Mariposa, Number 52, Spring/Summer 2025

wolf willow

our horses spook

in the wind

prairie gumbo

the year of the lilies

that weren't

Mariposa, Number 51, Autumn/Winter 2024

petroglyphs

a kayak claimed

by the rocks

let fall

the things that drag

you down . . .

pine trees begin to shed

their snowy burdens

Mariposa, Number 50, Spring/Summer 2024

milk teeth

teasel bracts pin down

the snow

This issue includes the results of the 2023 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka:

there was

so much I wanted

to teach you . . .

a blue jay's feathers

are not really blue

1st Place

let's drive

down this prairie road,

singing until

we collide head-on

with the Milky Way

Honourable Mention

Mariposa, Number 49, Autumn/Winter 2023

ancient caldera

clouds waterfalling

over the rim

homeless men

play chess in the park . . .

each one

a forfeited pawn

in someone's game

Mariposa, Number 48, Spring/Summer 2023

sea thrifts everywhere we look dawn

nightingales sing

from hidden perches

sometimes

the little details

are all that matter

This issue includes the results of the 2022 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka:

autumn arrives

in a whirl of leaves

this body

withering, too, despite

my best intentions

2nd Honourable Mention Tanka

Mariposa, Number 47, Autumn/Winter 2022

an ammo box

padlocked and buried

in his garden

the seeds of sorrow

dad kept inside himself

Mariposa, Number 46, Spring/Summer 2022

moonstone

this galaxy I carry

in my pocket

the river

spews its wrath between

canyon walls . . .

our humanity foundering

in this pandemic's wake

(note: this tanka was printed incorrectly as "on this...)

 

Mariposa, Number 45, Autumn/Winter 2021

pyrocumulus

the dragon arching

across your back

dusty tack

hangs in empty stalls

redolent

with memories that might

or might not be mine

 

Mariposa, Number 44, Spring/Summer 2021

leaves of grass

and hollow reeds sing

between our lips

we join the insects

orchestrating summer

the intricate lace

of decaying leaves

are we

any less beautiful now

that our youth is gone

This issue includes the results of the 2020 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka:

a raven

believed it could fly

through me

unaware that I am glass,

pretending to be sky

3rd Place Tanka

 

Mariposa, Number 43, Autumn/Winter 2020

white squalls

appear in the distance

without warning

this vision of something

I do not want to know

This issue includes the results of the 2019 San Francisco International Rengay Competition:

Rengay written with Jennifer Hambrick (in normal type) and Debbie Strange (in italics):

In the Key of Grey

hydro lines

the sixteenth notes

of grackles

morning

in the key of grey

the lullaby

of wind through grain

empty silo 

high lonesome

a crush of midnight

shadows

barbed wire

the descant of coyotes

curving

into the distance

a train's lament

Third Place (tied)

Excerpted from the judge's comments:

...It was one of very few rengay with a double theme. And the music references are skillfully incorporated into each verse, all of which relate very nicely to one another. I found this rengay to be very aesthetically pleasing.

—Seren Fargo

Mariposa, Number 42, Spring/Summer 2020

the chaos
of children's snow boots
on the porch
we find life's pattern
in this jumble of days


This issue includes the results of the 2019 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka:


the coiled tips
of fiddlehead ferns
remind me
that every forest knows
how to make music

2nd Honourable Mention Tanka

The judge's commentary may be accessed under the San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka tag.

Mariposa, Number 41, Autumn/Winter 2019

sea fog
white sails split open
the morning


whiffling geese
sift snowflakes between
their wings . . .
I've never felt your loss
more keenly than today

Mariposa, Number 40, Spring/Summer 2019

blackout
wild daisies scatter
the light


summer fair
our dog retrieves
a lost boy


This issue includes the results of the 2018 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka:

Senryu:


labyrinth i walk into and out of myself

Third Place


Tanka:


a star tortoise
carries the universe
on its back . . .
are we slowly moving
away from each other

Second Place


small embers
of rose hips in snow . . .
the look
in mother's vacant eyes
so hard to define

Third Place


The judges' commentaries may be accessed under the San Francisco International Competition for Haiku Senryu and Tanka tag.

Mariposa, Number 39, Autumn/Winter 2018

dusk-to-dawn the low anthems of great grey owls


fallow fields a light dusting of snow geese


ice-skating
through a winter garden
of frost flowers . . .
there is a certain grace
in learning how to fall


Honoured to have "Snowy Owl" appear in this issue!

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

Mariposa, Number 37, Autumn/Winter 2017

the silver lake
without reflection
a mirror
that never shows me
what I want to see

Mariposa, Number 36, Spring/Summer 2017

dried curls
of gray reindeer moss
crunch softly
underneath our boots . . .
no other sound, but breath

1st Place (tie)
2016 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka