Delighted that Ribbons Fall 2023: Volume 19, Number 3 issue features my tanka prose and tanka sequence. Ribbons is the prestigious tanka journal of the Tanka Society of America.
Grateful to Susan Weaver, Editor & Liz Lanigan, Tanka Prose Editor for the acceptance & publication.
Here is the tanka prose:
Light of Hope
Neena Singh, Chandigarh, India
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all
~ Emily Dickinson
The white-bearded, turbaned Sardarji sits outside the public garden with multi-colored lamps stacked around him. I stop to greet him with folded hands, and he beams a broad smile. I enquire whether these lamps are homemade, and he responds in the affirmative.
“My family had suffered in Delhi during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. I lost everything I owned, so, with the family, I fled to Dehradun to build a new life. After trying many odd jobs, I began making lanterns and selling them door-to-door. Now I am getting old, and people don’t buy my lamps as much as they used to,” he says with a sigh.
last night
heavy rain pelted
the old pine
yet it stands tall
strong-willed like you
Seeing my interest, he warms up and confides that he is saving money for his daughter’s marriage, after which he will return home and stop this arduous labor which has engaged him for the last twenty years. The old man’s words ring close to my heart, as I walk home, clutching a red lamp, wondering if it will light up my life.
August wind
ripples the evergreen
feathery fronds fall…
what burdens we carry
of the stories we hear
Photo edited at his request to respect anonymity.
