a pioneer village
hacked from tall timbers
overgrown
save for the shingled church
and abandoned mill
your smile
is wan this morning—
unspoken words
loiter in the space
between our glances
grapes wither
on the drooping trellis
too late
too little
this fickle rain
on my desk
sorted by deadline
stacks of files
closing my eyes
I dream of mountains
new year's eve
fireworks, crowds, parties
the last train home
rattles past at four a.m.
my daughter not on it
Carmel Summers was first introduced to tanka through Yellow Moon and Eucalypt and has had many tanka published in these journals over the last ten years. Carmel started work as a chemist and has since worked in quality control, as a buyer for a retail chain, a teacher, as a systems engineer with IBM, a technical writer and quality management consultant with various organizations. She writes mainly poetry and has won competitions for free verse and traditional verse. She lives in Sydney, Australia and is currently completing an MA in Creative Writing at Macquarie University, Sydney, writing a verse novel and working to pay her children's way through university.
Carmel Summers was first introduced to tanka through Yellow Moon and Eucalypt and has had many tanka published in these journals over the last ten years. Carmel started work as a chemist and has since worked in quality control, as a buyer for a retail chain, a teacher, as a systems engineer with IBM, a technical writer and quality management consultant with various organizations. She writes mainly poetry and has won competitions for free verse and traditional verse. She lives in Sydney, Australia and is currently completing an MA in Creative Writing at Macquarie University, Sydney, writing a verse novel and working to pay her children's way through university.