Undertow Tanka Review

UNDERTOW TANKA REVIEW

ISSUE # 1

The Talisman of Grief

(A tanka sequence)

‘Do you see white hairs?’

Mother asked and I laughed

but now

I too ask my ten-year old

and she rolls her eyes

her fourteenth day rite -

a blue butterfly alights

on the prayer wheel

has mother already

found a new rebirth?

she calls

through drifts of mists

in the pine grove

the fear of not finding her

shatters the carapace of dream

that coaxing smile

as she sculptured mango shapes

for my fevered mouth

I want to remember this

not her cancer-hollowed face

each spring

her favourite rhododendrons

fill the valley

with their scent and hue

I see her in every bloom

Sonam Chhoki

Bhutan

Earnest

(A tanka sequence)

forgetting faces

yet some of them stick…

those kids

who hung nicknames

around my neck

taunts

of Ken the Hammer

drive me deeper

into the hole

of myself

a bully

fishing for weakness

hooks

my shyness with

Kenny the Shark

a curve ball

from the kid who calls me

Earnest…

I drive it deep

to center field

Ken Slaughter

USA

betrayal

(A tanka sequence)

all heroes
are fated to rescue
and betrayal
both darkling knight
and sabbat lord
-b-

I feel his breath
as he rides
past my door
the church bells
ring the sloe hour
-j-

sweeping
the floor behind me
I leave
footprints in the dew
where I mount
-b-

at daybreak
his shadow fades
as always
I wait for the night
and the dark man
-j-

the madman
keeps the tales
to himself
his large black bag
hidden in the forest
-b-

wild beasts
have torn the bag
with tooth and claw
the chalice lies sullied
the cloth rotting
-j-

hunger
of necessity rends
and tears
the long-limbed mandrake
howls at separation
-b-

Brian Zimmer & Joy McCall

USA & UK

another gaze

from a handsome stranger...

I seal my lips

on a heart pendant

with my husband’s ashes

Christine L. Villa, USA

the way he tucks

my hair behind my ear…

for the first time

I feel the sincerity

of a man’s apology

Christine L. Villa, USA

belly ache 

from laughing

at my own jokes…

I realize I’ve carved

a deeper sorrow

Christine L. Villa, USA

where do I go

without you now…

the heavy silence

after I turn off

the oxygen machine

Christine L. Villa, USA

to love somebody 

even after death…

I keep in a box

a photo of a woman

he once loved

Christine L. Villa, USA

the sound 

of him sleeping

more hours in a day

any bird song

is a sad lullaby

Christine L. Villa, USA

a dewdrop dangling

from the tip of a petal…

I try hard

not to show him

my tears

Christine L. Villa, USA

a whiff of hyacinth

by the grocery entrance . . .

this cold winter night

I hope from aisle to aisle

thinking of spring

Christine L. Villa, USA

all the pills

he couldn’t take anymore…

alone I count

the tulips waiting

to be photographed

Christine L. Villa, USA

a baby

enclosed by her

mother's arms...

when does a shell

let go of her pearl

Christine L. Villa, USA

watching Gator Boys
with my daughter
on the couch
her feet
wrestle with mine

Susan Burch, USA

grandma’s wearing her
gaudy holiday sweater
again this year
I bite my tongue
and tell her it’s lovely

Susan Burch, USA

hiding behind
her shaky smile
the diagnosis
of Parkinson’s, she hasn’t
been able to swallow

Susan Burch, USA

finding out
her son’s a pedophile
my mother
wonders where
she went wrong

Susan Burch, USA

hearing the cheers
from Wrigley Stadium
the boy imagines
he’s there, eating a hot dog,
instead of in chemo

Susan Burch, USA

eyeing
his old baseball bat
he sighs
after all these years
still no kids

Susan Bunch, USA

maybe I should
bury your ashes
in the backyard
your blue pinwheel
still spinning

Susan Burch, USA

f i s s u r e s
and (whose) fault lines
cracking open
we try to mend the damage
of our quaking lives

Debbie Strange
Canada

African sun
honed on a rasp of sky
leaking ichor
our hands are stained
with the blood of child-soldiers

Debbie Strange
Canada

she held
her daughter's lips
to a mirror
no baby's breath
bloomed in the garden

Debbie Strange
Canada

jellyfish
on the beach
at low tide
you still make me
weak in the knees

Debbie Strange
Canada

our years roll by
like runaway trains
gathering speed
the closer we come
to the end of the line

Debbie Strange
Canada

children
of war zones
silenced
with no legs to walk
along the path to peace

Debbie Strange
Canada

sun rays
palpate mossy loam
on the forest floor
a nursery log suckles fungi
oh, to wean myself from you

Debbie Strange
Canada

this alchemy
of ripened clementines
and woodsmoke
the fragrance of my past
both curse and benediction

Debbie Strange
Canada

silences
or tirades cursed
every meal
we lost weight eating
degradation for dessert

Debbie Strange
Canada

the widow sinks
into depression's palette
her life's pigment
once the richest saffron
now Vincent's shade of blue

Debbie Strange
Canada

as tea leaves in water
my heart sways and submerges
under the moonlight

is it too much to ask you
to stay two moments longer?

Aruna Rao, India

with monsoon winds
two moons have passed already
in wilting breath
I seek the length of your sleeve
and the eclipse to sing again

Aruna Rao, India


the stench of sweetness
still lingers in the grass
when I walk back

the mountain carries the moon
from one side to the other

Aruna Rao, India

in these heavy clouds
I search for the shade of grey
with bated breath

I wake behind shrouded doors
to the sound of your footsteps

Aruna Rao, India


as quicksand does,
I fall into the mouth of your heart
while it ponders
my ribs tinge in flavours
deep and bold, swirling


Aruna Rao, India


as tea in winter
I drink your breath
in evening whistles

how I wish the snow stays
and your blanket upon me


Aruna Rao, India


over this blank scroll
my brush hovers
while I search my heart
love's hummingbirds
flit further away


Aruna Rao, India

in the garden
a calendula blooms
unnoticed
just another day 
that slips by


Shloka Shankar, India

summer skies...
wing by wing a bluebird
disappears
the house grows eerier
with just me and my shadow


Shloka Shankar, India

the faint
voices in my head
grow louder...
a caressing moonbeam
rests on my cheek


Shloka Shankar, India

under the elm
I count broken promises
by rote...
learning to unlearn
each one of them

Shloka Shankar, India

Caroline Skanne

UK

draped in dreams
of stars and moons
we wander together
entwined by night
two souls surviving

Caroline Skanne

UK

full moon
in scorpio
a passion
that lasts
all night

Caroline Skanne

UK

the afterglow
of our love
lingers softly
moonbeams
on bare skin

Caroline Skanne

UK

love's light touch
two butterflies
circling the sun --
together we know
anything is possible

Caroline Skanne

UK

taken under
a wrens' wing
weightless, i travel
on all that is
effervescent

Caroline Skanne

UK

half moon
you show me
two sides
to the same
old truth

Caroline Skanne

UK

the book of my life

keeps getting bigger

it's a good thing

I choose to write it

on trimmings of the Lokta bush

 Kath Abela Wilson

USA

one stem

a  hundred blooms

this century plant

each life shapes

its own spring

 Kath Abela Wilson

USA

from the air

I see it

the long ago

more watery more green

I forgot that this is home

Kath Abela Wilson

USA

I keep it

under my flowery hat

the magic garden

that grows there

in my head

Kath Abela Wilson

USA

sometimes

I can't tell the difference

between us

do we swim or fly

and what do we fish for

 Kath Abela Wilson

USA

sometimes impossible

becomes possible

magnolia

I watch you turn

into a bird

Kath Abela Wilson

USA

as if twilight

was an easy door

you left

for the place where lights

were already off

Kath Abela Wilson

USA

as if the sea

were were your village

you lead me on

crumbling steps to shore

to slice sashimi

 Kath Abela Wilson

USA

even by this busy street

I notice the place

where the deer slept

wishing it were you

all night the bent lilies

 Kath Abela Wilson

USA

broken pieces

mortared with tears

scenes

on a Moroccan plate

I set into my hearth

Kath Abela Wilson

USA

with duress

first wife holds inside

her outrage

he is looking

at a young filly

Joann Grisetti
Winter Springs FL USA

frost fingers

a watercolor palette

in October

wings wash the sky

by the thousands

Joann Grisetti

Winter Springs FL USA

loud words

trying so very hard

to hurt you

I would do anything

to remember our your smile

Joann Grisetti

Winter Springs FL USA

first man

to last more than three dates

quite special

the feeling that comes

while dancing

Joann Grisetti
Winter Springs FL USA

autumn…
sailor drifts back
in time
on a summer
undertow

Pat Geyer, USA

alone,
watching the waves 
crash...
i remember 
the future

Pat Geyer, USA

ocean waves
crashing over sand castles
children laugh...
i try to remember that
feeling of scattered laughter

Pat Geyer, USA

bluest of blue
this undersea ridge...
waiting,
we cross a bridge
to our ocean of dreams 

Pat Geyer, USA

no fresh ground
sand covered debris
waits to float away...
ghosts of sad memories
rush back to the sea

Pat Geyer, USA

undertow

running back to the sea

a seashell

looking back at your steps

cannot remember your face

Vessislava Liubomirova Savova

Sofia, Bulgaria

someone sings

easy come easy go

an echo

the waves are going back

back to the deep ocean

Vessislava Liubomirova Savova

Sofia, Bulgaria

unknown creature

at the bottom of the ocean

a secret

a robber has stolen

a picture of yours

Vessislava Liubomirova Savova

Sofia, Bulgaria

waiting for
the supermoon
above us
a pair of lovebirds
pecking

Angelo B. Ancheta
Philippines

still reeling
from the surge
only we know
the slamming waves
goes a refrain

Angelo B. Ancheta
Philippines

Arunansu Bandyopadhyay

India

ripping apart

your last letter

in a fit of rage--

white butterflies

flutter away

Arunansu Bandyopadhyay

India

applying a balm

over burning ulcers

i can only smile

to your morbid eyes

ill with love

Arunansu Bandyopadhyay

India

sun sets behind

bullet-ridden clouds

at Golgotha

a violin plays out

the agony of mankind

Arunansu Bandyopadhyay

India

watching the trail

of a Grad missile...

was this the route

followed by the Star

of Bethlehem?

Arunansu Bandyopadhyay

India

a late summer sunset

sumptuous and surreal

wears clouds

of salmon pink and charcoal gray …

a kiss of lightning ends the day

Judi Brannan Armbruster

USA

coveys of quail scuttle

under dead blackberry bushes

challenge Jays and Juncos

for seeds shaken from the feeder…

count sixty 

Judi Brannan Armbruster

USA

there is on earth

this mangled mountain

where progress looms

and nature tumbles

to her knees

Judi Brannan Armbruster

USA

trying to figure out

the meaning

of undertowtanka,

find it's too deep

for me

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

I ponder

and seem

to understand,

after all, good tanka

have more than a surface meaning

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

at eighty-eight

I find the surface

is old, bent,

cane-driven,

and still I guard an undercurrent of wisdom

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

my wife

died in l972,

and she mentioned once

this surface life

which she wanted no part of

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

no pennies

from heaven

in the violence of our world,

our hate has a depth

beyond all understanding

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

once

we sang

over the rainbow,

how beautiful we felt

our world would be

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

walking

on sand

and treading

down, down,

to what?

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

perhaps

the younger she was

the prettier,

but so much behind

her splendid scarf and hat

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

long ago

I felt the world

a tour-de-force,

now I want to hide

below and beyond

Sanford Goldstein

Japan

I search

my moon all the way          

horizon of hope

offers solace in the midnight

rekindling vastness of the sky

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

I painted

throughout night

my memories

of grief and anguish

remain as patches of white

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

autumn morning

all my wishes fall apart

some drains

into the meandering river

rest blown before I could gather

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

the spider

rides up and down

on the mirror

I readjust my face

picking up the shinny hair

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

thin moon

in the hot summer

the nest swings

catching darkness

everywhere

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

the train

whistles to start

I carry her

memories till I reach

the stretched distance

Pravat Kumar Padhy,

India

harsh sunlight

on the fourth anniversary

of his death

sunrise on the lough

almost painful to watch

Marion Clarke

Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

winter garden

the steady creak

of a rusty swing chair

I try to remember my father's voice

calling us for Sunday mass

Marion Clarke

Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

at low tide

the sound of seagulls

and moaning wind

in the rock pool I find

nothing but my reflection

Marion Clarke

Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

an old farmer

returns a field mouse

to the scarecrow's pocket

I long for the ridged texture

of Dad's old corduroy coat

Marion Clarke

Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

I walk between worlds

a shadow born of light

and darkness...

who hears the cry of legends

under this waking moon

Rebecca Drouilhet  

Picayune, Mississippi, USA

swimming

in an ocean of stars...

all the years

we spent racing through the night

never looking up until now

Rebecca Drouilhet  

Picayune, Mississippi, USA

fireworks

and the star-spangled banner

under a half-moon sky

what afterglow will remain

inside my American dream

Rebecca Drouilhet  

Picayune, Mississippi, USA

sliver moon

waterbugs creep into

shadows

the dog's tags jangle

on the lonely street

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

the moon

is a ghost egg

floating

like a spotted snake

made of orange jello

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

in my dream

writing haiku with

Kerouac

I write of his eyes

he writes of dead flies

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

gave away

my first haiku book

broken

like a blue bead muse

I want it back

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

will I ever

understand pine trees

how they drop

and keep their needles

living on poet time

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

wish I could

believe in her ghosts

how she steals -

the blood of family stories

bad enough without her lies

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

we played in the attic

of the gingerbread castle

hiding in closets

never knowing how

the crooked man lurked

Carole Johnston

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

late summer
walking the beach
light blinds us
we spend the day
watching our feet

Liz Moura, USA

so few petals
remain on the stems
each morning
I find them piling up
inside my old shoes

Liz Moura, USA

supermoon
we hear the neighbors
outside
as we nestle
in threadbare sheets

Liz Moura, USA

another polar vortex

my first winter

with a puppy –

Mother Nature’s

sense of humour

Leslie Bamford

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

morning walk

two sparrows spooning

in a magnolia

bridal suite of pink -

who needs Vegas?

Leslie Bamford

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

quarreling under

the patio umbrella

this afternoon -

baby grackles scold

us from their nest

Leslie Bamford

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada