the slow reentry
after a week’s vacation
travel clothes
still neatly folded
inside our suitcases

9 Responses

  1. Norman Darlington Says:

    Cute. Though any time I’ve returned from hols my clothes have certainly not been “neatly folded” in my suitcase!

  2. Alan Summers Says:

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    Hi Janet,
    .
    An interesting modern tanka. I tend to neatly fold the vacation clothes I've worn, but make sure they are separate from any clean folded clothes I didn't get round to wearing.
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    I get a subtle poignancy from your poem, though it needn't be sad, it's just an underlying tone.
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    I've greatly enjoyed your tanka, thanks!
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    When I was a renga poet-in-residence in a city far away from home, I wrote this tanka:
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    a cat picking
    at discarded fast food
    this night without you
    filling with the hum
    of regular rain

    Alan Summers
    Bright Stars: An Organic Tanka Journal, Vol 1 (2014)
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    .

  3. Magyar Says:

    Finding my lost sox hiding the folded slacks?

  4. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks for the exposition Janet, wonderful to hear from the author. :-)

    Yes, subtle undertones of both poignancy and a self-depreciating humour.

    Thanks for liking my tanka too. :-)

    warmest regards,

    Alan

  5. Alison Hedlund Says:

    I see those clothes as being the "ghosts" or memories of your travels that you are reluctant to let go of…. poignant. Enjoyed!

  6. Garry Eaton Says:

    The revelation that during vacation you have worn only a small amount of what you packed is very familiar to me. I’m now practicing an economy that any environmentalist would applaud. It’s called traveling light.

  7. Pravat Says:

    A beautiful tanka exploring images of day-to-day happenings. It explores with commonness in our life style. Nice to read.

  8. th. vandergrau Says:

    A quiet poem that lingers in your mind …

  9. xnxx Says:

    A beautiful tanka exploring images of day-to-day happenings. I get a subtle poignancy from your poem, though it needn't be sad, it's just an underlying tone. Thanks for noticing the "underlying tone," Alan, and for posting your thought-provoking Bright Stars poem.

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