Category Archives: Tanka

August 18, 2025

day 228

By Kat Myrman

What is a word you feel that too many people use?

Taking a dive into one of word press’s prompt questions (shown above)…

sorry 

sorry to admit 
that i say that I’m sorry
for saying sorry…
it’s a reflexive response
that makes me invisible

so sorry…
sorry…I’m sorry
how sorry

~kat

It’s been a Monday. I could not stomach watching the news and commentaries regarding the bizarre events of the day. The news itself wasn’t what sickened me as much as the way that commentators attempted to treat everything as if it is normal. Providing detailed summations and analysis as if anything that was declared from the Oval Office could or should be taken seriously. I’m waiting for someone in the press corps to tell it like it is…that everyone is terrified of angering the toddler in chief and more importantly that he is in way over his head and doesn’t have a clue. The emperor has no clothes! You can only spin things so much before you get twisted up in the tangled web you’ve woven.

Anyhow…I listened enough to get the basic gist of what happened. It’s embarrassing. The fact that I didn’t vote for this chaos only makes it worse to watch. But I’m past the wish it had turned out differently, I told you so, angry at how stupid people are stage. It’s all of our reality now. It’s not easy being woke.

After all that I need a glimmer… how about you? I received my great granddaughter’s official portraits. Now, I am sensitive to protect the anonymity of my young family members, but I think these snippets might qualify to give you a spark of joy. Babies are hope bundled in blankets. All things good. May we salvage and restore enough of the mess we’ve made to leave something for our children to work with when we’re gone!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Tanka

August 4, 2025

day 214

By Kat Myrman 
two tanka tango

i had never danced
with such wild abandon
no, i wasn’t drunk
i was mortified…distressed
there was no music playing
it was quite a scene
some gawked in horror, some laughed
at me…spinning round 
flailing limbs, tossing my hair
spider web stuck to my face

~kat

I had my eye exam today. The word exam is a misnomer I think. It’s not the sort of thing one studies for. I don’t know that I’ve ever failed. But age is dimming my once sharp vision. Every year my prescription gains a percentage or two. In the world of eye health, higher numbers are not a good thing. But these days we have the technology to keep the lens lightweight and slim. So, it’s not so bad. 

Of course that leads me to my next daunting task…picking out a new pair of glasses. There are hundreds to choose from. Hundreds. And only a few that I can bear the looks of…actually I can barely see them. I take a photo on my phone and then look at myself using my current inadequate glasses. Invariably the one I settle on is the most expensive. But I tell myself, I deserve to treat myself every now and again. And I have good insurance that covers half. It’s a chore. And the fact that I’m saying that makes me sound old…cranky about the extra effort it takes to get along in the world.

I’m chuckling to myself, thinking, it’s come to this now hasn’t it… I am struck by the fact that I am so fortunate to be here. Fortunate to be able to do mundane things, to follow a schedule (if I forget, my animal friends remind me to tend to them at least), to have a job that pays the bills, to have friends and family. 

So, my eyes are going, my joints ache, and my hair is thinning from my head and growing on my chin. But I am alive and relatively healthy. For the time it took to consider all this, to write a silly poem, to collect a photo for today’s glimmer…I almost forgot that the world around me is crumbling. And I realize too, that even if everything ends as we know it, they can’t take away the memory of today. A good day. I’m getting new glasses after all. That first step outside is always a stunner when I look at the trees and see each leaf clear as day. Something to look forward to. That’s how I get through times such as these. Moments count. 

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Today’s glimmers are some old favorites. One can never get enough bunny and hummingbird mojo!

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Tanka

August 1, 2025

day 211 

By Kat Myrman
Morning meandering in the foothills. 
today’s WordPress prompt: Write about a random act of kindness you did for someone …

well, I could tell you
but then I’d have to kill you
defeats the purpose…
random acts, you see, are best
done and kept anonymous

-kat

Another day of not taking myself or anything too seriously. And enjoying a 20 degree drop in temperatures. Even a full day of rain can’t get me down. Today’s featured glimmers are the local hummingbirds. Three of them have been jousting nonstop outside the window at the feeders. I have enjoyed listening to their chirps while I work. Clearly they approve of the cooler temperatures as well. 

Regarding today’s poem, a tanka, i happened to notice today’s prompt question on WordPress. As I explained in my poem…I prefer to keep the random acts of kindness that I do anonymous. Having also been on the receiving end there is a certain magic in realizing someone thought enough about you to do something kind for you. Just thinking about it makes me smile. 

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you. May you find an opportunity to act kindly toward someone today…even if that someone is you! 

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Tanka

July 19, 2025

day 198

By Kat Myrman

Today’s post starts with a glimmer. Every so often we like to treat ourselves and our pup Gabby to a run by a popular fast food joint. Gabby is particularly fond of the chicken bits in nugget form. She knows the routine well. She recognizes the sign out front as we approach, and when we pull up to the order kiosk and that happy voice from beyond welcomes us…she starts dancing in her seat and licking her chops. In mere moments some nice person will be handing us a bag of lovely smelling goodies. It’s the best possible outing ever. After lunch she settles down for a long afternoon nap, content and happy.

It made me wonder. What things in life make me happy? What, if I had a tail it would be wagging, feeds my soul…gives me bliss?

Honestly, I had never given it much thought before now. I love shopping in book stores, especially used and vintage books. I love everything about it down to the dust and the smell of aging pages bound in hard back. I love writing and reading and learning new things, I love figuring out the names of things in the woods where I live, be it a tree, a flower, or an insect or animal, and learning more about them. Oh…I love cheesecake! And a tall glass of tea on ice in summer, and a good cuppa hot with honey when I need warming up or calming down.

I know I should do more of these types of things…actually make time for them, not as an afterthought or merely when I can fit it into my schedule. It is not really treating oneself, but rather, self care to do the things that feed our souls. My wish for you this weekend is that you have the opportunity to spend some time doing something you love…oh and baking things… that’s another one. Thinking I should make a nice pound cake this weekend. It’s been a while!

Much love, peace and happiness glimmers to you…Gabby stopping by the fast food window on a car ride happy! 

simple pleasures

it’s not luxury
to indulge in happiness 
it is essential 
self care, not as afterthought
but as blissful time well spent

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Today’s poetry form is the Tanka. Five lines, syllable count: 5/7/5/7/7

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Tanka

June 18, 2025

day 167

By Kat Myrman 
failure to launch

a phoebe fledgling
fluttered in the rose garden
a failed first flight
her parents hovering close by 
‘til she found her wings and soared

a gentle prodding
is sometimes all that we need
for a leap of faith

 ~kat

Yesterday, there were three phoebe chicks in the nest over my garage side door light. Year after year I’ve watched a pair of phoebes build a nest under the eave of our house. The cycle of life commences. 

The laying of the eggs, one a day over several days. When the laying is done, the mother settles in for the long haul, perched over her precious brood, day after day, rain or shine. Her devoted mate tends to her every need, feeds her, stands vigil nearby, protecting his family. After only a few weeks the moment long awaited comes and the chicks emerge from their shells. Mom and dad spend their waking hours feeding these hungry featherless babies who are all mouth. They grow quickly until it’s time to fly free in a matter of a few more weeks. 

This morning I noticed that the nest was empty. Another brood joining the flock that returns every spring to our acre. I noticed though that the parents were still near, agitated and not at all happy to see me. Then I saw it. A lone fledgling on my front porch stairs near the roses fluttered as it looked at me while the mom and pop swooped around me. I was concerned little tyke was exposed where the crows frequented, so I moved it under cover on the wicker settee. Soon after the parents came over, I suspect to encourage it to spread its wings. When I checked a few hours later the little family had moved on. 

I have seen nestlings fail to survive on occasion and knew the sound of the parents mourning. (yes even tiny phoebe parents mourn the loss of their young who don’t survive.)  But today, the sky was blue and sunlit. And it was silent but for the soft rustle of wind through the trees.  I like to think that this little family is somewhere riding the wind. At least that’s my hope. 

It reminds me that all families are precious…every single family. Every single soul. It reminds me that life offers us opportunities every day to recognize this fact, to be kind, and sometimes we are honored to help too. It costs nothing to lend a hand…to show kindness. May we seek those opportunities and rise to the occasion when presented with them. 

much love, peace, and glimmers to you! 

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

A Tanka / Haiku Combo. 🙂

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality, Tanka