a dark spot
on the winter moon
back again
from the hospital
my wife says nothing
Third Place, Mandy's Pages Annual Tanka Contest, 2018
Judge's Report by Shrikaanth K. Murthy: Another powerful poem that transposes
the dark spot from the moon to the uncertainty the future holds. Why
does the wife say nothing? Is it because the truth is too disturbing to
digest? Or is it to protect the husband? Clearly, this isn’t the first
time this has happened. A nice backstory to it that is left to the
reader to fill in. Tanka sing stories, and they also offer lot of
contemplative space to the reader.
