Sunday, November 30, 2014

My Own Favorite Poems III

Here again I would like to post some of my own published poems.

1)
like a tray
of dry sand
the family I grew up in
has made me
an atypical loner

(GUSTS NO. 17 Spring/Summer 2013)

2)
gravel path
I kick at the pebbles
so small
yet, quietly carrying
our weight

(GUSTS NO. 17 Spring/Summer 2013)

3)
my first Thanksgiving
I'm having a feast at a friend's
Mother,
don't worry about the snow, ice
and frost I face here

(Chrysanthemum 14)

All three tanka share one feature: telling a tiny story about me.

The first one says something regarding my character--an atypical loner. What has shaped me with such a personality? Apparently, a highly dysfunctional family. Moreover, the poem also hints at something deeper about me.

The second one implies that I am strolling alone--another way to say that I am an atypical loner. In addition, it suggests something about one of my character traits--a person who enjoys being alone and loves to meditate plus something deeper, which is unsaid.

The third one tells where I am, how I am treated by people in my adopted country and how I feel. I really like the mood of this tanka because it says a lot about my being so far away from home and being a new comer to a strange country. I am sure it resonates with quite a few people worldwide, who leave home for one reason or another. The experience is universal.

Story-telling is not only for novelists, playwrights, and screenwriters, but also for a tanka poet. So, what makes our writing intriguing is: story, story, story.