Growing old tanka by Naomi Beth Wakan

Poem title: Growing old tanka
Poet name: Naomi Beth Wakan
Poem: growing old
is no guarantee
that foolish maidens
will turn into wise old crones 
muttering oracles worth a dime

fretting about life
past regrets and future fears . . . 
when past and future
suddenly collapse into chickadees 
on the mountain ash

one person
if stubborn and focused 
can turn things around . . .
I idly flick the pages for role models 
though at my age, maybe it’s too late
End of poem.
Credits and bio: Copyright © Naomi Beth Wakan
Previously published in The Wind on the Heath (Shanti Arts, 2020).
Naomi Beth Wakan is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Nanaimo and the Inaugural Honorary Ambassador for the Federation of BC Writers. She has written over 50 books, the best known being the trilogy The Way of Haiku, The Way of Tanka, and Poetry that Heals. Her latest book of tanka, Time Together, accompany her husband’s photography and is a celebration of their long life together. She is a member of the League of Canadian Poets, Haiku Canada and Tanka Canada.  She lives on Gabriola Island with her husband, the constructivist sculptor, Elias Wakan.