Tanka of J. Zimmerman
(first published in Eucalypt, moonset, Ribbons, etc.)

Prize-winning and honorable-mention Tanka
of J. Zimmerman

Anthologized tanka of J. Zimmerman

2012: Anthologized in Take 5, volume 4 (editor M. Kei)


    Thirty years later
    holding hands at breakfast     
    coffee weaker
    pancakes smaller
    but the grasp still strong

2011: Anthologized in 25 Tanka Poets from Great Britain and Ireland (editor Jon Baldwin)


    Let's meet next summer
    at the place of the apple tree    
    where horse traders
    can tell your fortune or,
    if you have none, invent one.

2011: Anthologized in Dreams Wander On (editor Robert Epstein)


     Children jump the surf ...
	 
          [First published in Moonbathing, Autumn 2009]

     Storms this morning ...

         [First published in Eucalypt issue 4, 2008]

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in American Tanka

First published in American Tanka number 20, January 2012:


     Goodwill dining table
     my husband sanded it smooth
     resealed its surface
     said it would last a lifetime    
     and it has

First published in American Tanka number 18, Spring 2009:


     January gale
     another roof slate     
     cracks off —
     I can't stand it
     that you're gone.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in bottle rockets

First published in bottle rockets number 28 (2013):


   Golden aspen leaf
   the tremor in his hand
   but perhaps
   he feels himself steady
   that my palm trembles on his   

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Chrysanthemum

First published in Chrysanthemum (Spring 2011):


     Falling coupled
     into bramble thorns
     mating butterflies
     everyone's wings
     torn by desire.

     With German translation by Dietmar Tauchner:
          Bei der Paarung
          stürzen verkoppelte Falter
          in die Brombeerdornen
          ihr beider Flügel
          zerrissen vor Begierde

     For my family's sake
     the day before my operation
     I get a haircut
     in case I need to look
     respectable on a slab.
 
     With German translation by Dietmar Tauchner:
          Meiner Familie wegen
          einen Tag vor meiner OP
          lasse ich mir die Haare schneiden
          für den Fall dass ich gut aussehen muss   
          auf dem OP-Tisch

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Eucalypt

First published in Eucalypt issue 4, 2008:


     Storms this morning
     keep me home recycling
     inessential documents,
     discarding yet again
     all those people I once was.

     Wintry surf
     tosses rocks, kelp, and salty grit ...     
     their racket
     blanks out all chance to catch 
     your next wise advice.

First published in Eucalypt issue 5, 2008:


     First daybreak
     of the silent retreat
     I fracture its rules —
     hum like fog in the shower
     whistle like sunrise with the kettle.     

     Talking to her friend
     in bonfire light
     she neglects for once
     to cover her face
     with a charming mask.

First published in Eucalypt issue 6, 2009:


     Spring nervousness —
     roof-ridge boastings
     of starling and crow
     promises, promises
     at the speed-dating venue.     

First published in Eucalypt issue 7, 2009:


     Shoulders carrying 
     thirty widowed years
     their sudden tremble 
     when the garage-door cable. 
     snaps.

     Fronting the river 
     Madonna Cemetery  
     shines under green branches —     
     hill-fire smoke and petals
     drift over the fireman's grave.

First published in Eucalypt issue 9, 2010:


     She drives her father
     to catch the mountain bus —      
     he hefts his backpack
     his stooped shoulders
     pulling on her heart.

First published in Eucalypt issue 10, 2011: "Smoldering hotel ..."

First published in Eucalypt issue 11, 2011: "Thirty years later ..."

First published in Eucalypt issue 12, 2012: "The clover so large ..."

First published in Eucalypt issue 13, 2012: "Domestic ducks ..." and "Mountain desert air ..."

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Notes From the Gean

In Notes From the Gean issue 4 (March 1, 2010):


     Fiery sparks
     flurry as the log settles —     
     I tell my friend
     it's not too late to return
     what she stole.

     In his kitchen
     to refill my water glass
     I notice
     vodka bottles propping up
     AA brochures.

In Notes From the Gean issue 6 (September 1, 2010):


     Cycling in a thin dress
     through the World's Fair Forest --   
     St. Louis summers
     perfumed with jasmine
     and melting tar.
In the Tanka Café on the theme: Epiphany

     Those nimble birds
     scrambling the wind above chimneys
     and urban forest
     are they swifts or swallows ...
     or just this world's debris?

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in A Hundred Gourds

First published in A Hundred Gourds 1:3 (2012)

She claims I'm her friend
as if her annual letter
were not merely
a long list of demands —
the puddle's broken reflections.

First published in A Hundred Gourds 1:1 (2011)

Where is she now
the girl that wore red shoes?
far away
in a northern land
learning the color of snow.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Magnapoets

First published in the July 2008 issue of Magnapoets:


     Darning
     another of his sock toes     
     I keep getting pricked
     even though
     he's miles away.

First published in the July 2010 issue of Magnapoets:


     West-facing window
     the frame's shadow
     glides across my chair —     
     I am a sundial
     an hourglass draining.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in MET: Modern English Tanka

First published in the Spring 2009 issue of MET: Modern English Tanka: Of the fifteen tanka published, this is one example:


     Grey Monday morning
     the mournful harmonica
     from the work bus
     "in the mine, in the mine,
     where a million diamonds shine". 

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Moonbathing

First published in the Autumn 2009 issue of Moonbathing (Founding Editors Pamela A. Babusci and Cathy Drinkwater Better):


     Children jump the surf
     waves shatter the summer air —     
     in a few years
     friends will scatter my ashes
     into such broken water.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in moonset

First published in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of moonset:

[Editor's Choice]
     Slowly rising tide
     the harbor seal lifts its tail
     for every swell —
     I too adjust my posture
     with each of my friend's complaints.   
[Second Place in moonset Tanka Contest]
     Lowering sky
     a rapid rattle of hailstones
     not such a bad day
     to sit by the fire and read —
     then burn — your love letters.   

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in red lights

First published in 2010 Vol 6:2 issue of red lights:


     The way my stomach
     lurched
     each time the swing boat
     swung
     first summer of love.

     Her front garden glows
     with a hundred aubergines —     
     she devours them all July
     shiny indigo skin
     taut as her pregnant belly.

First published in 2011 Vol 7:1 issue of red lights:


     Fire and garlands
     at my friends' Hindi wedding     
     they exchange gold rings
     their ring-finger veins 
     joined to their hearts.

     Surrendering 
     to the masseuse's hands 
     my nose and ears
     even my heels and toes 
     are smiling.

First published in 2011 Vol 7:2 issue of red lights:


     Each year the glaciers
     retreat over boulders
     up fjords and mountains —
     my tear-stained white handkerchief   
     frays as I wave goodbye.
 
     So cold
     when I awake
     alone in my bed —
     still I have woken
     still I can remember you.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Ribbons

First published in the 2008 Summer issue of Ribbons:


     My mouth 
     enfolds melting chocolate
     this 
     is what Inca kings ate
     is what they fed their gods.     
In the Tanka Café on the theme: Epiphany
     Pickpocketted
     she realizes it was when
     she glanced away
     to the ruckus across the street     
     and someone nudged her softly.

First published in the 2008 Autumn issue of Ribbons:

In the Tanka Café on the theme: Transience
     Not transient enough —
     today's aroma of skunk
     explains those shrill yips
     when last night's small-mammal war  
     raged beneath our home.

First published in the 2008 Winter issue of Ribbons:


     Their marriage
     of crisis and battle 
     a calm surface at last
     where snowdrops and daffodils   
     sprout on their graves.

First published in the 2009 Spring issue (5.1) of Ribbons:

In the Tanka Café on the theme: The Diamond Sutra
     Back and forth he walks
     between the Twin Tower pinnacles
     linked by a suture
     high in the Manhattan dawn
     diamond-strong his steps sparkling.

First published in the 2009 Summer issue (5.2) of Ribbons:

Artist's note from Liz Davis:

 Valentine's dusk 
 rosy on the breaking waves — 
 the seaside redhead
 glides her pink Cadillac 
 past each undressing surfer.
	
Artist's note (continued) from Liz Davis:

First published in the 2009 Autumn issue (5.3) of Ribbons:

In the Tanka Café on the theme: Visiting
     Honey bees visit 
     each sweet pea diligently
     hum of voices
     my mother and my aunts
     gliding among their sweet secrets.   

First published in the 2009 Winter issue (5.4) of Ribbons:

Selected by the editor for commentary, praise,
and featuring on the issue's Back Cover:
          Without coat or gloves
          I walk into clouds and tears
          walk on ash
          on cremated bones
          on the grit of souls.
In the Tanka Café on the theme: Winter Warmth
          Practicing crêpes Suzette
          she drops a match 
          into the rum
          which blazes with a whumph ...
          sets her halo of hair alight.

First published in the 2010 Spring issue (6.1) of Ribbons:


          She feeds his letters
          into the shredder —
          iron stakes
          stab over and over
          his vampire heart.
In the Tanka Café on the theme: Vegetables
          She says okra
          won't be slimy
          if prepared right —
          I still don't trust
          my new best friend.

First published in the 2010 Summer issue (6.2) of Ribbons:


          Things I miss --
          the dark body of the sea
          the taste of salt
          the starry nights
          in your arms.
In the Tanka Café on the theme: Things That Revolve
          Empty seaside field
          the girl with a blond mane
          turns and turns 
          invisible ponies gallop 
          endlessly round her.

First published in the 2010 Fall issue (6.3) of Ribbons

In the Tanka Café on the theme: Things That Fly
          The agility
          of the falcon alighting
          on my fist, then
          as she steps into the sky
          my moment of envy.

First published in the 2011 Spring issue (7.1) of Ribbons:


          I lug
          ten pounds of salmon into
          the eagle refuge
          to help them stay wild
          I don't look in their eyes.
In the Tanka Café on the theme "Art and Artlessness"
          I come south
          to be closer to the moon
          and see colors by moonlight —
          green of bamboo, blue of water,
          red of your lips.

First published in the 2011 Summer issue (7.2) of Ribbons:


          She wants to become
          a solitary predator,
          an assassin,
          a Future Animal, aloft 
          on raven-black wings.       
In the Tanka Café on the theme "Wandering"
          Like a gentleman
          he gives me his bed
          sleeps on the couch
          traipses in at 2 a.m.
          pretending to sleepwalk.

First published in the 2011 Autumn issue (7.3) of Ribbons:


          Trekking into the past
          I spool out steel cables
          hammer pitons into rock
          drop breadcrumbs 
          plot my exit strategy      
In the Tanka Café on the theme "Illusion":
          Shimmering mirage
          from the train window
          they aim for Reno
          the third marriage for him     
          the first for her

First published in the 2011 Winter issue (7.4) of Ribbons:

I bury
the wedding ring
in redwood roots
on the anniversary
of his last slow breath.
In the Tanka Café on the theme "Horizon":
In silence
she packs and unpacks her suitcase
a dozen times
first summer of widowhood
first trip alone.

First published in the 2012 Spring/Summer issue (8.1) of Ribbons:

Twenty-sixth day
left foot in its pale-blue cast
I trundle slowly
a mile to the supermarket —
the sweetness of a stolen grape.
In the Tanka Café on the theme "Horizon":
The way nothing
or almost nothing escapes 
a black hole's 
event horizon —
the silence of a man I know.

Tanka of J. Zimmerman first published in Simply Tanka (at the Simply Haiku site)

First published in Simply Tanka (2011):


     A young friend
     demonstrates wool spinning
     after six decades
     I'm once again a spinster —    
     the bitter taste of green tea

	 
     Sipping gunpowder tea
     he calls in the teashop "who
     can spell 'lecherous'?"
     when three women reply
     his smiling bow to each

First published in Simply Tanka (2011):


     Wind dislodges
     small stones from the cliff
     rattles scrub-oak leaves —    
     the misty shape
     around your absence
 
 
     Untrimmed candle wick
     the rainy dusk brightens
     in the flame's flicker
     third day of the vigil
     her hesitant breath

First published in Simply Tanka (2010):


     Signing my will
     with a pen gold-embossed
     'Circus Casino'
     my funeral plans emphasize
     boas, spandex, conga lines

	 
     Labour Day weekend
     cleaning years of clutter
     beneath the sink
     bottles and tins almost full    
     so many tasks incomplete
Solo tanka series.

Solo Tanka Series of J. Zimmerman

Conversational Tanka of J. Zimmerman, in converstation with other poets

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