Five tanka on five words

[larryhammer]

As you may have noticed, I dislike memes that are all about me!me!. I want to hear people, not talk about myself -- I do far too much of that anyway. But with this one, at least I get something out of it: Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ/blog and explain what they mean to you.

These words were given to me by rachelmanija. They ended up being more interconnected (inter-tanka-nected?) than I suspect she knew.


Iceland

In the furthest north
sustainability's edge:
vikings held on
with their only luxuries
landscape and the spoken word.

Sagas

Grandparents talk of
love, law, loss, blood, and revenge
in the winter night;
a storyteller listens
and runs howling to his art.

Poetry

Against truth's harsh light
we shade ourselves with small lies,
softening shadows;
a writer listens to his lies
and runs howling to his craft.

Terrible science fiction

The future isn't --
we fill up that empty time
with comforting hopes;
a liar takes them for truth
and runs howling to his crap.

Tall

Tall tales are needed:
they show the limits of truth.
Tall coffees as well:
sometimes, they are just enough.
Tall people are excessive.

It need not be a yell, or a howl -- a simple request will do.

---L.