Issue 1 - June 2025 - Tanka page 2

an ivory palace
rises from the sand
in the land of plenty -
the bones of a great whale
picked clean by scavengers

Nicholas H. Rossler, USA

monarchs -
may they sail aloft
on trailing winds
far above borders
and would be kings

Curt Pawlisch, USA

how little wind
it takes cherry blossoms
to leave a tree
as effortless as each breath
was before we became old

an'ya, USA

I follow the rise
in the road
this morning -
waiting for your call
from the hospital

Anne Curran, New Zealand

my hope
the caged fluorescent bird
makes no sound. . .
in these cubic feet of freedom
for years I've sought the key

Chen-ou Liu, Canada

driveway at daybreak
a snail caught, halfway
across the bricks
as I step into
my lonely commute

Timothy Collinson, UK