Blithe Spirit, Volume 36, Number 2, May 2026

shelf clouds

a lone oak pins our farm

to the map

the suchness

of oncoming sorrow

we knew

your ship was leaving,

but could not say when

Note: This issue also contains the results and commentaries for the 2025 British Haiku Society Awards which can be accessed under the British Haiku Society tag on this blog. I was thrilled to receive Runner-up in the tanka section! My thanks to the judge, Alan Peat.

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 36, Number 1, February 2026

icicles tinkle

in my horse's mane . . .

solar winds

suspending

silver wedding rings

from a branch

we bathe in the blessed

sacristy of moonlight

Blithe Spirit, Volume 35, Number 4, November 2025

Honoured to receive a lovely review of "Random Blue Sparks" by Iliyana Stoyanova in this issue. It can be accessed under the book's tab of this blog.

mother's last glimmer of light goldcrest

zombie fires

come back from the dead . . .

this wilderness

haunted by skeletons

and memories of trees

Blithe Spirit, Volume 35, Number 3, August 2025

mourning rituals

a loon's wail haunts

the lake

the mudpuppy

on my bucket list . . .

moonlit pond

(note: mudpuppies are nocturnal salamanders)

red welts

of jagged sky besmirch

the sky

this morning, I am

storm-stung with dread

Delighted to have the following haiku selected for Part 1 of the 35th Anniversary Poems feature:

eclipse

the ravens have swallowed

their shadows

Blithe Spirit 34.3

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 35, Number 2, May 2025

a fairy door

at the willow's base . . .

sun-glade

I turn

my gaze inward

how dark

this long journey

back into the light

Note: This issue also contains the results and commentaries for the 2024 British Haiku Society Awards which can be accessed under the British Haiku Society tag on this blog. I was thrilled to receive First Place in the tanka section! My thanks to the judge, Marilyn Humbert.

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 35, Number 1, February 2025

deep silence

boulder fields where

the rapids were

windchill factor

a merganser and I

raise our hoods

come for tea . . .

I will treat you

gently,

sprinkling sugar

on your wounds

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 34, Number 4, November 2024

desert sunset

a mustang's silhouette

rears up

our horses slip

into canyon shadows

the ridgeline

harnessed to a yoke

of crescent moon

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 34, Number 3, August 2024

eclipse

the ravens have swallowed

their shadows

rain quenches

earth's parched throat

at last

dust turns into mud,

turns into water lilies

Blithe Spirit, Volume 34, Number 2, May 2024

apple blossoms

the way they cup

the light

strawberry season

our turtle smacks

its red lips

an array of stars

splayed out across

the desert sky . . .

we decide to sleep

without a tent tonight

Note: This issue also contains the results and commentaries for the 2023 British Haiku Society Awards which can be accessed under the British Haiku Society tag on this blog. I was thrilled to receive Runner-up and Honourable Mention for the same tanka. My thanks to the judges, David Terelinck and Bryan Rickert.

Blithe Spirit, Volume 34, Number 1, February 2024

morning worship

a tuft of moss inside

the icicle

skyscrapers

the stop-start of wind

and worry

we come upon

the scattered bones

of a wild horse . . .

strange cacti sprouting

from desert sands

Blithe Spirit, Volume 33, Number 4, November 2023

raindrops

fringe the hayloft . . .

burial day

insomnia

arrives like a thief

every night

stealing sleep to sell

on the black market

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 33, Number 3, August 2023

marionette lines level four drought

otter pup

a red crab tickles

its whiskers

ring-necked dove

the teenager's hickey

begins to fade

bells ring

throughout the night

mendicants

offer silent blessings

and prayers for peace

 

Blithe Spirit, Volume 33, Number 2, May 2023

superbloom 

only footprints

remain

handfasting

ribbons of eelgrass

catch the light

no butterflies left

to sip my turtle tears

today

I circle number ten

on the pain scale

a froth

of cyclamen speckling

the scrubland . . .

I, too, point my gaze

toward the earth

Note: This issue also contains the results and commentaries for the 2022 British Haiku Society Awards, which can be accessed under the British Haiku Society tag on this blog. I was thrilled to receive 1st place for tanka and Runner-up for haiku! My thanks to the judges, Kath Abela Wilson and Kelly Moyer, respectively.

Blithe Spirit, Volume 33, Number 1, February 2023

gravestone

a child's handprints

fill with snow

campfire tea

the waterfall stained

with tannin

sleep teases,

then abandons me . . .

I count

every leaf on the vine

that bars my window

 

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 32, Number 4, November 2022

milkweed seeds taking wing monarch butterflies

wildfires the heath shrouded in yellow furze

landlocked

no sails to interpret

the shape of wind

code red

wild poppies bloom

in spite of us

with thick braids

would into coronets

my sisters rule

their rabbit queendom

with carrot sceptres

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 32, Number 3, August 2022

dented culvert

a bear blocking light

at the end

we weave

between tamaracks

following

a bird's song that tugs

at the thread of memory

bushwhacking

through dense sedges

we rest

on flattened beds

made by calving elk

 

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 32, Number 2, May 2022

the loudness

of contemplation . . .

urban graveyard

fire dancers

twirl the night between

their fingers . . .

your synapses spark

before sputtering out

 

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 32, Number 1, February 2022

maidenhair

the light trembles

with rain

here we are

at the turning point

once more

another year pales

in comparison

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 31, Number 4, November 2021

a woolly bear's

segmented colours . . .

firebreak

we shelter beneath

our cedar-strip canoe

heavy rain

hammers nails of light

into the water

a rabbit's head

falls out of the dusk

I stand transfixed

as a horned owl's wing

silently lifts my hair

note: This tanka is based on an actual event. A horned owl dropped his dinner on our balcony, and then swooped in to retrieve it. A truly magical (albeit, gruesome) moment!

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 31, Number 3, August 2021

stray kitten

our hen unfolds

her wings

the click-snap

of a barn owl peering

from our hayloft

we defer roof repairs

for another year