I am grateful to Aya Yuki, the publisher has gracefully honored and published my tanka series for many years. # 1 , 2017 – -#19, 2026. I have 18 more tanka Series to enter.

This quiet Dusk

shadows

drifting

down my hallway

who is passing

through this quiet dusk

your shadow

is outlined with a golden aura

vibrating a song–

take me with you

to your veiled land

we trade places

in the light of day–

you were a dream

only your outline glowing

my hands reach for rainbows

seven colors

flow through my blood

on tangerine clouds

I  descend–  

deep into the earth

back 

to the beginning

when darkness filled

our planet–

the lotus blossomed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Genie Nakano, December 1, 2025, Published 2026 No. 19

Once and a While 

it comes

once and a while

this morning 

moving in my ears

the noise of silence

let the chin drop

let the TMJ joint loosen

get gelatin soft

unfurl the spinal cord

the grass needs to be watered 

once and a while

we can stop, hang up this world

stay in the closet

be kind to ourselves and rest

like dogs do when sick

once and a while

this white noise of silence

falls over the edge 

of  a flattened world 

into a sea of maple syrup

once and a while

all the birds sleep till noon

the earth worms 

move and till the earth

and grass turns green again

Genie Nakano,

finished Oct. 26, 2024

December 1, 2025, Published 2026 No. 19
International Tanka Society, Tokyo, Japan