Issue 5 – June 2026 – Tanka Page 6

under grey skies

I touch white petals

of the peony

picked yesterday

for an empty vase

Jenny Polstra, New Zealand

the scent

of this dance

all gardenia

my corsage against his chest

becomes a pressed flower

Kathabela Wilson, USA

walking in the half-light

of autumnal dusk

my reflection passes by

in the shimmered glaze

of a hearse window

John Hawkhead, UK

crows

in the catalpa trees

dark question marks

will this broken country

ever mend itself again

Susan Weaver, USA

clash of incoming 

and outgoing waves

harbour mouth 

we decide to have 

a heart to heart later     

Jenny Fraser, New Zealand

alone at twilight

watching where clouds blur

into each other ...

the woman I've longed for

wears a bindi on her forehead

Chen-ou Liu, Canada

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