Poetic Musings: Blessing of a Death Tanka by Marianne Paul

in the garden

the dwindling petals

of the daffodil

the blessing of a death

from natural causes 

Dance into the World, 2020                                               

Marianne Paul

Commentary: The image of Ls 1-3 is visually and emotionally poignant while the tonal shift in the dialectical statement of Ls 4&5 sparks the reader's emotions and reflection on life and (good) death. Paul's tanka doesn't mention of the pandemic. Even so, the attentive reader can get a hint from this dialectical irony of Ls 4&5 (in the time of Covid19): to see blessing in a death from natural causes, which means  being allowed to die surrounded by family and friends.