Community Tanka
Discover beautiful poetry from our mindful writing community
Trying to sit still
My muscles will not comply
Twitching and chasing
The stillness I just can't catch
Stop chasing let it find me
Fuzzy dogs cuddle
Not quite asleep but near it
Warm against my cold
As autumn sneaks its way in
And brings a blanket of joy
rolled up in a rug
impossible to move
panic is near
but kept at bay
when struggle ceases -- just breathe
Was anxious since birth
afraid of a million ifs
then cancer cured me
the ifs never existed
now as always— only now
Frantic dish washing
can't be late to the Zendo
cup slams into forks
practice is now in the sink
without leaving the kitchen
Minecraft talk non-stop
she rambles around the block
this game is the best
alive on a fall day with
a nine-year-old's excitement
Cat lies in the sun
stretched out long, content, and warm
just to be carefree
I incline my mind to now
where things are always as still
"In the rhythm of five-seven-five-seven-seven, we find the heartbeat of mindful expression."
— The Art of Tanka