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| Issue 34: | Sept. 2026 |
| Micro | Tanka Prose |
| 48 words |
By Cynthia Bale
Common Threads
In the beginning we sprang from the loom in ranks. Whether I turned left or right, faces like mine looked back. Any one of us was ordinary, but together we were splendid.
the centuries arbitrarily chose me to survive on display, scarred and surrounded by ghosts
Carpet Fragment (13th to early 14th century CE)
One of the oldest surviving examples of Turkish carpet weaving
On view in Gallery 460 at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York City:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452621
Cynthia Bale’s
occupations have included library page, note-taker for Deaf university students, Tarot reader, and adult literacy worker. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, they now craft and parent on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton, Alberta alongside their husband of 20 years. They are a 2025-2026 confluence Fellow whose work has also appeared in Bottle Rocket, Chrysanthemum, Eucalypt (a tanka journal), haikuKATHA, and other fine publications.
More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond
⚡ Residuum, Bale’s collaborative tanku-bun in Issue 33 of MacQueen’s Quinterly aka MacQ (August 2026)
⚡ Honourable, micro tanka prose in MacQ-33 (August 2026)
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