Red Lights, Vol. 15, Number 2, June 2019

BOOK APPRECIATION: Three-Part Harmony: Tanka Verses


I was honoured to be chosen for this feature by the editor, Marilyn Hazelton. 


In response to her question regarding my musical background as it informs Three-Part Harmony:

I have been playing guitar, singing, and writing songs since the age of 12. My eldest sister was the main musical mentor in my life. I received my first guitar from her as a Christmas gift, and we often played music and sang together. She taught my sisters and me to sing harmony, hence the title and dedication of this book. Though she passed away when she was 28, every time I play my guitar, I think of her.

In response to her question regarding how I compiled the book:

It took about a year to finalize the manuscript. I began my eliminating poems that had appeared in my first book, Warp and Weft: Tanka Threads. I sorted the remaining published work into themed groups, and whittled the field down to approximately 300 tanka. This is like working on a huge jigsaw puzzle. I inserted each tanka into a set until they resonated with each other, thereby breathing new life into old poems.

In response to her question regarding my reflections on three tanka sets she chose at random:


murmuration

curls of clouds
become passerines
each autumn
the low-angled light
invites me to follow

snow geese
scribe an ancient mystery
across the moon
their soft murmurs
catching winter's breath

a starling
m u m u r a t i o n
sifting the sky
she recalls the moment
her life changed shape


I have been an avid birder for 40 years. Birds inspire me on a daily basis, and they feature in many of my tanka. In murmuration, I tried to encompass the way birds make me feel, how they capture my imagination, and stir my emotion. Here, we have clouds shape-shifting into passerines, snow geese becoming scribes, and starlings changing the very shape of sky.


bread and tempers

that phone call
all those years ago
I still see
a serpent writhing
between her fingers

the argument
escalates all night
inside me
these paper-thin walls
only meant for wasps

we lived
above a bake shop
that summer
of bread and tempers
rising through the night


I find it cathartic and healing to share my joys and sorrows via the written word. I do not shy away from writing about the dark times in my life, because these experiences have helped to mould me into the writer I am, and the writer that I will become.


gunmetal nights

mule deer
resting in a thicket
by the slough
all over this world
the sound of guns

shots fired
another child dies
for a debt
her chalk outline
macabre street art

bullets of crows
on gunmetal nights
a deeper shade
of anguish echoes
in her bones


This set is especially meaningful to me, as I have a complicated relationship with guns. When I was a child, my father hunted to provide food for our family, so they seemed like a necessary evil, if you will. Over the years, two of my cousins have been murdered by these weapons, and with escalating gun violence throughout the world, I find myself becoming increasingly fearful for our global community.


Other work included in this issue:


webs billow
across the pathway . . .
we blunder
into magic, ensnared
by everyday miracles


hares boxing
in the flush of dawn . . .
it seems
impossible to defeat
an opponent I can't see

note: During spring mating season, hares can be seen striking other hares, giving rise to the phrase, "Mad as a March hare."


we step
into the warm barn
greeted
by a horse playing
piano with his nose

note: This is a true story! Percherons at a nearby barn are kept stimulated by various artistic diversions, such as painting and playing piano, during bitter winter weather when they are confined to their stalls.

Turtle Light Press, Haiku Chapbook Contest 2019

Thrilled to receive Third Honorable Mention for my haiku chapbook, Songs Where We Least Expect Them!

I'm grateful to the judge, Susan Antolin, for her lovely comments:


"Rich with specific and evocative nature images, this collection showcases the varied landscape and wildlife of a northern region in a vibrant and engaging series of haiku.


mallard flock the iridescent sound of morning


These haiku engage all of the senses and incorporate a wide range of seasonal references. The individual haiku are well crafted and often suggestive of a greater emotional back story.


weathered oars
we fold our worries
into the river


Occasionally, the haiku in this collection also cause us to contemplate our place in the cosmos.


solar flares
a spill of buttercups
in the meadow


In all of these haiku humans are, if not actually present, never far away.


in cupped hands
the harvest moon rests
for a moment


On the whole, an appealing and beautifully crafted collection."

Ribbons, Volume 15, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2019

Honoured to be the featured poet in this issue. My thanks to David Rice!

POET AND TANKA

Sharing My Light

As a child, I used to curl up on the couch in our farmhouse while listening to my father recite poetry. This was my introduction to the power of words, and I remain under their spell to this day.

snow whirls

outside the henhouse . . .

father cups

my hands around

a warm brown egg

3rd Place, 2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

I wrote my first poem at nine, and began writing songs at twelve. My older sister was my mentor and singing partner, always encouraging me to "share my light." When she passed away at 28, I was lost.

a smudge

of blackbirds swirling

into evening . . .

how fluid the shape

of this sorrow

2nd Place, 2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

Years later, I took my sister's advice and submitted work to an'ya at kernelsonline (Cattails). My haiku chapbook, A Year Unfolding (Folded Word 2017) is a direct result of that first acceptance. I am grateful to an'ya for helping me take a leap of faith into short-form poetry. It changed my life!

each moment

here on earth is numbered . . .

so why not

fly too close to the moon,

and hang our hats on stars?

1st Place, 2016 Mandy's Pages Annual Tanka Contest

Shortly afterward, I discovered tanka on Twitter via M. Kei. I am indebted to him for publishing my first book, Warp and Weft: Tanka Threads in 2015, and its sequel, Three-Part Harmony: Tanka Verses in 2018. Both books are comprised of tanka that appeared individually in a variety of publications over the years. I selected tanka that resonated with each other, combining them into triptychs in an effort to expand their scope. This technique allowed me to breathe new life into old poems. I do not think of these "verses or threads" as sequences, because they were not written as such. The titles are drawn from the last tanka in each set and serve to bring the poems full circle.

this fleeting moment

how still

this numinous dawn

we kneel,

watching a muskrat's breath

bubbling under thin ice

light spills

through a fallstreak hole

onto water . . .

if nothing else,

this will be enough

wishing seeds

cartwheel through warm air

how quiet

this fleeting moment

this belief in miracles

1st verse: The Bamboo Hut, Spring 2015

2nd verse: HM, 2017 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

3rd verse: 2nd HM, 2015 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

Musicality in tanka is vital to me, as I often sing the poems while strumming my guitar. Vocabulary also plays an integral role in my work.

the growth rings

of otoliths and trees . . .

when did she

become smaller

than her daughters

2nd Place, 2017 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

Composing tanka is my primary writing focus. This daily meditation quiets my mind and helps to distract me from chronic pain.

the architecture

of impending storms . . .

every cloud

that hangs over me

has a given name

HM, 2017 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

I have made my home beside the ocean, on the prairies, and at the feet of mountains. Poetry of place features in much of my tanka.

the ocean

was in a rage last night

but today,

these peace offerings

of blue mussels and kelp

1st Place, 2018 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

Many of my tanka and photographs depict flora, fauna, and phenomena encountered while camping, birding, and hiking in the wilds.

dried curls

of gray reindeer moss

crunch softly

underneath our boots . . .

no other sound, but breath

1st Place (tie), 2016 San Francisco International Competition

Human experience is also a frequent subject in my tanka.

tracks of birds

meander through snow . . .

the surgeon

marks her left breast

with a cross

1st Place, 2016 British Haiku Society Tanka Awards

The short-form community inspires me. Reading the work of others and heeding editorial advice pushes me to hone my skills. I offer my thanks to the following gifted tanka poets who provided blurbs for my books:

without . . .

each evening seems even

longer

than it takes the river

to smooth a thousand stones

an'ya: Winner, 2018 British Haiku Society Tanka Awards

sometimes,

when no one is around,

my heart changes

into a heron

and flies

M. Kei: HM, 2007 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

it's not so much

the 'big one' when it comes

but aftershocks . . .

our favorite song,
letters addressed to you

David Terelinck: Winner, 2018 British Haiku Society Tanka Awards

through rain

through a year

of threadbare melodies

the early dark

of stolen mulberries

ai li: The Tanka Anthology, 2003 (editor Michael McClintock et al)

if you were reborn

a fly and I, a spider

with skeins of rainbow

I would weave

a web for our dreams

Sonam Chhoki: Fire Pearls, Volume 2, 2013 (editor M. Kei)

a tree trunk

lost in the shadow

of its branches . . .

another yes

when I meant to say no

Ken Slaughter: 1st Place, 2015 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

in an old picture

my mother's hand so firm

on my shoulder

as if gravity alone

could not hold me down

Angela Leuck: Take Five, Volume 4, 2011 (editor-in-chief M. Kei)

Holding a letter

with words no longer true;

day-lilies open

and wither

in the same vase.

Alexis Rotella: The Tanka Anthology, 2003 (editor Michael McClintock et al)

The cuckoo clock strikes

I smile at the soft dawn light

Until my eyes rest

On your bare dressing table,

On all the empty hangers

Denis Garrison: Fire Pearls, 2006 (editor M. Kei)

This tanka journey has been an amazing adventure, and it has brought me closer to awareness of the universe and myself.

on this night

of our awareness,

the aurora

brushes an ensō

across lake and sky

HM, 2018 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest

Wales Haiku Journal, Summer 2019

alpine hut
our lantern sparkles
with moth dust


trail ride
my bootlaces bristle
with burrs

The Cherita, May 2019

Issue: "morning light"


my cheek

rests against
your heart

I listen
to the warm blood
of you


you are

as inscrutable
as snow

I have
never known
how to love you


ship-to-shore

your saltwater voice
anchors me

when I founder
on the rocks
of this sorrow


the birds

have not returned
and yet . . .

these white
unfurling wings
of snowdrops


cornflower sky

I let go
of the birds

inside
my ribcage
and sing

Stardust Haiku, Issue 31, July 2019

inner music . . .
I take my cue
from the wind

Naviar Records - Haiku Music Challenge 289, 2019

Featured Haiku July 17, 2019:

Please enjoy the music created in response to my haiku:

http://www.naviarrecords.com/2019/07/17/naviarhaiku289-bioluminescence/

bioluminescence
I skip a pebble across
the universe

1st Place
2019 OtherWordly Intergalactic Haiku Competition