Chidago Canyon Petroglyph, Detail on Previous
Tanka [two piles of clover]
two piles of clover
on both sides—
the 4-year-old
hopes for 4 leaves
to save her mommy
_______________
Karen O’Leary
Review by Jared Pearce
The image of the four-year-old plucking piles of clover for her wish is really striking.
Review by Joshua St. Claire
In “two piles of clover,” O’Leary juxtaposes the magical thinking of children with the sad realities of a sick parent. There is quite a bit of ma in this tanka, as well, as the reader considers the mental health of the child and the physical health of her parent. A strong tanka.
I also want to applaud O’Leary for writing two light, minimalistic, imagistic verse and not attempting to replicate Japanese prosody by padding these poems into a “5-7-5-7-7” syllable structure. Very well done.