an Amish woman
dressed in grey
her heartsong
in the vivid colours
of her prize quilt
Eucalypt, 8, 2010
Carmen Sterba
Commentary by Jan Foster: On the surface, a simple tanka, traditional in shape and expression but, like all the topnotch tanka, a layering of thoughts which provide a wealth of concepts for the reader to come back to many times over. In the true tanka tradition, it begins simply, each line adding to the thought, growing to a crescendo in the final line, where the whole theme is laid before the delighted reader...
-- excerpted from Tanka Appraisal Reports by Bowerbird Members
