On this longest night
no trilling riffs of birdsong,
only dreams take flight,
gathering round the cold full moon
dancing home through sodden clouds
Enter a caption
Happy Solstice—Winter or Summer! It is rainy, dark, and dreary here in NJ. This is a print I own, but it was a gift, and I don’t know the artist. It’s the wrong season, but I can dream. 🙂
I’m linking this to Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Challenge. She’s on break, but so thoughtfully left prompt words! This week, synonyms for fly and sing.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Very beautifully written…
Thank you so much!
Beautifully done and perfect for the day.
Thank you, Frank!
So evocative, Merril
Thank you, Derrick.
Lovely, Merril. It’s dreary and rainy here, too. I’m sooooo tired of the rain!
I am, too, Jill. Thank you!
Lovely print, Merril. And your poem… I love how even sodden clouds cannot keep dreams from taking flight.
Thank you, Ken!
I see a woman taking flight in the picture … on the lhs, slightly upper. Lovely Merril, Happy solstice!
Thank you so much, Susan!
Perfect for the day and the season Merril, your poetry and images always stirring an beautiful.
Thank you so much, Holly! ❤
♥️
Those sodden clouds! The moon doesn’t care 🙂
Well, she’s beyond them. 🙂
Literally and figuratively 🙂
Exactly! 🙂
Lovely, but not your description of NJ (where daughter is headed tomorrow for Christmas with her boyfriend’s family). Have you ever wondered why the moon is featured so prominently in your poetry?
The rain should be finished tonight, and then the weather looks fine for the next few days–not too cold and sunny–so your daughter should be OK.
It is strange about the moon, since I’m such a morning person. 🙂
I hope so! She will be there from tomorrow until Thursday. I hope so for you, too :).
And are you a Capricorn or a Sagittarius?
Sagittarius, but nothing like the way they’re usually depicted. 🙂
My mom is a Sag. So are two of my good friends. How are they supposed to be? All three of them have a harder edge to them than I do IMO.
Sorry–didn’t mean to ignore you. It was getting to be dinner time. Hmm. . .I don’t think I have a hard edge. Sagittarius people are supposed to be exuberant, adventurous, outgoing, athletic. . .and I’m pretty much the opposite of all of those–quiet, kind of shy–not unfriendly, but –ewww–one cat just followed a millipede (?) into the kitchen. Those million legs sure do move quickly–though not any more. Anyway, I don’t seem like a Sag. 🙂
EWWWWWWWWWWW! Awful. No, but neither do any of the 3 people I mentioned. My mom is super shy and not at all athletic, although she has enjoyed golf. Hard for her to make friends until recently. The other two are friendly and more outgoing than me, but not exactly the adventurous types. Must be something wrong with the Sag definition!
🙂
At the turn of the year, this is a great message. Happy 2019.
Thank you very much, Claudia. Same wishes to you!
Wonderful. And you know, that beautiful print could almost be frozen drops of water at the ends of the branches so… it could!
As for the dreariness… here too. No white Christmas for us, this year…
Thank you, Dale. You’re right about the print! 🙂 We don’t often have a white Christmas here. I’m happy the weather is supposed to be nice–for the next few days. I think we may even see the sun at some point. 🙂
Glad you think so!
Here it is grey and they are calling for yet more rain… chances of seeing sun are slim…
I love this Tanka, Merril. It has such an ethereal glow. Happy Yule! ❤
Thanks so much, Colleen. Happy Yule to you, too!