[These tanka are dedicated to my mother, Grace Margaret
Brooks, who grew up too soon on the Kansas prairie.
This is not a sequence.]
her open suitcase
first thing out
a box
of opened
Belgian chocolates
youngest now
the woman of
the farm house
the chicken house
the milk house
small bench
in the combine bin
perfect for
a get-a-way
read
me
and my dad
walk the ranch fences
mending everything
by spring
snow-covered
sugar cane shocks
tossed onto the truck.
again, my apologies,
mr. and mrs. mouse
grandpa wades into
the Dodge City swimming pool
in his cowboy hat.
we give a whoop and holler
splashing over to his side
Dr. Randy Brooks, Professor of English, directs the
writing major and serves as chair of the English
Department at Millikin University in Decatur,
Illinois, USA. He and his wife, Shirley Brooks, have
been co-editors and publishers of Brooks Books,
(formerly High/Coo Press) and currently are editors of
Mayfly magazine. Randy is also web editor for Modern
Haiku magazine. He and his wife have been dedicated to
publishing books, magazines and hypertext collections
of haiku in English since 1976 when they founded
High/Coo Press.
Dr. Randy Brooks, Professor of English, directs the
writing major and serves as chair of the English
Department at Millikin University in Decatur,
Illinois, USA. He and his wife, Shirley Brooks, have
been co-editors and publishers of Brooks Books,
(formerly High/Coo Press) and currently are editors of
Mayfly magazine. Randy is also web editor for Modern
Haiku magazine. He and his wife have been dedicated to
publishing books, magazines and hypertext collections
of haiku in English since 1976 when they founded
High/Coo Press.