Cool Announcement: A New Release, Warp and Weft, Tanka Threads
My Dear Readers:
I'm happy to share with you this exciting news: NeverEnding Story contributor Debbie Strange just published her first collection of tanka, titled Warp and Weft, Tanka Threads (edited by M. Kei and available in print and ebook at Amazon), which "weaves tanka into short threads of three each, each triptych building into a larger sequence that tells the story of a poet with a raven's eye."
Selected Tanka:
at the stoplight
she squeegees
car windows
her scrawny arms tattooed
with poetry and addiction
my hands
tend the wild roses
upon your grave
in blood and blossoms
I sanctify your name
scattered
beneath the roses
these questions:
are you not more than ash
am I not more than rain
riding pillion
my heart
against your back
we unzip the highway
at the velocity of night
moonbeam quills
through our windows
transcribing
the grammar of shadows
into the poetry of light
at the top
of a ferris wheel
two spiders
spin neon orbs
into the night
a nimbus
around the frost moon
above us
the hushed wings
of a snowy owl
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
The Bamboo Hut, Autumn 2015
a washboard road
woven between fallow fields
leads me backward
to a past so much smaller
than I had remembered
Irish dancers
their lightning steps flash
emerald-bright
phosphorescent waves
thunder at my feet
wrecking balls
expose long-held secrets
underneath
these crumbling facades
we are masterpieces
painting
my body with woad
I succumb
to the strange allure
of melancholia
scavenging
in the "nuisance ground"
black bears
catching the scent of me
catching the sight of them
note: "nuisance ground" is a term used for a rubbish dump near a small town
On the Strand
our beach wedding
ribbons of dreams fluttering
from the old boat's mast
the singing sands
on a wind-strummed beach
you murmur my name
wet beach towels
we dance a fandango
in the hot breeze
woven between fallow fields
leads me backward
to a past so much smaller
than I had remembered
Irish dancers
their lightning steps flash
emerald-bright
phosphorescent waves
thunder at my feet
wrecking balls
expose long-held secrets
underneath
these crumbling facades
we are masterpieces
painting
my body with woad
I succumb
to the strange allure
of melancholia
scavenging
in the "nuisance ground"
black bears
catching the scent of me
catching the sight of them
note: "nuisance ground" is a term used for a rubbish dump near a small town
On the Strand
our beach wedding
ribbons of dreams fluttering
from the old boat's mast
the singing sands
on a wind-strummed beach
you murmur my name
wet beach towels
we dance a fandango
in the hot breeze
Thursday, September 03, 2015
Undertow Tanka Review, Issue 7, September 2015
the x-rays
of my flattened breasts
pressed roses
these black petals etched
with traceries of white
the sweater
mother knit for me
a rainbow
fading at the edges
her evanescent life
when we were girls
there was an unspoken rule
avoid loitering males
why was I ashamed when
he exposed himself to me
dead houseflies
litter my windowsill
blind-sided
not even compound eyes
see the way out of here
gulls nesting
on the cottage roof
fallen feathers
sprouting from my boots
today, my feet have wings
Honourable Mention
Undertow Tanka Review First Tanka Contest, 2015
of my flattened breasts
pressed roses
these black petals etched
with traceries of white
the sweater
mother knit for me
a rainbow
fading at the edges
her evanescent life
when we were girls
there was an unspoken rule
avoid loitering males
why was I ashamed when
he exposed himself to me
dead houseflies
litter my windowsill
blind-sided
not even compound eyes
see the way out of here
gulls nesting
on the cottage roof
fallen feathers
sprouting from my boots
today, my feet have wings
Honourable Mention
Undertow Tanka Review First Tanka Contest, 2015
NeverEnding Story, August 2015
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu
great blue heron . . .
leaning into the mirror
i become still
Cattails, May 2014
Chen-ou's Comments:
There is an analogical relationship subtly established between the great blue heron and the speaker. The description of the speaker's body posture, the mirror, and the state of mind in Ls 2&3 successfully carries symbolic significance.
great blue heron . . .
leaning into the mirror
i become still
Cattails, May 2014
Chen-ou's Comments:
There is an analogical relationship subtly established between the great blue heron and the speaker. The description of the speaker's body posture, the mirror, and the state of mind in Ls 2&3 successfully carries symbolic significance.
NeverEnding Story, May 2015
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou-Liu
geese unzip the sky
a snowflake trembles
on your eyelashes
VerseWrights, 2013
Chen-ou's comments:
Debbie's use of the zoom-in technique is effective, and the contrasts between the two parts of the poem open up an interpretative space that allows the reader to co-author the poem.
geese unzip the sky
a snowflake trembles
on your eyelashes
VerseWrights, 2013
Chen-ou's comments:
Debbie's use of the zoom-in technique is effective, and the contrasts between the two parts of the poem open up an interpretative space that allows the reader to co-author the poem.
Brasss Bell, September 2015
One-Line Haiku Issue
folding unfolding the origami of monarch butterflies
folding unfolding the origami of monarch butterflies
Kokako, Number 23, September 2015
cactus flower
a prickle of fear
at the news
sun catcher
the flicker's tail
a yellow fan
a pod of orcas
rubbing bellies on stones
at low tide
another rare wonder
that cannot be explained
a prickle of fear
at the news
sun catcher
the flicker's tail
a yellow fan
a pod of orcas
rubbing bellies on stones
at low tide
another rare wonder
that cannot be explained
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 25, Number 3, August 2015
fool's gold
glitters in the sun
worthless
except for this nugget
my father gave me
in the barn
an old red barber's chair
spins tales
for raggle-taggle sisters
dizzy with summer magic
pink bear scat
the saskatoon berries
no one picked
Cultural Response Poem
music on the wind
an open field blossoms
with flower children
(The Winnipeg Folk Festival
Bird's Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba)
glitters in the sun
worthless
except for this nugget
my father gave me
in the barn
an old red barber's chair
spins tales
for raggle-taggle sisters
dizzy with summer magic
pink bear scat
the saskatoon berries
no one picked
Cultural Response Poem
music on the wind
an open field blossoms
with flower children
(The Winnipeg Folk Festival
Bird's Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba)
Atlas Poetica, Number 22, August 2015
Foundering
this is how
to make your deathbed
this is the way
you fold transgressions
into hospital corners
this is how
to write your death poem
this is the way
you hold your last breath
when the plug is pulled
this is how
to make your deathbed
this is the way
you fold transgressions
into hospital corners
this is how
to write your death poem
this is the way
you hold your last breath
when the plug is pulled
Hedgerow Poems, Number 44, August 2015
Part 4 of the Resident Artist Collection...
The Altered Reality Series
I have a lot of fun enhancing my photographs with a variety of digital techniques. This gives me double the creative pleasure and helps to extend the reach of the original works...
The Altered Reality Series
I have a lot of fun enhancing my photographs with a variety of digital techniques. This gives me double the creative pleasure and helps to extend the reach of the original works...
Runner-up, British Haiku Society Tanka Awards, 2014/15
Soft Thunder Anthology, 2015
3rd Place, United Haiku and Tanka Society Second Annual "AHA" Awards, 2014
Cattails, May 2014
Forthcoming collection, "A Year Unfolding", from Folded Words in 2016
Moonbathing, Issue 11, Fall/Winter 2014
Honourable Mention, World Tanka Competition, 2013
Lyrical Passion Poetry E-zine, October 2013
Undertow Tanka Review, Issue 1, August 2014
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