the ocean
was in a rage last night
but today,
these peace offerings
of blue mussels and kelp
1st Place
Judges' Comments:
The word, rage, has a long, storied history in literature ... it is a universal emotion and, for sure, people have long experienced the rage of the ocean. How excellent we thought was its use in line 2, rather than using a word such as storm. We admired the use of a simple comma at the end of line 3 to give the reader a short pause to allow a moment to ponder, "What's next?" Ah, there is a resolution to the last night. Today? A peace offering to which we felt an "aah" moment. How welcome is the bounty. There is an infinity of treasures found in the ocean. We found the blue mussels and kelp a delightful choice made by this poet. In our judges' report, we touched upon reciting tanka to take in its sound. You might not choose to read out loud all nine of the awarded tanka, but this one, in particular, lends itself to deeper appreciation with its pivot at the end of line 3. You might experience tranquility with lines 4 and 5. We did.
on this night
of our awareness,
the aurora
brushes an ensō
across lake and sky
Honourable Mention
Judges' Comments:
This tanka offered a wonderful visual image of sky artistry in the shape of the Zen form of the brush-stroked circle known as ensō. The circle, of course, has been a time-immemorial symbol of Life with no beginning and no end. Reading this tanka did, in fact, provide both judges a moment of awareness. The poet asks us to imagine a transition from night to the first light of dawn when anything is possible. There is magic in the transcendence gifted by this tanka.
wheat fields
tousled by fingers
of wind
I tuck a strand of hair
behind your ear
Honourable Mention
Judges' Comments:
This tanka brought out the romance of life expressed in gentle moments, and oh how gently we are brought into this scene. In this poem, love is in wind and wheat, love is expressed by tucking hair with hands. While we sat in the presence of this poem, it allowed each of us to feel this sacred moment of love, and to reflect on our symbols of affection and tenderness. For us, we ultimately fell into a moment of appreciation and quietude.
Note: There were 476 entries to the contest. I am grateful to Jessica Malone Latham and Neal Whitman for their generous commentaries.
Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Skylark, Vol. 6, Number 1, Summer 2018
Honoured to have my photograph chosen for Skylark's inaugural cover contest:
Individual kyoka and tanka:
macular
degeneration
I see
more clearly now
than ever before
a mirage
of mountains beckons
us homeward
we don't know their names,
but they know ours
they have
scarcely enough
to survive
and yet, this music
under the bridge
Selected Tanka Sequence for Another Chance to See Feature
Going Back
big sky morning
ancestral homesteads
felled by wind
hollow bones whistling
a song I used to know
barrelling
down washboard roads
between fields
plumes of the past lingering
on all I left behind
at day's end
light beams splintering
across shorn fields
on this moonless night
I, too, am camouflaged
Note: Going Back was first published in Ribbons, Volume 11, Number 3, Fall 2015
The Cherita, Book 13, April 2018
Issue: "on a quiet street"
the Witch of November
unbuttons autumn's cloak
with icy fingers
a tapestry of leaves
becoming sparrows,
becoming snow
the Witch of November
unbuttons autumn's cloak
with icy fingers
a tapestry of leaves
becoming sparrows,
becoming snow
Tinywords, Issue 18.1, June 2018
Note:
Haiku received First Place in the 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Moonbathing, Issue 18, Spring/Summer 2018
wind murmurs
through prairie grasses
the bones
of my ears listen
to what is unspoken
through prairie grasses
the bones
of my ears listen
to what is unspoken
Folded Word, June 2018
Solstice Series Selection
in the meadery,
this offering of wine
and honey . . .
all that remains after
angels receive their share
in the meadery,
this offering of wine
and honey . . .
all that remains after
angels receive their share
#FemkuMag: An E-zine of Women's Haiku - Issue 1, June 2018
pay equity
she swims against
the current
missing
women
the
places
they
fill
in
our
hearts
she swims against
the current
missing
women
the
places
they
fill
in
our
hearts
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 28, Number 2, May 2018
moon dogs
the unexpectedness
of this moment
at dawn,
a mustang stallion
leads his mares
through the badlands . . .
I, too, am unbroken
life flows by
in a murmuration
of days . . .
my shape has changed,
but I still know who I am
Note: This issue contains the results of the 2017 British Haiku Society Awards (please see April 1, 2018 blog post for commentary).
rimed fence
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
the unexpectedness
of this moment
at dawn,
a mustang stallion
leads his mares
through the badlands . . .
I, too, am unbroken
life flows by
in a murmuration
of days . . .
my shape has changed,
but I still know who I am
Note: This issue contains the results of the 2017 British Haiku Society Awards (please see April 1, 2018 blog post for commentary).
rimed fence
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
Australian Haiku Society, 2018
Winter Solstice Haiku String, June 21, 2018
snow angels
we compare the length
of our wings
frozen bird bath
my niece teaches her doll
how to skate
chimney smoke
Dad lets the genie out
of its bottle
snow angels
we compare the length
of our wings
frozen bird bath
my niece teaches her doll
how to skate
chimney smoke
Dad lets the genie out
of its bottle
Akitsu Quarterly, Summer 2018
traffic jam
a different song
in each lane
onion shoots
we inhale the scent
of our labour
a different song
in each lane
onion shoots
we inhale the scent
of our labour
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Kaji Aso Studio, 30th Annual Haiku Contest 2018
circles of lichen
I thought we would have
more time
Third Place
Note: Results of the contest were published in The Fenway News (Boston area newspaper), Volume 44, Number 6, June 2018.
I thought we would have
more time
Third Place
Note: Results of the contest were published in The Fenway News (Boston area newspaper), Volume 44, Number 6, June 2018.
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, May 2018
Featured Artist: May 1 - 17, 2018
I often use my photographs as the inspiration for writing short form poetry, and for making art in a variety of media (watercolour, ink, digital). During the creative process, I strive to produce images that enhance and expand the scope of my small poems, either implicitly or explicitly. After the hard work of writing haiku and tanka is done, I reward myself with the joy and freedom of making haiga, my favourite form of artistic expression!
I often use my photographs as the inspiration for writing short form poetry, and for making art in a variety of media (watercolour, ink, digital). During the creative process, I strive to produce images that enhance and expand the scope of my small poems, either implicitly or explicitly. After the hard work of writing haiku and tanka is done, I reward myself with the joy and freedom of making haiga, my favourite form of artistic expression!
Note: poem publication credits appear in the Daily Haiga archives.
The Haiku Foundation, HaikuLife Film Festival 2018
These haiga videos are comprised of previously published poems (with recitation) to celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day, an initiative of The Haiku Foundation, held April 17, 2018.
Watercoloured Words
Limned
a ragged curl
of birch bark fluttering
in the sun
even our smallest wounds
become limned with light
(tanka published in Red lights 11.1, 2015)
Becoming Water
listening deeply to the poetry of water i become a wave
(tanshi published in The Bamboo Hut Press, 2015)
The Haiku Foundation, Haiku Windows, May 2018
Windows prompt and selections by Kathy Munro - May 2, 2018
children's hospital
the window cleaner
dons his cape
children's hospital
the window cleaner
dons his cape
The Haiku Foundation, re: Virals, May 2018
re: Virals 140 - May 18, 2018
The Haiku Foundation's weekly poem commentary feature on some of the finest haiku ever written in English. This week's poem was chosen by Mary Hanrahan:
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
The Haiku Foundation's weekly poem commentary feature on some of the finest haiku ever written in English. This week's poem was chosen by Mary Hanrahan:
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
The Haiku Foundation, Per Diem, April 2018
Selected by Jennifer Hambrick for the theme of "Play": April 26, 2018
porch swing
songs where we least
expect them
Modern Haiku, Volume 48.3, Autumn 2017
porch swing
songs where we least
expect them
Modern Haiku, Volume 48.3, Autumn 2017
The Haiku Foundation, EarthRise Rolling Haiku Collaboration, April 2018
Theme: Year of the Bird
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
cormorants . . .
we open our arms
to the sun
3rd Place, 2018 Jane Reichhold International Prize
snowy field
the owls we thought
were stones
Honourable Mention, 2017 9th Irish Haiku Society International Haiku Competition
last campout . . .
sandhill cranes call down
the northern lights
Honourable Mention, 2017 Robert Spiess Haiku Award
the whistle
of a wood duck . . .
her last breath
Honourable Mention, 2015 Betty Drevniok Award
the curve
of an avocet's bill . . .
sickle moon
Editor's Choice, Cattails (April 2017)
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
cormorants . . .
we open our arms
to the sun
3rd Place, 2018 Jane Reichhold International Prize
snowy field
the owls we thought
were stones
Honourable Mention, 2017 9th Irish Haiku Society International Haiku Competition
last campout . . .
sandhill cranes call down
the northern lights
Honourable Mention, 2017 Robert Spiess Haiku Award
the whistle
of a wood duck . . .
her last breath
Honourable Mention, 2015 Betty Drevniok Award
the curve
of an avocet's bill . . .
sickle moon
Editor's Choice, Cattails (April 2017)
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
Unsealing Our Secrets, 2018
A Short Poem Anthology About Sexual Abuse - Women and Men Speak out - #MeToo
Alexis Rotella: Curator/Editor
Individual Tanka
a stranger's
snake hands fondle me
at the festival . . .
not even starshine
can light this darkness
stifling summer . . .
in this house of women,
we are inhibited
by the voyeur who lurks
beyond our open windows
a car filled
with catcalling men
follows me . . .
I long to walk alone
in the sweet evening air
office party . . .
the newly fallen snow
beckons me
away from searching eyes
and tongues and hands
a man leans
against the school fence
u n z i p p e d
I look up and pretend
to see a bird
The Cherita, Book 11, February 2018
Issue: "autumn deepens"
from open hands
the petals and leaves
on which I wrote your name
fall, one by one
behind me . . .
this is the way home
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
from open hands
the petals and leaves
on which I wrote your name
fall, one by one
behind me . . .
this is the way home
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
The Cherita, Book 12, March 2018
Issue: "now I listen"
it has been so long
since we last spoke
of anything at all
my questions drift
into the ether, and even clouds
don't know the answers
a new year
we will put the past
behind us
perhaps these
winter birds have come
to save us from ourselves
it has been so long
since we last spoke
of anything at all
my questions drift
into the ether, and even clouds
don't know the answers
a new year
we will put the past
behind us
perhaps these
winter birds have come
to save us from ourselves
Prune Juice, Issue 24, May 2018
Mariposa, Number 38, Spring/Summer 2018
mother poses
with my older sisters
in the field
I am there, too,
but still invisible
wild roses
cascade over the gate
to our past
holding hands, we step
backward into childhood
with my older sisters
in the field
I am there, too,
but still invisible
wild roses
cascade over the gate
to our past
holding hands, we step
backward into childhood
A Far Galaxy, Haiku Canada Members' Anthology 2018
atlas moth
the places we thought
we'd go
Honourable Mention
2017 Jane Reichhold International Prize
the places we thought
we'd go
Honourable Mention
2017 Jane Reichhold International Prize
Gift of Silence: A Haiku Tribute to Leonard Cohen, 2018
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place
2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place
2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Eucalypt, Issue 24, May 2018
rain chains
singing in our garden
calla lilies
open their pink mouths
to cup the hymn of spring
singing in our garden
calla lilies
open their pink mouths
to cup the hymn of spring
Ephemerae, Volume 1A, April 2018
the thin edge
between night and day
wild poppies
travel hostel
we unpack a pair
of ladybirds
Passage
I kneel
upon frost-rimed grass,
a song
nestled in the church
of my cupped hands
we are kin
to birds of passage
wintering
in far-flung places,
never quite at home
between night and day
wild poppies
travel hostel
we unpack a pair
of ladybirds
Passage
I kneel
upon frost-rimed grass,
a song
nestled in the church
of my cupped hands
we are kin
to birds of passage
wintering
in far-flung places,
never quite at home
Daily Haiku, Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog, May 2018
rimed fence
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
British Haiku Society Awards, 2017
cormorants . . .
we open our arms
to the sun
Third Place
Jane Reichhold International Prize, 2018
frozen trough
I cup the warm breath
of my horse
First Place
7th Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest, 2018
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
British Haiku Society Awards, 2017
cormorants . . .
we open our arms
to the sun
Third Place
Jane Reichhold International Prize, 2018
frozen trough
I cup the warm breath
of my horse
First Place
7th Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest, 2018
Creatrix Poetry and Haiku Journal, Number 41, June 2018
a dry spring
old stones blossom
in the field
old stones blossom
in the field
Butterfly Dream: 66 Selected English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku, Vol. 4, 2018
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest, 18:2, June 2016
rocky ledge
a wolf with the moon
in its mouth
Third Place, 7th International Irish Haiku Society Haiku Competition, 2015
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest, 18:2, June 2016
rocky ledge
a wolf with the moon
in its mouth
Third Place, 7th International Irish Haiku Society Haiku Competition, 2015
Atlas Poetica, Number 32, May 2018
Tanka Sequences
shadows call to me
I walk
into the break of day
accompanied
by sparrowsong
and your shadow
slanted light
caresses the ruins
at eventide
shadows call to me,
but I do not answer
the dark side
a portent
of dangerous times
anvil clouds
press the setting sun
under water
rainbow flares
of nacreous clouds
we are
easily seduced
by the dark side of beauty
nothing
farm auction . . .
we have nothing
left to lose
except these thistles
rooted in our hearts
rumours echoed
through the streets
of our town
nothing to do but run
and we are running, still
the surest way
water reeds
trail from the paddles
of a bull moose
it is moments like this
that make me whole
pawprints
of spirit bears lead me
to water
following a river
is the surest way home
Individual Kyoka
ladies who lunch . . .
two white-tailed deer
daintily sample
the fresh salad bar
in my garden cafe
Individual Tanka
you who were
made of brilliance
thank you
for the theory
of everything
(for Stephen Hawking)
shadows call to me
I walk
into the break of day
accompanied
by sparrowsong
and your shadow
slanted light
caresses the ruins
at eventide
shadows call to me,
but I do not answer
the dark side
a portent
of dangerous times
anvil clouds
press the setting sun
under water
rainbow flares
of nacreous clouds
we are
easily seduced
by the dark side of beauty
nothing
farm auction . . .
we have nothing
left to lose
except these thistles
rooted in our hearts
rumours echoed
through the streets
of our town
nothing to do but run
and we are running, still
the surest way
water reeds
trail from the paddles
of a bull moose
it is moments like this
that make me whole
pawprints
of spirit bears lead me
to water
following a river
is the surest way home
Individual Kyoka
ladies who lunch . . .
two white-tailed deer
daintily sample
the fresh salad bar
in my garden cafe
Individual Tanka
you who were
made of brilliance
thank you
for the theory
of everything
(for Stephen Hawking)
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