Without The Middle Poem by Chen-ou Liu

Without The Middle



A Tanka Sequence


dewdrops
on a blade of grass
at twilight
this lingering fear,
'I want a divorce'

surge of the wind...
her voice hardens
into its rigid strength,
'I love you, Eric,
but I can't stand you anymore'

all those nights
her moist smile nuzzled
the nape of my neck...
now in the dim light
one wedding pillow left

a white trail
left in the winter sky
by her plane -
I still wait for the turn
and wave of her hand

Third Prize, Haiku Canada Tanka Story Contest,2016

Judge's Comment by Angela Leuck (Haiku Canada Review,10: 1, February 2016, p.47) : The story is enhanced by effective and contrasting imagery: the poet refers to delicate, transitory phenomenon like 'dewdrops' and a plane's 'white trail, ' while the wife's steely determination to leave is indicated by the use of strong words like 'blade, ' 'hardens' and 'rigid strength.' The poet also evokes endings through reference to the day's end: 'twilight' and 'dim light.'

Friday, February 12, 2016
Topic(s) of this poem: divorce,relationship,winter
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