Tanka is a Japanese poetic form that has existed for over 1300 years. Longer than the more familiar haiku, tanka allows for deeper thought and expression of themes. Tankas were originally used as a way of privately expressing emotion between lovers and friends. The tanka collected in this box is contemporary, written in English.

Each wall of the box is a small book with tanka poems and watercolor paintings by Alicia Bailey. The pages are color xerox on Mohawk superfine text.