Nostalgia Tanka

mid-autumn night…
the wind whispers to me
Chinese words
that offer me a home
in the shape of a moon

Tanka First Place
2011 San Francisco International Competition Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay
Reprinted in Mariposa
Anthologized in Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, 4, 2012

Judge's Comment: The originality of the images coupled with the evocative sense of ‘stranger in a strange land’ merited a 1st Place award. The first two lines appear to lead to a traditional path. The third line is the turning point that brings this tanka to the next level. The fourth and fifth lines complete the journey. After reading this tanka I found myself looking at the moon with new eyes and listening to the language of the wind.

Relationship Tanka

her toothbrush
in my medicine chest
declares residency…
gazing at the mirror
a face hard to recognize

Tanka Third Place 

2011 San Francisco International Competition Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay

Reprinted in Mariposa

Judge's Comment: The apparently effortless humor of the poet adds lightness to this tanka and makes it stand out from other submissions. But there is something more: a conflict present in the last two lines. This tanka led me toward another reading of Salad Anniversary by Machi Tawara. For this I thank the poet.

Moon Tanka

the shining moon
that used to perch
on my childhood dreams
now hovers over
a rooming house

Note: My tanka won Third Place in the 2009 San Francisco International Competition Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay. It will be published in Mariposa, #22.