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

Published by

Janet Lynn Davis

Janet Lynn Davis lives with her husband in a small community carved out of the woods near Houston, Texas (USA). The writing bug struck her during early childhood. She became addicted to tanka a number of years ago and currently serves as vice president of the Tanka Society of America. Blog: http://twigsandstones-poems.blogspot.com

9 thoughts on “”

  1. .
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    Hi Janet,
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    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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  2. 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

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

  4. 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.

  5. 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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