2025 Winners

2025 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Winners

Michael H. Lester and Vicki Miko, Judges

This year 182 poets submitted 642 tanka from 31 countries—Algeria, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Thank you to judges Michael H. Lester and Vicki Miko for their time and consideration in making this year’s selections.

—Roy Kindelberger, TSA Contest Coordinator

[watch for a celebration video to come soon]

Judges’ Commentary

We were honored to be asked to judge this contest, but it was not easy! We narrowed the field by each reading all the tanka and marking those we thought offered something unique and evocative that deeply affected us. Focusing on those tanka that stood out to both of us, we then found our winners and honorable mentions from this short list, evaluating on originality, musicality, poetics, craftsmanship, imagery, and evocativeness. Our selections and commentary appear here.

—Michael H. Lester and Vicki Miko

First Place ($100)

upon realizing

that I am in

a snow globe

I wait for some child’s soft hands

to start the magic

Michael L. Evans

Puyallup, Washington

A snow globe is an enchanting curio—and something we both personally enjoyed as children. Probably most of us have shaken one at some point to watch the snow drift down. The first three lines, “upon realizing / that I am in / a snow globe,” set up the scene in which the poet is the principal player in something bigger than he is. In this way, the snow globe becomes a metaphor for life. But the tanka’s power comes in the last two lines. Bringing a child into the scene to shake the snow globe is charming and heartwarming. The poem succeeds as both a metaphor for life and as a delightful fantasy.

Second Place ($50)

family court

a pair of blackbirds

fighting

over the spot atop

a scarecrow’s hat

Ngô Bình Anh Khoa

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Let’s step into “family court” with this exceptional poem. We can all picture many scenarios in a courtroom setting, but we’re not likely to imagine two blackbirds before the judge. The poet sets us up with an immediate metaphorical glimpse in the next two lines, “fighting / over the spot atop.” Think for a moment before reading on: Blackbirds are very territorial. What is that “spot” they’re fighting over, a nest or a morsel of food? When the last line is revealed, “a scarecrow’s hat,” we can either smile or conjure up deeper meanings. For example, if the scarecrow is the judge, is the judge listening? And what’s under that hat? If both the parties and the blackbirds keep clacking, might they work it out themselves? With such clever use of metaphor, juxtaposition, and oxymoron—the blackbirds are not really scared of the scarecrow—the poet says so much in just five lines.

Third Place ($25)

reveille

the bugler’s last note lingers

in the silence

as far as eye can see

rows of white crosses

Tracy Davidson

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

We can’t help but hear “reveille,” the familiar military bugle call for all soldiers and other personnel to start their regimented day. With the bugle’s lively sound, we would expect lots of activity after the morning call. But then in line two, the word “lingers” catches our attention. With the next line, “in the silence,” the poet wants us to stop and think—setting us up for metaphorical wordplay, “as far as eye can see.” The word “eye” has a double meaning, both as “I” the poet, and “eye,” as witness of the vividly solemn “rows of white crosses.” The endless rows found in national cemeteries remind us of the fallen. Do we see the irony? Is there no end to the rows of white crosses disappearing on the sightline? Is “reveille” a wake-up call for we, the people, to remember, all over the world, the lasting effects of war? There are numerous eye-opening meanings in the poet’s affecting tanka.

Honorable Mentions (not ranked)

all winter

Venus shone brilliantly

only now

do I see her note

on the pinboard

Farah Ali

Brighton, United Kingdom

What an impressive and unexpected poem! Each nuanced line makes us more curious, especially the last line. We all want to know what the note says. As for the timeframe, “all winter” may suggest reflection, coziness, or sleeping. Then in line two, there’s “Venus,” the universal symbol of love, beauty, and astrological significance. Are these hints to the poem’s meaning? Is the speaker a skywatcher studying Venus’s disappearing light phases? It seems that the giveaway, “only now,” signifies a surprise, unrequited love, or maybe a secret crush. We can’t assume the speaker is involved, although “do I see her note / on the pinboard” implies a connection. Is the pinboard at home, or at an office or classroom? Where does Venus fit in? For certain, we sure want to know about that note. How intriguing! We may never know.

my dupatta

flies off my shoulder . . .

is it you

or just the impishness

of a summer breeze

Mona Bedi

Delhi, India

It’s easy to imagine the poet walking down a city street or on the beach, her “dupatta” (a long scarf) flowing. Is she next to someone special who’s flirting with her, when suddenly her dupatta goes flying? The ellipsis adds to the airy moment. Or we might picture her companion’s delight in teasing or testing her reaction by surreptitiously slipping the dupatta off her shoulder. She pretends not to notice, thinking to herself, “is it you.” Either way, there is a bit of lightheartedness. Is the poet daydreaming? Maybe she’s alone and smiles at herself while thinking about her companion. Or perhaps she senses the spirit of a loved one who is gone. We don’t know. Then in lines four and five, we are surprised when the poet personifies the wind as “impish.” How endearing! The buoyant mood is shaped by place, cultural customs, and daily rhythms.

the zephyr blowing

through the wheat field

mom asks me

to describe her the sea

where she never was

Cezar Ciobica

Botosani, Romania

A zephyr is a gentle breeze, and it presages the tone of the poem itself, which feels gentle to read. The imagery is vivid, with the wheat field undulating like ocean waves. In line three, the mother, who has never been to the sea, asks her child to describe it. The poet’s choice to put the wheat field lines before the mother’s request is an interesting and clever inversion; the answer precedes the question. Using the word “mom” personalizes this tanka in a way that “mother” would not and adds to its effectiveness. This is a spare but strong and poignant tanka that invites readers to fill in the blanks with their own stories.

I still remember

the taste of coffee from a thermos

on the trail

now my only companion

a stone in the shoe

Maria Tomczak

Opole, Poland

In this nostalgic poem, the speaker recalls vividly the taste of coffee from a thermos on the trail. “I still remember” suggests much time has passed. This image sets up the last two understated yet knockout lines. The speaker laments the loss of companionship, which the poet conveys with wry humor via a stone in the shoe—a nagging reminder of loss. We don’t know who or what was lost or why. The reader is left to imagine these things. The loss may have come with aging, death, divorce, or decreased mobility. Was the trail their companion or was it a person? This is a sweet, masterful tanka seamlessly bringing us from companionship and nature to the emotion of loss.