My thanks to Simon Hanson, the judge of this contest!
the darkness
arrives on a thousand legs . . .
cosmic caterpillar
Highly Commended
Monday, August 02, 2021
#FemkuMag: haikai poetry by womxn and non-binary folx - Issue 30, July 2021
Honoured to receive 2nd Place in the 2021 Marlene Mountain Contest (for monoku)! My thanks to the judges, Lori A. Minor and Tia Haynes, for their sensitive commentary.
Fata Morgana the (in)visibility of my (dis)ability
Commentary:
Not only are invisible illnesses difficult to live with because one is forced to convince others that they are sick, but some chronic illnesses can make one feel invisible due to the disconnect between those sick and their able-bodied friends and family. These illnesses are debilitating and isolating.
The brilliant use of parentheses parallels this by separating those who are seen and those who feel invisible, as well as disabled folx and those who are able-bodied. For those who are sick but still struggling to seek answers, Fata Morgana is all too familiar. The pain felt is real, but when the test results keep coming back normal, one can't help but feel stuck and just about end up gaslighting themselves. Not to mention those answers seem unreal and so far out of reach. We can also see the way Debbie possibly views herself, as one stuck as an optical illusion, living in society in one fashion and being unable to in another. This heartbreaking monoku calls us to hear and to see, to understand and develop compassion where it is most needed.
Other work included in this issue:
internal dialogue only one of us has anything to say
wild foxglove the poison lurking behind beauty standards
bristlegrass
you take offence
so easily
paper birch
to know the inner bark
of you
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls: An Oceanic Literary Magazine, July 2021
July 3, 2021
sea pebbles
glistening in the sun
we, too
lose more of ourselves
with every passing wave
Honourable Mention
2020 British Haiku Society Awards
July 4, 2021
I carry
an ocean within
my pocket . . .
this blue lace agate
etched with ancient tides
Honourable Mention
2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Competition
July 5, 2021
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
The Haiku Foundation, Haiku Dialogue, July 2021
"Paradigm Shift" prompts by Craig Kittner: the artifacts of wind
an egret's plume
the airs and graces
of wind
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Haiga Tanabata Celebration, July 2021
Though I was unable to attend the virtual YTHS Haiga Tanabata Celebration, I was delighted to share this haiga:
The Cherita, Book 49, April 2021
Issue: "a shadow of myself"
we built
staircases of books
in our bedroom
following each other
from one world
into the next
lost again
deep inside
the forest's magic
a flush
of fairy inkcaps
enchants me
my sisters and I
nestle like spoons
underneath the comforter
father keeps
our kittens warm
inside his pockets
Ribbons, Volume 17, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2021
(un)worthiness
a blue sand dune
discovered on Mars
the universe
gives me so much more
than I deserve
lost again
in the forest of mind
I tread warily
through macrocosms
of contrition
astronomers
describe a star's death
as spectacular
who is to say that
mine will not be so
Red Lights, Vol. 17, Number 2, June 2021
we had almost
forgotten how to smile . . .
a loveliness
of ladybugs spills down
the rotten fencepost
lamentations
I gently strum
a lark's bleached ribcage . . .
how long
have you lain here
with your mossy heart
we never
expect grief to come
calling . . .
will no one answer
the phone of the wind*
*An unconnected phone booth in Japan helps people cope with the loss of loved ones.
Presence, Number 70, July 2021
resident owl
the rabbits that lived
under our shed
thirsty
for all the little things
we've missed . . .
brackish water fills
an elf-cup stone
Droplets
rengay with Jennifer Hambrick & Debbie Strange
empty street
rain falling louder
then softer
time slows down
to a drizzle
dripping eaves
a lone house sparrow
takes shelter
puddles of light
a raccoon rinses
its hands
a wash of stars
keeping their distance
petrichor
the earth lets go
of its breath
Poetry Pea, July 2021
The Haiku Pea Podcast
Series 4, Episode 14 - "Realistic Haiku", July 19, 2021
drought
the kestrel catches
a piece of sky
Highly Commended
2016 New Zealand Poetry Society International Competition
lantern light
becoming one
with the fog
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, July 2021
Curated by Lavana Kray
July 10, 2021
(Note: this haiga was first published in colour in the Wales Haiku Haiga Gallery)
July 28, 2021
(Note: this tanka art was first published in Ribbons 14.2, Spring/Summer 2018)
NeverEnding Story, July 2021
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:
I carry
an ocean within
my pocket . . .
this blue lace agate
etched with ancient tides
Honourable Mention
2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Competition
Chen-ou Liu's Comments:
An implicit simile is effectively established between L2 and L4 in this visually and emotionally evocative and symbolically rich tanka.
Kontinuum: kortárs haiku/contemporary haiku, Volume 1, Number 1, July 2021
assigned gender the 25,000 sexes of split-gill mushrooms
generational trauma the uncertain heritage of seeds
Frameless Sky, Issue 14, June 2021
bamboo flute
I trade my breath
with the wind
a newborn's smile the earth tilts
blackout
city streets illumined
by blossoms
A Fine Line: The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society, Winter 2021
muddy banks
the brilliant plumage
of wood ducks
intersection
brisk winds usher me
across
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