Tanka 1


During these hard times
a tall man catches ducklings
as they fall like stars
towards the unmoving road.
Small lives not yet forgotten.


Tanka 2


The moorhen's green toes
smooth the grass with each long step.
They should not belong
to such a small scrap of bird
but to something far greater.


* Anne Brooke is having a bird-obsessed few days but hopes to fly away from it all before she actually grows feathers. Her current roost is www.annebrooke.com
The first tanka relates to this story:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8058221.stm