Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo. Article details.
Tanka Society of America Fall 2023 Volume 19, Number 3
I am pleased to report that my work has been published in TSA Ribbons Fall 2023 Vol19 No.3.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tanka Editor Ms. Susan Weaver for selecting my sequence from the many works of many members.
I would also like to thank Tanka Hangout Editor Mr. Ken Slaughter.
Thank you very much.
The Past
Mariko Kitakubo, Tokyo, Japan
under
the bloody red sky
the agony
of hibakusha*
...still there
darker and darker
her shadow each summer
as August approaches
my friend was a spy
for the Allies
the hidden past
growing heavier
did her information
help a Fatman**
and a Little Boy?
at midnight
of Hiroshima Day
and Nagasaki Day
the secret box of feelings
opens by itself
* "Hibakusha, the survivors of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, suffered radiation sickness, the death of family and friends, and discrimination, as rumors spread that the effects of radiation exposure might be contagious.
** "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were Manhattan Project code-names for the two different types of atomic bombs.
Ribbons - Fall 2023 page 69
Tanka Hangout: Tribute Poems
the blind poet
spoke in English or French,
played koto
I miss you, grandma...
her infinite field of view
Mariko Kitakubo, Tokyo, Japan
...Some poets pay homage to family members. Mariko Kitakubo recalls her grandmother, who was a "blind poet." She played the koto, a traditional Japanese zither. ... by -Ken Slaughter
Ribbons - Fall 2023 page 13
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