Published in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of Ribbons,
the Journal of the American Tanka Society

A Tanka Sequence by Mary Kendall

At Giverny    

Sunday drive
from Paris
to Giverny . . .
anticipation
half the delight

we stroll through
Monet’s small village
the brilliance of greens
tints of lilac, silver
& old rose

his beloved home
full of color
& memories of children
playing, voices
long forgotten

all these years
together, your steps
in time with mine –
the unexpected scent
of old damask roses

stopping to study
fritillaries, tulips
& jonquils,
you reach out
& take my hand

soon we are adrift
in a huddle of lilac blue
stars of Agapanthus –
our lifetime together,
a flicker in time

~ ~

Author’s note: The French Impressionist painter, Claude Monet, lived with his family in a charming house in Giverny for over forty years. While the house is quite interesting to visit, it is Monet’s beautiful gardens where most visitors want to wander. My husband and I visited Giverny in 2013, and our memories are deeply treasured by both of us.