The Saigyo Awards for Tanka 2010

 

First Prize  $100

 

you say my tanka book
lies in your linen press
that you read one or two
with each clean sheet you take
each fresh cloth for your table

 

Beverley George, Australia

 

I am taken by the uniqueness of this poem.  It even smells clean and fresh, each word folded neatly in place.  There is a sense of presence...and patience.  Life that is savored and unhurried.  There is always enough time.  Ordinary life extraordinarily expressed in just enough of the right words.  It is clear the poet is in awe of how much "you" value the book and as a result feels valued too.  The tanka is about this gift exchange between poet and reader.  This exchange is why we remain working poets.

 

 

Second Prize  $50

 

a requiem
for she who loved apricot—-
the color, the bloom
and the way the fruit
clung lightly to the stone

 

Carole MacRury, WA

 

I feel the poet's deep appreciation for another's life.  This tanka reveals how "she who loved apricot" welcomed the subtle things, and lived life consciously.  The author noticed that about her.  Through the beauty of detailed, non-sentimental language this tanka reveals as much about the poet as it does about her subject.  It's a tanka about seeing and being seen.

 

 

Third Prize  $25

 

cherry blossoms
hold for three days
then scatter...
I tell him I don't want to be
in love anymore

 

Aurora Antonovic, MI

 

The poet is boldly and powerfully clear in this direct, very present, tanka.  I experience the deep, quiet sadness that can come with knowing for certain one's heart and following it, even though it is painful.  The cherry blossoms give the poem its beauty.  Alluding to their temporary nature is what makes me feel this is a realization the poet has thought deeply about.  All this honesty contained in five short lines leaves me feeling the impact long after I leave the poem.

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

boundless joy
for this unpaved road
without a name
with corn on either side
flecked with unknown butterflies

 

Michele L. Harvey, NY

 

Freedom.  Seeing through the world to experience its essence, our essence.  Non-attachment.  This is an example of showing, not telling, through detailed, effortless language, so that I can experience the moment of enlightenment too.

 

 

raging wind
swirling towards the ground
leaves
in their last cycle
my white hair

 

Janick Belleau, Canada

 

I "see" the wind because of the leaves.  The poet "sees" his transitory nature because of the leaves.  He can "see" the end of his physical life approaching, and we know that because of "my white hair."  Each line of the poem gives meaning to the previous line.  This is what strikes me about this tanka.

 

 

trees stir,
Galloway cows about their business,
and a man,
shirt unbuttoned, places
stone on stone to form a wall

 

Patricia Prime, New Zealand

 

I hear trees stirring in the wind, see the cows.  I feel the weight of each stone as he lays them one by one, slowly, deliberately.  The last four words give the poem its meaning.  There's a sense of completeness being told what the result will be, knowing his purpose.  The story has a beginning and an end, and the feeling of it lingers.

 

 

were all the cranes
to forsake the temple,
would the shadow
of something you said
still dwell in me?

 

Darrell Lindsey, TX

 

Cranes and temple immediately establish a Zen quality to this tanka.  The student questions himself.  A Zen poem of humanness, humility, beauty, strength.

 

 

sheet music
taken by a gust
coming off the river—-
every falling leaf
deeper than birdsong

 

Darrell Lindsey, TX

 

It is always a difficult challenge for me to adequately explain why I like a poem.  This one, like each of this year's winning tanka, is chosen for its freshness and uniqueness.  The first three lines are a perfect visual image.  The next two lines give it meaning.  It's as if the purpose of what the poet sees with his eyes is so that he can make the connection for himself in the last two lines.  I feel the moment is designed for the poet's particular life journey, for him to make sense of for his personal growth, his personal awareness...it is our privilege that he shares it with us.  This is the job of poets.

 

A bow of gratitude to all who participated in this year's Saigyo Awards for Tanka contest.  Congratulations to the authors of the winning poems chosen from 436 tanka.

 

Peace and joy,
Carolyn Thomas