Jenny Ward Angyal

Mist on the River

The dream comes to me near morning. Someone has stolen my wallet and returns it empty— no funds, no insurance, no family photos, no identity.

Watching me riffle through the wallet, the thief speaks in a barely audible murmur. “You know, I’ve always had a gun trained at your head.”  

“Yes,” I say, without looking up.  “I’ve been aware of that for some time now.” 

I wake feeling at peace.

dark pool—
swallows skimming
shards of light 

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About the Author

Jenny Ward Angyal is the author of two tanka collections, Moonlight on Water and Only the Dance, and co-author of Beetles & Stars: Tanka Triptychs. She currently serves as tanka editor of Under the Basho and is global moderator of Inkstone Poetry Forum.