Laurels #3

February 2025

Margaret Tau, editor


Welcome

Our theme for Laurels #3 was choice, and wow! as guest editor, did I ever have choices to make. Choosing which tanka to include in this edition of Laurels was difficult indeed! The South African author, Roy T. Bennett, wrote: “Every choice comes with a consequence. Once you make a choice, you must accept responsibility.” Many of the tanka selected express some of these consequences of making a choice in life, in love, and in pursuit of happiness. Many others focus on choices to attain a goal, achieve satisfaction, or simply to decide what to have for breakfast. Still others examine the possible reasons we feel empty, alone, or disconnected. See if any of the choices described in this collection align with yours. Happy reading!


Margaret Tau

 

 

 

 

 

long-legged girl

with summer’s carefree laughter

and swinging hair

a fleeting jealous time

to turn heads and make choices

 

Adelaide B. Shaw

Somers, New York

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ballet lessons

rather than the piano,

my decision

when I was made aware

Mom couldn’t afford both

 

Amelia Fielden

Wollongong, Australia

 

 

the other way

I want to shout as I spot

a grass spider

hauling her egg sac into

the unmown half of the lawn

 

Andrew Lansdown

Perth, Australia

 

 

autumn wind

against gray waves

a laughing gull

the day of my death

not mine to decide

 

Anna Cates

Wilmington, Ohio

 

 

warned to never

go past the edge of town

where gypsies camped—

yet as a restless child

every chance I had I took

 

an’ya

Port Orford, Oregon

 

 

in the vast night sky

I long to be smaller still

vanish in details

so I cry myself to sleep

since I am invisible

 

Barbara E. Davis

Brooklyn, New York

 

 

the garden blooms

then reseeds itself . . .

avoiding repetition

I seek barren ground

where I will flourish

 

Bonnie J Scherer

Palmer, Alaska

 

 

 

 

tale of two cities

daffodils in London

across the channel

an explosion of jonquils

April in Paris

 

Charles Harmon

Los Angeles, California

 

 

 

 

“I killed the poet

inside of me years ago” . . .

in shadow he takes

a long drag on his Lucky Strike

as our night shift is over

 

Chen-ou Liu

Ajax, Ontario

 

 

she asks me

the same question again

I tell myself

what a blessing to tell her

another way

 

Christine L. Villa

North Highlands, California

 

 

unable to cure

all that is wrong in the world

I leave it behind

this deep-seated need

to fix things

 

C. Jean Downer

White Rock, British Columbia

 

 

frosted path

I take the road back

to your door

each step quiet

with what I won’t say

 

C. X. Turner

Birmingham, United Kingdom

 

 

spring equinox—

less than eager

to exit

the cocoon

of an electric blanket

 

Cynthia Anderson

Yucca Valley, California

 

 

his easy manner

no big deal

passing

on wine

the thousandth time

 

David Chandler

Chicago, Illinois

  

  


  

 

that old dog

limped into my life

by chance it seemed

simple choices simple acts

each day has its purpose

 

David Lee Hill

Bakersfield, California

 

 

 






 

an orca

backflips near our boat . . .

when was

the last time we tried

to impress each other

 

Debbie Strange

Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

 

my dieting is rigid

new knee so worth it

I celebrate

with a little dance

not a sundae

 

Diane Funston

Marysville, California

 

 

when I lose myself

I become the wind

whispering

a longing for home . . .

migrating starlings

 

Dru Philippou

Taos, New Mexico

 

 

I admire

the unusual skirt

she is wearing . . .

her ethical choice to buy

all clothing secondhand

 

Elaine Riddell

Hamilton, New Zealand

 

 

out of work two months

pay gas bill or buy food

dark dilemma

accompanied by cold rain

and a storm of hot tears

 

Eve Castle

Aurora, Colorado

 

 

what to do

in this moving sculpture

will she

feel abandoned

or is it the right time to leave

 

Gerry Jacobson

Canberra, Australia

  

 

 

 

age is only

a number

and figures

don’t lie . . .

but I do

 

Jack Douthitt

Fox Point, Wisconsin

 

 

  

 

holding up the line

pumpkin spice

or caramel

does it matter

I’m for the caffeine

 

Jackie Chou

Pico Rivera, California

 

 

which path

should I take

in old-growth forest

I follow the sound

of a woman’s laughter

 

Jacob D. Salzer

Vancouver, Washington

 

 

each morning

we rearrange each other’s

arrangement . . .

the shower soap, pumice stone

and abalone shell in flux

 

Jenny Fraser

Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

 

 

a roach waves

to me from the ceiling

I cultivate

a friend who survived

mass extinctions

 

Jenny Polstra

Waikato, New Zealand

 

 

a raindrop

trembles on the pane—

what need

to choose between

moment and meaning

 

Jenny Ward Angyal

Gibsonville, North Carolina

 

 

what will it take

to mend this fence,

to allow love back in—

the meandering stream

filled with rainbow trout

 

Joanna Ashwell

Barnard Castle, United Kingdom

 

 

 

 

sharing

final moments

my privilege

and sorrows

as a nurse

 

John Budan

Newberg, Oregon

 

 

 

 

 

suddenly old

living on the edge

with a view to die for

I look forward

not back

 

John Tehan

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

 

 

the nights

longer than the days

torn

between hope and fear

your hand pulls away

 

Jon Hare

Falmouth, Massachusetts

 

 

a rainbow

of felt-tipped pens

what colour

shall my words

be today?

 

Julie Thorndyke

Sydney, Australia

 

 

that silky feeling
how I wrap up in a blanket

wear a velvet dress

my passion for ripe peaches

mashed potatoes and fleece

 

Kathabela Wilson

Pasadena, California

 

 

the rustic bathhouse

in a heavily-snow-buried onsen,

gentleman from a warm country

said he came here

to see the snow

 

Kazuaki Wakui

Shibata-shi, Japan

 

 

parking Grandma

in an aged care home

we flee

from responsibilities

and set off overseas

 

Keitha Keyes

Sydney, Australia

 

 

 

choosing to let you go

at least three times today

like pulling teeth

i now begin to wonder

how many times tomorrow

 

Lafcadio

Chattanooga, Tennessee

 

  

 

 

 

I make a U-turn

to go to my brother’s

before nightfall

how warm the weather

and thoughts of you

 

Lenard Duane Moore

Raleigh, North Carolina

 

 

two coins

head over tails

in the wishing well

across time and space

the secrets they share

 

Leon Tefft

Greenville, South Carolina

 

 

the dog’s ashes

get a place of prominence

on the mantle

he wonders will she

do the same for him

 

LeRoy Gorman

Napanee, Ontario

 

 

a roundabout breaks

my focus on straight lines

clear-thinking curves of consequence

give me a choice

on which way I might turn

 

Linda Conroy

Bellingham, Washington

 

 

how easy it was:

it took just a few seconds

to swoon then sleep

then wake in a paper gown

alone in a hospital room

 

Marc Kimball

Portland, Maine

 

 

this year

I will slough off scales

of brittle bark

drop dead leaves of fear—

stand tall as summer’s gums

 

Margi Abraham

Sydney, Australia

 

 

 

 

I don’t know

if I like it or not,

still

I pick up this blue pen

when I write tanka

 

Mari Konno

Fukui, Japan

 

 

 

on the hill trail

two tracks intersect

at the crest

sometimes it’s easier

to follow your preference

 

Marilyn Humbert

Sydney, Australia

 

 

each morning

some aches fit like a glove

others not so nicely

then I choose

where to focus

 

Mark Teaford

Napa, California

 

 

the touch

of my father’s hand

for the last time

a dried leaf

falls silently

 

Mel Goldberg

Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

 

 

spring breakup—

as if it mattered

what I think

of your painting

in the juried art show

 

Michael Dylan Welch

Sammamish, Washington

 

 

trying to find

the right words to say

but truly

if she loved you

it wouldn’t matter

 

Michael Ketchek

Rochester, New York

 

 

the anguish

in her choice

to stay or go . . .

that final decision

no one saw coming

 

Michele L. Harvey

Hamilton, New York

 

 

 

politicians

say what we want to hear

on both sides

their words pave way

for dishonest leaders

 

Mona Mehas

Noblesville, Indiana

 

 

 

 

gently

the ginkgo shedding

its golden leaves . . .

if only letting go

was this simple

 

Nitu Yumnam

West Bengal, India

 

 

Satan’s offer

in exchange for my soul

sounds pretty good . . .

I quickly text heaven

for a counteroffer

 

Peter Larsen

Lake View Terrace, California

 

 

i am angry

and not talking to her

but listening to her

favorite song

on repeat

 

Quamrul Hassan

Fayetteville, Arkansas

 

 

just the two of us

over the years

we have reached

a compromise

on pizza toppings

 

Randy Brooks

Taylorville, Illinois

 

 

at the crossroads

countless signs pointing

to cities near and far

I choose the one with no miles

and a destination unknown

 

Richard L. Matta

San Diego, California

 

 

choosing sides

a slight hesitation

before deciding

to release a firefly

from the spider’s web

 

Rick Jackofsky

Rocky Point, New York

 

 

 

 

she stands

on top of a cliff

hair flowing

with the abyss ahead

the crossroads behind

 

Rita R. Melissano

Rock Island, Illinois

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

running late

stopped to get some milk

shots ring out

I duck under a counter

clutching my lotto ticket

 

Robert Erlandson

Birmingham, Michigan

 

 

clouds linger

over the summer

gray sky

i still kayak with

a chance of rainfall

 

Roy Kindelberger

Edmonds, Washington

 

 

lost in the mountains

of Andalucía

I stop to wonder . . .

not a sign anywhere

in the clear blue sky

 

Shawn Blair

Cohoes, New York

 

 

iridescent

flashing green and brilliant blue

aggressive today

these grackles . . .

who will she choose?

 

Sherri Moye-Dombrosky

Liberty, South Carolina

 

 

a squirrel twitches

in the leafless birch

a web of twigs

so many different ways

to come to earth

 

Simon Wilson

Peterborough, United Kingdom

 

 

stuck at home

during a blizzard

perhaps

it’s an invitation

to just be

 

Susan Burch

Hagerstown, Maryland

 

 

 

  

no longer

the homeless cat

in our neighborhood

every night, all night

his warmth next to me

 

Susan Weaver

Allentown, Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

above Bondi beach

from the Waverly graves

sea captains

watch black-suited surfers ride

the seas they sailed

 

Teri White Carns

Anchorage, Alaska

 

 

a restless night

full of unresolved strife . . .

placing faith

in my better angels

I finally drift off to sleep

 

Theresa A. Cancro

Wilmington, Delaware

 

 

staying together

for the sake of the kids

until

we need to split up

for the sake of the kids

 

Tim Cremin

Andover, Massachusetts

 

 

i started writing

but very soon lost my way

so this offering

is less than a fine tanka

but more than a kyoka

 

William Kerr

New York, New York

 

 

there’s a cold swallow

in the bottom of my cup

too painful to drink

for when the coffee is gone

what’s there to do after that

 

Wilson Martin

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

 





winter’s colours

paint a peaceful morning

where the path splits

we pause and pick

the longer trail

 

Xenia Tran

Nairn, Scotland