Stanza 1

In “Pine,” the first word of the first stanza is the pronoun I. Each stanza thereafter starts with either I or you. In setting up this pattern of address, Hahn develops the sense of writing a letter, one of the characteristics of the Japanese poetic form called tanka. This brings a certain intimacy to the poem, and thus Hahn draws her readers into her poetry. Whether readers consider themselves the third party witness to the communication or, even more intimately, see themselves, by the use of the pronoun you, as the person intended, Hahn accomplishes her mission of connecting with her audience.

In the second line of the first stanza, Hahn brings out another element of the tanka—emotion. The second line ends with “longing.” By placing “longing” at the end of this line, Hahn emphasizes the emotion. Then, in the third line, she connects “longing” with...