Animals Tanka Poems | Examples
These Animals Tanka poems are examples of Tanka poems about Animals. These are the best examples of Tanka Animals poems written by international poets.
A GRACEFUL WINTER DAY!
Looked out the window:
Birds and squirrels everywhere;
Fun, grass-partying:
Dropped brown leaves just lying there;
A confused dog stands watching:-
How entertaining
Nature can be in winter;
Overviewing life:
Canvassing, tribulations
Can, and will be, overcome:-
After having tea,
Peeped through the window again;
All animals gone:
Leaving behind a quiet,
Beautiful bright winter day:-
an almost autumn
scene unfolds outside window....
purple flowers bloom
yellow butterflies flit fast
mexican petunias wave
occasionally birds
come into view and hummers....
brown rabbit nibbles plants
a break in the fence somewhere
small animals enter there
summer swiftly flies
soon cooler nights, drier air....
hummers migrate south
mexican petunias die
birds at feeders seen outside
Desert thorns that sting.
Careful desert animals.
Both have great instinct,
Finding safety together.
Not permanent for either.
Scurrying people
windy city wind whistling
Wet animals flee
Blue thunder, silver slick streets
Hued blooms close their perfumed rooms.
A flock of large birds
or a fleet of small small planes
is speeding towards me.
NO! It's worse--mosquitoes!
I failed to use repellent!
I grab my swatter.
They slap it away, laughing--
my baseball bat too.
I’ll need a tub of itch cream,
maybe a transfusion.
The females descend
to feast on me; the males watch,*
rendering support
with cheering and clapping.
Next time I’ll use spray with DEET.
*Male mosquitoes do not bite living things; they can only consume sugary
fluids and thus do not bite or suck the blood of humans or animals. This was news to me!
August 21, 2021
entered in the Buggy Tanka Contest
Sponsor: M.L. Kiser
ELEPHANT GRASS
Long Elephant Grass
Typical class, long narrow.
Herbivores eat well,
Edible as well by us.
Make soup with young leaves and root.
Elephant grass field,
hiding park of small rabbits,
little animals.
Plant eating animals graze.
Prey and predator play games.
05/18/18
ZERO
it’s so cold
where do outdoor animals go
to stay alive
two black crows caw cawing
from a tree top
sun’s out
you’d never know
it’s zero outside
cat wants out
but just one sniff…
zero outside
wind chill 10 below
so says weather man jack
thoughts of getting up
smothered in covers
it’s so cold outside
everything has turned blue
my face my hands
buried
‘neath a blue comforter
10 below
this vet gone crazy –
“sniper guns down 6
2 dead 4 critical
at the weather bureau
Dave Austin
SPRING THAW
what a sorry sight
the poor drowned grass muddied o’er
dirty snow with tracks
but the skies are thankful for
a chance to the earth restore
and the animals
seem to walk with quicker step
breathing earth’s freshness
are aware but not pensive
accepting nature’s goodness
SPRING THAW
what a sorry sight
the poor drowned grass muddied o’er
dirty snow with tracks
but the skies are thankful for
a chance to the earth restore
and the animals
seem to walk with quicker step
breathing earth’s freshness
are aware but not pensive
accepting nature’s goodness
ANIMALS
how they sniff the wind,
far away look in their eyes,
what are they thinking?
or is thought necessary,
vital to consciousness?
i say they sense god’s
heaven of simplicity,
his love for all things,
accept the world just as is,
accept life and death alike
CAREFREE AND SIMPLE
my daily fancy
i’d love to live on a farm
in hilly country
mountain peaks in the distance
the animals all carefree
then a further thought
we’d have a good fishing pond
oh, not a huge lake
just large enough to boat, swim,
and ice skate in the winter
central to the spread
this cozy, two-story house
with a sitting porch
white picket fence surrounding
and willows, elm, and maple
barn all painted red
ladder-climb to the hayloft
horses in their stalls
one big upper story door
for sitting on moonlit nights
neighbors not too far
but scattered among the hills
with a steeple church
modern, not gothic or weird
but emblem of good feeling
and these final thoughts –
a big Saturday night dance
in the county hall
smart looking gal on my arm
just hear those hoe-down fiddles!
TANKA RHYME – RESCUE
we named her peepers
because of her sharp features
which effect the eyes
they seem closer together
she’s escaped from the weather
the economy
animals put out, you see
despite low degrees
peepers the in-and-out cat
so we thought and that was that
we soon discovered
she was in, not the other
she liked to be warm
four walls around, free from harm
oh how she put on the charm
you with heart of gold
take a cat in from the cold
just pennies a day
will feed and keep this good friend
luck and blessing start a trend
Deer are so pretty
As they stand against the snow
And they are graceful
As they leap over fences
To come to the stream and drink
The great hooting owl
Upon the branches tonight
Just carrying on
Letting those beneath know that
Halloween is here to stay
Russell Sivey
The raven, so smart
It’s evil in its own right
Talks to very dead
Flies like the bat, just higher
And can read a person’s fear
Russell Sivey