Tag: tanka

An Instrumental Tanka

April 12, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

trees shake maracas ~

a Taino rhythm to keep ~

rattle past’s recall ~

the new world vomited bile ~

poisoned, the old leaves fell dead

~

(note: Maracas originated with the Taino people, the Indigenous inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands and S. Florida. The coming of Columbus brought a time of disease, slavery and murder that left approximately 5 million humans dead, nearly exterminating the Taino. Indigenous people today face a continued battle in America to protect their treaty negotiated lands, waters and ancestral burial sites most recently from gas pipelines. An honest look at history is a starting point in healing old wounds and preventing new ones.)

#noACP

Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me

Entry posted in tanka, poetry & noACP. Bookmark the permalink.

A Spirited Tanka

March 10, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

march to Native drums ~

’til colonized beatings end ~

spark truth’s blazing fire ~

wishes won’t sop up spilled oil ~

words do not pay for the dead

~

(Inspired by the words of Chief Joseph, “Words do not pay for my dead people”, and the Native Nations March on Washington, D.C., today.)

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/american-indians-gather-d-c-four-day-protest-trump-dakota-access-pipeline/

#NativeNationsRise #IndigenousRising #NoDAPL

Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me

Entry posted in tanka, poetry & NoDAPL. Bookmark the permalink.

 

Said the Waves to the Moon

February 14, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

waning and waxing ~

inconsistently passing ~

dark, then light, my night ~

though I touch your face or not ~

my tides, you’re ever moving

~

Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me

Entry posted in tanka & poetry. Bookmark the permalink.

~

Dedicated to my dad, who holds the record for the worst Valentine’s Day present ever given to me – a stiff, ugly stuffed bear with blood-red, coarse hair – a gift that inexplicably made his little girl’s heart beat faster. I haven’t felt his arms around me or heard his voice since I was a teenager. I still have that bear hidden away in a box, and I still feel his love moving my tides, encouraging me daily to keep going.