Poetic Musings: Cosmetics Tanka by Margaret Chula

those half-used tubes

of her cosmetics

why did I keep them?

rubbing in face cream

I feel my mother’s bones

Winter Deepens, 2018

Margaret Chula

Commentary: Ls 1&2, "those half-used tubes / of her cosmetics," establish a concrete, physical scene. The detail of being "half-used" effectively implies a sudden interruption and lingering absence without explicitly stating them.

L3, "why did I keep them?," shifts the tanka from external observation to internal self-questioning. This rhetorical question creates a psychological pause before the emotional climax. It perfectly mirrors the erratic nature of grief, where a mundane thought about an object is suddenly overtaken by deep emotional recognition.

The final movementin Ls 4&5, "rubbing in face cream / I feel my mother’s bones," delivers an unexpectedly visceral conclusion. By blending tactile sensation with memory, the action fuses the speaker's body with the mother's presence. The word "bones" operates on multiple levels, simultaneously evoking mortality, aging, and genetic inheritance.