Tanka by Paul Conneally

AFTER FERN HILL

a series of tanka linked to the poem 'Fern Hill' by Dylan Thomas

making daisy chains
under an old apple tree
stars above the barn
the sound of a girl's laughter
through a field of ripe barley

watching pebbles
move with the stream
distant church bells
the bark of a dog-fox
across the valley

nightjars
flashing into the dark
hay on the wind
from fields high above the house
one owl to another

a cock's crow
the farmer's son and his girl
walking warm
out of the green stable
two young horses

this morning's still heat
children on their way to school
searching for skylarks
in a sky of perfect blue
a couple of small white clouds

the half-moon rising
I watch carefree youth
gathered by the pub
swallows preparing to leave
on a long trip south

This series of tanka first was published in the online journal 'Zimmerzine'