Tanka: Marjorie Buettner

Marjorie Buettner: Tanka

even though I know
these stars are dead light
faintly shining
I throw them my wishes
every year after year

these window plants
strain after more certain light
this snowfilled morning
while somewhere your soul hovers
still--as if in second thought

though I sleep
on the bed of those
now dead
my dreams are abandoned houses
which let the rain and the wind in

how rain answers rain
these lengthening days that fold
and unfold again
our bodies have a language
that sings to us in our sleep

~ Placement: Japan Poet's Tanka Contest

moon of turning leaves
I pack up your clothing
and give them away
telling my children that
this life is just on loan

~ Mothertongued/v2

Marjorie Buettner was born in 1951 in Bismarck, North Dakota, and resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A prolific poet in many poetic forms, her work is especially noted for its heady romantic voice and outlook; her haiku and tanka have received numerous awards, including the Harold G. Henderson Award for haiku in 2002 and the Tanka Splendor Award in 2001 and 2003.

She frequently writes reviews for North Stone Review, Modern Haiku, and the World Haiku Review.