First day of autumn
a sunflower turns
back toward earth
have I used it well
this life . . .

Published by

Sylvia Forges-Ryan

Sylvia Forges-Ryan recently received the International Azsacra Poetry Award from the Taj Mahal Journal in Allahabad, India which published her poems in December 2014. Also, she won Third Prize in the 2014 Robert Frost Poetry Contest. Her book, Take a Deep Breath: The Haiku Way to Inner Peace, which won an R. H. Blyth Honorable Mention for Outstanding Books in Haiku Literature from the World Haiku Review in 2013, was selected for permanent inclusion in the American Literature Collection of the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

10 thoughts on “”

  1. Dear Sylvia, What a beautiful tanka. On my blog earlier today, I was inspired to write about the hosta leaves resting on the ground – still green and will turn gold.

    Your last two lines add wisdom from the heart as well.

    Blessings and thank you, Ellen

  2. Masterful tanka, Sylvia. A precise observation, then a personal reflection. I hope many more of our Tinywords readers are inspired by such an example to explore and experiment with the waka form.

    Thank you for sharing it

    Strider

  3. Sylvia feels the pathos of the flower. Surely there is much meaning in such perceptions. A sign of someone who is in tune with this life.

Respond here