Tanka Society of America Publication
A big thanks to them for including me, and to anyone who hasn't read Ribbons yet but loves tanka, I can definitely recommend it.
About the tanka:
I don't write as much tanka as I do haiku and freestyle poetry, but this one was inspired by a photograph I saw of someone purposefully leaving room for a loved one they were grieving the loss of. Looking back on old childhood pictures, I am always reminded of the people who are no longer with me or those I wished had been present in that moment. It's that constant tension of feeling sad in moments of joy too.