Here’s my tanka poem for Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Poetry Challenge. Two words were chosen and then we picked a synonym of them. Here are the words: Hint & Bold. I wrote this when our power was shut down, which meant I used my old paperback Thesaurus to find words to replace them.
The first line was going to be “The stagnant gray gloom.” That had fit the smoke we’ve been dealing with the last few weeks since those lightning storms.
But then came a strange dark orange that covered the skies from the fires this week. So I made a last-minute change. Thankfully, our power is back and we are still safe.
This is a surreal and anxiety-filled time for much of the west coast. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Ominous Orange
Filters through the evergreens
A rude reminder
Of the furious fanned flames
When nightmares come to life.
