Thursday, October 29, 2015

NeverEnding Story, October 2015

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu


when I began
to lose my hair
I wove
a shirt of myself
for your shroud


Presence 49, February 2014


Chen-ou's Comments:

Elegantly and sparsely written, this tanka conveys a depth of emotion most readers won't forget. The last two lines lift the poem up a notch.

Skylark, Vol 3, Number 2, Winter 2015

Totems


When I live on the prairie, I long for the sea. When I live by the water, I yearn for the land. I am always living either half-empty or half-full, my totem selves pulling me in opposite directions.


my weathered skin
crusted with salt and dirt
the aftertaste
of this life and the last
where do I go from here







World Haiku Association, September 2015

134th Monthly Haiga Contest

Award of Excellence, WHAC8 Commemorative Haiga Contest






World Haiku Association, October 2015

135th Monthly Haiga Contest





VerseWrights, 2015




TanshiArt, 2015





Presence, Number 53, October 2015

she carries
the weight of a curl
in her locket
all that remains
of their still-born son

Modern Haiku, Vol 46.3, Autumn 2015

cabbage whites
shreds of the letter
I never sent

Haiku Canada Review, Vol 9, Number 2, October 2015

beamed up
headlights point skyward
after the crash


the robins
have taken their leave
and with them
the cracked turquoise shells
of your sunken eyes

Gusts, Number 22, Fall/Winter 2015

walking through
the garden labyrinth
in reverie
I think of all roads taken
that led from there to here

Gogyoshi Monthly, Issue 1, October 2015

Wraithsong


I am the feathered thing
that passes through you
sinking into you, singing unto you
a familiar plaint echoing
through hollow bones


Wrong Direction


red-zippered welt of road
dead-ends north at desolation
arrows south to desecration
the route unclear, destination unknown
all signs indicate that I am lost


Threshold


anointed by the gush of blood
baptized in the hush of guilt
unchained, unclaimed
I slide out of and into
uncharted waters

Frozen Butterfly, Issue 3, October 2015

Haiku Video Journal on YouTube


sea smoke
gulls fading into mountains
into sky


dry lightning
her mattress scarred
with cigarette burns

United Haiku and Tanka Society, Fleeting Words Tanka Competition, 2015

wishing seeds
cartwheel through warm air
how quiet
this fleeting moment
this belief in miracles

2nd Honorable Mention


Judge an'ya's comments:

Second Honorable Mention goes to Debbie Strange from Canada for this fine tanka. Her choice of words "wishing seeds" and "cartwheel" allow readers wonderful visuals. Once again as in Anne's tanka, the poetic device of repeating a phrase firstly in nature and again in reference to human life, proves to be quite effective.

Cattails, September 2015

a red canoe
drifts between pines
his last portage


popping open
the sound of summer
caragana pods


crape myrtle
the skinned knees
of small boys


sudden sleet
an owl chick tapping
its egg tooth


lake-light
a line of mergansers
ripples the clouds


old headstones
with mossy shoulders
leaning against
one another's curves
we take comfort here


wishing seeds
cartwheel through warm air
how quiet
this fleeting moment
this belief in miracles

Second Honorable Mention
2015 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest


Comments from the Judge:

Second Honorable Mention goes to Debbie Strange from Canada for this fine tanka. Her choice of words "wishing seeds" and "cartwheel" allow readers wonderful visuals. Once again as in Anne's tanka, the poetic device of repeating a phrase firstly in nature and again in reference to human life, proves to be quite effective.

—Fleeting Words Contest Judge an'ya, USA







Brass Bell, October 2015

love notes
the heart-shaped tracks
of wapiti

Atlas Poetica Special Feature, October 2015

Yin, Yang and Beyond


two-spirited
this (wo)man revered
by one culture
how could (s)he be
so reviled by another




Asahi Haikuist Network, October 2015

snow geese
a chevron tattooed
on the moon

A Hundred Gourds, Issue 4:4, September 2015

apogee moon
in the deep distance
your light
making the least
of every shadow

Acorn, Number 35, Fall 2015

solar flares
a spill of buttercups
in the meadow