Tanka by Réka Nyitrai

Tied to a stone table

with a bird in my mouth 

I watch how the moon flogs me 

with a whip 

braided from my locks.

Réka Nyitrai is a spell, a sparrow, a lioness’s tongue — a bird nest in a pool of dusk. She is the recipient of a Touchstone Distinguished Books Award for 2020 for her debut haiku volume “While Dreaming Your Dreams” (Valencia Spain: Mono Ya Mono Books, 2020).