after the theater
strolling the art shops with you
at pink June dusk
the boaters all coming in
summer on their sleeves

This poem was written to commemorate the beginning of this summer; after seeing a play at the Gloucester Stage Company with friends (Billy Bishop Goes to War), we strolled down the artist colony of Rocky Neck and enjoyed a dinner at the Madfish as all the boaters were coming in to dock for the evening.

Sometimes, it is a challenge to fit everything you want into a tiny 5 line tanka. It is at times a struggle between what I see, what I feel and what is most important. The concrete: strolling, all the little art shops, the sun going down, the smell of the wharves, the boaters, the people, the pink beach roses lining the tiny streets. The concept: that this is just the beginning of summer, a first taste, an experience that we both remember and anticipate, and this one day, falling somewhere in the middle. So, have I completely captured what I wanted to in this poem? No. I really wanted the beach roses in there, and maybe the feel of these little shops that look like fish shacks full of expensive paintings, but maybe those are other poems, all on their own.

When finding a subject for tanka, it is imperative that you decide on what you want to say and pare down what you have to make it work. It is also wise to scribble down several different tanka from one single experience; several different versions or possibilities; perhaps the one you hadn't thought of will simply appear several tankas into it. Sometimes, my best tanka come from this practice.

The above poem is not a first attempt but it may not be the last either. With some play, I may find a better expression. Sometimes, I will draft a series of up to ten tanka; then maybe weeks later, after letting them sit, I will come back and recognize something in one of them that's really exceptional and worth more attention. Or maybe a newer, clearer version will stream through just from re-reading. It happens occasionally that a tanka comes into being all at once and perfect on the first try, but for the most part, this is how it happens--the words are worked, the lines are worked, the images are refined and so on. But this is, indeed, the allure of it; this is the art.

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