – there is a quiet sort of insistence there that helps to set up the switch from what may normally come off as an exciting, min-character moment of, “Oh, hey, I’m in a movie!” to this sort of bleak, more muted experience that the rest of the tanka helps to elaborate on further. It feels like this moment is just meant to comment on how we sometimes just turn things on to drown out everything else we have going on, and how as people we sometimes just float by in order to get by, and I appreciate how this tanka elaborates on that in a creative way. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
4 I brought a flower home Josh Lowe 1st Place - Book Lover's Tanka There are so many things I love about this tanka. First, the line breaks. Each new line feels like the turning point, and they all are, which is impressive. Secondly, I enjoyed the class interpretation of the last three lines. Is it a book we wrote together and never finished? Did we stop on the last chapter? Are we the last chapter that never finished? There’s so many possibilities. Last, the first two lines are my favorite. It’s as if the poet is saying, “This flower was meant to die, just like us.” Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 I really love this tanka. Its wording and imagery is very effective, but it’s doing so many interesting things on a technical level. It’s so interesting to me that the tanka has more than one turning point. The first line is pretty pleasant, but I love that it’s bringing a flower home instead of just picking a flower or something. It feels more intimate as written. And then the suddenness of “to die” on a single line feels like a turning point, but it’s so early on. Then after the book discussion, it defines the book as something unfinished, which feels like the second turning point. The fact that the writer was able to write two major changes in so few lines is really impressive to me. I like the way the tanka is layed out visually, as it sort of feels like things are stacking on top of each other. The line breaks are really clean and well-chosen. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
5 of all the fish Skylyr Choe 1st Place - Love Tanka (tie) I really like this tanka. I love the comparison of the fish to the partner. My husband actually calls me 'his fish', which reminds me of this. I also really enjoy looking at fish in the aquariums. As said in class, it's cheesy but it does it well. I can also picture walking through the aquarium and the dim light while walking through mesmerized by the creatures that swim under the water. It's very cute and expresses being your partner's person. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 I love this tanka and think it’s so clever and sweet. The play on words is interesting and fun. I also like that aquarium is at the end of the poem so the context of the first couple lines is wrapped up by the end. The implication that this person is a fish in the aquarium, but that the person they’re with chooses them over all the other actual (and metaphorical, as in people) fish is very cute. Leah Flint, Spring 2024
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6 hanging Skylyr Choe This tanka is so sweet. I love that it describes a particular but still fairly universal experience of love. On a mechanical level, I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the line breaks and the way this tanka follows the traditional pattern of short-long-short-long-long. I’ve tried to do some of this in my own tanka and I find it challenging to include, so I’m really impressed with the way this one incorporates the pattern so seamlessly. I also love the dual sense of ownership here. The sweater is the speaker’s favorite, but it also belongs to someone else. This tanka wonderfully captures the experience of falling in love and sharing your life with another person—even if that sharing begins with simply sharing a sweater. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
7 moving plants 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 |
8 the book's hardcover McKenna Beals 2nd Place - Book Lover's Tanka 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 |
9 out on the pond McKenna Beals This tanka is really cute – it reminds me a lot of a particular scene in the Studio Ghibli film, Ponyo, where the main characters are riding around on a little toy boat that was magically made bigger for them to ride in, and they’re sailing around their world looking for the main boy’s mom. It feels both very nostalgic and simultaneously new, as I know this was written in response to one of my own tanka. It was very sweet, and I really appreciated the thoughts left up to imagination to finish what this tanka is about. Who’s reaching, where are they- why are they reaching out? So many stories in that little green boat. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
10 fresh green grass McKenna Beals 1st Place - Grief Tanka I really liked this tanka and a lot of other people did too! It gave me a new perspective and a more lighthearted way to talk about death if that’s the way you’re looking at this poem. The way I read it, the poet is visiting a loved one's grave and, once a mound of dirt, it is now grown over with green grass. I love that the passage of time is highlighted by the grass growing as well. In class I talked about how people generally talk about the sky being above us, but that I enjoy the thought of the green grass growing above the diseased person, because they’re buried underground. Just a very intriguing poem and one that I was immediately drawn to! Leah Flint, Spring 2024 I was immediately drawn to this tanka, loving every line break. We discussed two possible interpretations of it: a child at a park growing alongside a wheat field or an overgrown grave head in a cemetery. Both are heartbreaking in their own ways, and I love tanka with multiple interpretations. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 |
11 taco night Eden Niebrugge 2nd Place - Good Grief Tanka I really enjoyed this tanka because of how mundane it is. I believe that most people can relate to this. It's also very dramatic, which makes it kind of humorous, but you also know exactly how it feels to be in the same position as the author. It also appeals to the senses very well. I can imagine the scene perfectly in my mind. It sets the scene right off the bat, and as the tanka continue, it’s as if the story is unraveling just like the taco itself. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 This tanka makes me laugh. It feels very tongue-in-cheek in the way it portrays that kind of minor disappointment associated with the scenario it’s describing. I also like the structural elements of this tanka, with the alliteration in “toppings tumble” and “soft shell split.” The ending line is so deadpan and funny, which I love. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 Yet again, one of Eden’s food poems! I spoke about this in class, but I vividly remember taco nights at my house as a child. We always did hard shells, and the taco meat would make the bottom of the hard shell soggy. The taco would split and all the toppings would fall out onto the plate, ruining the perfect taco that had been created. When I was younger this would upset me a lot, and my poor mother tried to remedy the situation as best she could, but I would get VERY angry! Makes me want to make tacos! Leah Flint, Spring 2024 |
12 a bar of soap Eden Niebrugge 1st Place - Love Gone Wrong Tanka 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 |
13 missing the clear blue Leah Flint Sophie's Favorite As someone with a terrible memory, I often look back at my photos and am surprised by how much my family has changed. Despite not like photos, I need them to remember important things in my life, even if they're not good photos. I, too, have a fear of forgetting. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 |
14 oh to be Leah Flint 2nd Place - Mom Tanka I love this tanka because of the really interesting dynamic it establishes between the present and the past. I love the first two lines, as they establish a longing for childhood when someone (likely a parent) was always looking out for the speaker. But the longing comes with the caveat of wanting to be in “two places,” which to me suggests that the longing is complicated. The speaker wants to go back to that childhood simplicity, but also wants to stay where they are. I think this dynamic is really true to growing up and finding independence for the first time. College is when most people move out for the first time, and that can be really bittersweet. I relate to this tanka a lot in that way. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
15 honey bee Randy Brooks Eden & McKenna's Favorite I love how simple and sweet this tanka is. The imagery of the honey bee is so strong, and its connection to love, although a little ambiguous, paints such a vivid picture. It makes me think of the way honeybees smother themselves in flowers, and how people sometimes do that in relationships. Especially at the beginning of a relationship, it’s common to feel that all-consuming need to be near your loved one. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 |
16 still feel the kiss Leah Flint 1st Place - Love Tanka (tie) My relationship is long-distance right now, so I relate to this one a lot. When you’re living apart from your partner, you carry that loneliness and it can truly make it feel like time slows down—at least, if you’re not occupying your time enough. I feel like this tanka is so carefully written and conveys so much because of it. The line breaks feel really natural and effective, and the “you left” on its own line conveys that double meaning of the kiss they left, but also that they left the speaker. This one is so sweet and sad at the same time, and I really appreciate that emotional honesty here. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024 I love how gentle this tanka is – it really captures that slow and warm wake-up that comes with sleeping with your partner in their bed, and how those quiet moments become what you focus on or come back to when you are alone or tired. It speaks of a sadness the body aches for, though quietly, and a steadily increasing yearning that feels terribly romantic. I really like this tanka, as sappy as it may come off for some. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
17 bathed in moonlight Skylyr Choe 2nd Place - Grief Tanka 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 |
18 I save Sophie Nicholson This tanka really shows how much the simple things truly mean to people. I save every card people give me as well, and my parents saved all their cards too. I have a wealth of cards that show how much people care for one another. All these words throughout life can all be placed into a small box. I think it also shows that actions speak louder than words. Giving a card is a simple gesture but can mean so much more than just saying the same words aloud. They can be forgotten, but when they're written down you can have them forever. I really like the longevity of this tanka. The keepsake that the card represents but also tying in with the 'love of my life'. These two things coincide and will both last. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024 |
19 keep it simple Skylyr Choe 1st Place - Good Grief Tanka I love that the first two lines in this tanka replicate what it’s saying: short and sweet, no more than three words each. The tone quickly shifts in the third line, and I’m waiting to hear what this person has to say. We quickly reach the end to feel just as annoyed and disappointed as the speaker. This reminds me of all those videos of married men who just absolutely don’t know how to do anything, particularly grocery shopping. Eden Niebrugge, Spring 2024 |
20 thick oil paint Sophie Nicholson Leah's Favorite 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 |
21 the beginning Randy Brooks I like this tanka because it feels like an old sort of proverb you hear from someone who is wiser than you that, in your youth, might not quite make sense when you’re little, but you can only discover its true meaning as you get older and ruminate on what they were trying to tell you when you were a kid. I like the imagery that the saying “at the end of my rope” conjures, and how this tanka sort of flips that on its head by making you ponder what the start of your rope looks like, and how your frustrations can begin to build or tear before you even notice. A frayed knot or rope is also a great metaphorical tool for being under stress, and I like what that says about people’s dispositions when assessing how to proceed. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024 |
© 2024, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.