Two Tankas Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Tanka (i)

Pipe’s leaked on the mat.
Out in the garden
Lark wings shake off dew.

Guttering rusts in the sun
The old cat’s walking stiffly,

Birds fly from a meow
Over the hush-a-by loch
That fills the valley.

How kind the greeting of waves
Folding their black shawls round me.


Tanka (ii)

Ice, like weak green tea
Is putting the lid on the reeds
The fish’s scales are leaden

Earth is a nest of frost eggs
A slow melting, a late spring.

Lamb time in the field
Rough-tongued and tender mothers,
Ewes nudge birth-bags off

The farmer’s bride is washing,
The day steals warmth from the sheets.