Tanka by Julie Thorndyke

the cracked leather binding

of the family bible

no one wrote

the last generation

on the marbled flyleaf

I wash my cup,

my plate, a single knife

and fork -

the elegance of a life

without entanglements

barefoot on the rocks

I avoid

the oyster shells

but your remembered words

cut deep

(Stylus Poetry Journal April 2005)