TANKA TAKE HOME – 19 March, 2025 | poet of the month – Madhuri Pillai

hosts: Firdaus Parvez, Kala Ramesh, Priti Aisola & Suraja Menon Roychowdhury

Introducing a new perspective to our Wednesday Feature!

poet of the month: Madhuri Pillai

sitting on the window

the philosopher's moon ...

listening

to my questions

asked eons before

(Moon bathing, issue 25, Autumn/Winter 2021)

happiness

like dandelion fluffs

floating

to find a mooring

ever so brief

(Blithe Spirit, Vol.33 No.2)

second-hand bookshop

the creek of my footsteps

browsing...

Plath, Kerouac, Ted Huges

I succumb to Neruda's rhyme

(Ribbons, Fall 2019, Vol.15, No.3)

Madhuri Pillai bio:

Madhuri Pillai was born in India, but she has lived in Australia for a major portion of her life. 

She is an English (Hons.) graduate and a journalist by profession. 

Reading and writing have always been her passion, and she is also an animal activist. 

Madhuri lives in Melbourne with her family which includes Rosie, her fur baby.

Prompt for this week:

The moon is at the heart of so many memorable poems and songs.

New moon, full moon, half moon, crescent moon, spring moon, summer moon, winter moon, blood moon, sickle moon, harvest moon, hunter’s moon, flower moon, strawberry moon and so on — the ‘moon list’ is long. The moon veiled by clouds, or sailing across the milky way, or skimming the tops of trees, either eclipsed by tall buildings or peeping in through a homely window — has inspired many lovely poems.

We invite you to write about the moon as a genial companion, as a silent, but sagacious witness of one’s solitude and solitary musings, or as a detached observer of one’s moods and emotions. Or anything else that suits your fancy. Or write about a moment of happiness so fleeting, so brief, and yet one that leaves a lasting impress. Or, write about ‘succumbing’ to the charm of a certain book.

Give this idea some thought and share your tanka and tanka-prose with us here. Keep your senses open, observe things that happen around you and write.You can post tanka and tanka-prose outside this theme too.

PLEASE NOTE:

1. Post only one poem at a time.

2. Only two tanka and two tanka-prose per poet per prompt.

   Tanka art of course if you want to.

3. Share your best-polished pieces.

4. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written. Let it

    simmer for a while.

5. Post your final edited version on top of your original verse.

6. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.

We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished tanka and tanka-prose (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in haikuKATHA monthly magazine.