The Weight of Snow
(a collaborative tanka sequence written with Kath Abela Wilson, whose work appears in italics)
heavy snow
bending our boughs
settling so deeply
into this life's tracks
I didn't know we were lost
the hailstone
you pressed into my hand
a keepsake
the only diamond
you ever gave
snowflakes
melting on my tongue
remind me
of the way it felt
when you disappeared
what a paradox
you were
I watched a bit of white
foam on your lips
during your long explanations
snow falling
between then and now
filling my spaces
how I long for the touch
of your cold hands
Blood and Sinew
the homestead
rooted in prairie soil
and memory
my blood and sinew
snagged on barbed wire
how we spun
on the merry-go-round
wagon wheel
unwinding ourselves
falling into grace
taking turns
on the wooden pony
with horsehair tail
riding into sunset
wild manes on fire
empty silo
the sound of hoppers
and hailstones
singing harmony
with my sisters
Burning Down Morning
mad archers
with steel bows
and arrows
piercing the towers
burning down morning
peregrine falcons
in their tower aeries
no earthly wings
broad enough to carry
the innocent home
Welcome to this archive of my published poetry, photography and art. Thank you for allowing me to share my creative passions with you, and for taking the time to visit. Please be kind, and do not copy any of the content on this site without permission and attribution. All rights reserved © Debbie Strange. I unfold my origami self / and swim into a lake of fire / washing my hair in ashes / the crane-legged words / of a thousand burning poems.
- Archive
- Articles/About
- Awards & Honours
- Images & Words
- Other Writing
- Photography Publications
- Poetry of Light Photography Exhibition
- Readings/Videos
- A Year Unfolding: Haiku
- Mouth Full of Stones: Haikai eBook
- Prairie Interludes: Haiku eChapbook
- Random Blue Sparks: Haiku
- The Language of Loss: Haiku & Tanka Conversations
- Three-Part Harmony: Tanka Verses
- Warp and Weft: Tanka Threads
Monday, July 20, 2015
Bright Stars Tanka Anthology, Volume 4, July 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment