Luanne Castle: Poetry and Other Words (and cats!)

Tag Archives: vintage photos

by Luanne | July 4, 2026 · 2:05 pm

#TankaTuesday Challenge #71 Photo & Tanka

When I read Willow’s prompt for #TankaTuesday, I was intrigued. She asked us to find an old photo that holds a memory and write a tanka about it, focusing on words that evoke the season.

Since I am scanning old photos, this prompt seemed to fall right onto the paper for me ;. This photo was taken in July 1969 at our lake cottage. That’s my mom standing there in the middle of the photo.

green trees in full leaf

against sun’s hissing hot blue

lakewater splashing

around our knees, mom eyeing

the bold goose among the ducks

I really wanted that focus on the goose and mom looking at it because geese are more aggressive than ducks, and I’m sure she was worried about the goose around all the children.

About the goose: I’m willing to hear arguments that it’s a duck, but I don’t think so. It’s neck is longer, it’s much bolder, and the beak is a different shape. You can see the goose in the last photo here, too.

Here are more photos from that day.

my brother feeding the duck

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Filed under #amwriting, #poetrycommunity, #ScrapSalvagingFamily, #TankaTuesday, Family history, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry

Tagged as #ScrapSalvagingFamily, #TankaTuesday, ducks and geese, summer 1969, summer lake, tanka, vintage photos

by Luanne | November 22, 2017 · 12:43 pm

Savvy Verse & Wit Review of KIN TYPES

Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit has given a lovely review of Kin Types. Her favorite poem of the collection is mine, too, about my great-grandmother Cora, “What Lies Inside.”

Go HERE for the review.

Cora DeKorn Zuidweg

I hope everyone who celebrates has a person or persons to be with tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Here’s a photo of another woman in Kin Types, my paternal grandmother–with her son, my father’s twin brother, at our house for Thanksgiving in the early 70s. She is the one who owned the mailbox marker in A Sign to Remember

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!