Moonless Night

by Cyndi Myers

        this is but a moonless night,

        and my pillow has no tear stains—

        it is in the grocery aisle

        amid the frozen vegetables

        that I long for you

From a simple and personal viewpoint, I can relate to the feelings of deep loss that can be provoked not by the usual drippy clichés involving moons or stars, but by simple life moments such as what Michael has written of: “amid the frozen vegetables.” I have experienced this. And although this is a modern tanka, it still possesses the heart and spirit of ancient court waka—with their wet pillows and crying into kimono sleeves. This tanka is brilliantly composed grammatically. It has 27 words and 36 syllables (7-8-8-8-5), but is not the least bit “wordy.”