NeverEnding Story, September 2023

Special Feature: Selected Poems for Labor Day

pens and brushes,

the tools of my trade . . .

I wield them

like swords in this fight

against infirmity

Tanka Society of America 

Twitter Work Special Feature, April 2023

NeverEnding Story, June 2023

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu: 

angry words

the gossip of gulls

d r i f t i n g

Failed Haiku 7, 2016

Mouth Full of Stones, 2020

Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

L1 sets the tone and mood of the haiku while the cacophonous squawking of gulls in Ls 2&3 not only provides an emotionally and auditorily resonant link-and-shift relationship with L1, but also gives a hint of what caused these angry words/response. And the layout of L3 implies the spread of this gossip...

NeverEnding Story, January 2022

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

alpenglow

a pika gathers stems

of light

Commended

2019 A Little Iris Haiku Contest

Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

Inspiring and evocative L1 sets the scene and mood while the unexpected yet visually fresh and effective image of Ls 2&3, "stems" of "light" enhances the imagistic aspect of this unusual haiku about a rare mountain-dwelling mammal in alpenglow.

 

NeverEnding Story, December 2021

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

the pair bonds

of prairie voles . . .

she asks

if he used to be

her husband

Third Place

2017 UHTS Fleeting Words Tanka Contest

Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

The contrast/comparison between pair bonding (selective and lifelong relationship) and (uncertain) marital relationship portrayed in the two parts of the tanka is poignantly effective.

 

NeverEnding Story, September 2021

Cool Announcement: A Freebie, Mouth Full of Stones by Debbie Strange

My Dear Readers:

NeverEnding Story contributor, Debbie Strange, published a collection of sociopolitically conscious haiku, Mouth Full of Stones (Title IX Press, 2020 - now, Moth Orchid Press), and she shared her fine work as a free download available at the Moth Orchid Press website.

https://e7b207b8-f70d-4a2b-9a92-95e280e7fb92.filesusr.com/ugd/8a417d_0a9850e7f6794b51a04bbc244287cb2d.pdf

Selected Haiku:

dry lightning

her mattress scarred

with cigarette burns

day moon

(dis)appearing

sister's thin face

hot (fl)ashes the combustibility of womxn's rights

cows and calves

bawling at weaning time

my breasts ache

angry words

the gossip of gulls

d r i f t i n g

street kids

shadows fold

into the night

neon lights

a cardboard roof

sags with snow

cyberbullying

the buzz of a high voltage arc

permafrost

a polar bear's paws

sink deeper

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.

 

NeverEnding Story, April 2021

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

snow whirls

outside the henhouse . . .

father cups

my hands around

a warm brown egg

3rd Place

2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Competition

Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judges Carole MacRury and Michael McClintock)

A sensory poem that takes us from whirling snow, straight into the warmth of a henhouse, the warmth of a father/child relationship, and the warmth of a freshly gathered brown egg. Debbie Strange's use of "cups" gives a wonderful tactile sense and understanding to this moment's magical combination of both fragility and solidness—of the brown egg, and of the love palpably felt between father and child. All is fused in one powerful image. That is quite a feat. The winter metaphor in the first line could also allude to the day when the child will draw sustenance from this warm memory long after the father is gone.

NeverEnding Story, April 2021

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

rosy dawn

our paddles stippled

with petals

Highly Commended

2019 New Zealand Poetry Society International Competition

NeverEnding Story, February 2021

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

a smudge

of blackbirds swirling

into evening . . .

how fluid the shape

of this sorrow

2nd Place

2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Competition

Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judges Carole MacRury and Michael McClintock)

This well-constructed tanka uses sibilance to enhance the fluidity of the reading as well as the fluidity of the emotions shown through the image in the first three lines. This fine poem by Debbie Strange shows the power of understatement and the power of imagery to express deep emotions. It has that magic space where readers may enter with their own experiences. Deep sorrow, as most of us know, comes unexpectedly in dark, wave-like moments just like the "smudge of blackbirds swirling into evening". Every single word earns its place in this poem.

NeverEnding Story, October 2020

Cool Announcement: A Freebie, Prairie Interludes by Debbie Strange

My Dear Friends:

The award-winning e-book of haiku, Prairie Interludes, written by NeverEnding Story contributor, Debbie Strange, is now available to read free online

Selected Haiku:

a wet spring

dark furrows seeded

with stars

boundary lines

every fence post topped

with a baseball cap

rusted rails

a meadowlark with the sun

in its throat

cloudless sky

a pelican's pouch

full of light

harvesting night

an arc of moondust

from the auger

prize pumpkins

our hayrack buckles

with light

fog weaving

between fence posts

a coyote's song

antelope

the humming of wind

in barbed wire

 

NeverEnding Story, October 2020

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:

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

Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judges Jessica Malone Latham and Neal Whitman)

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 two, rather than using a word such as "storm." We admired the use of a simple comma at the end of line three 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. The ocean offers an infinity of treasures. We found the blue mussels and kelp to be a delightful choice made by this poet. We have already mentioned reciting tanka aloud to take in their 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 three. You might experience tranquility with lines four and five. We did...

NeverEnding Story, August 2020

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


drought
the kestrel catches
a piece of sky

Highly Commended
2018 New Zealand International Poetry Competition


Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

L1 sketches a gloomy scene while unexpected yet visually arresting and emotionally poignant L3 enhances the tone and mood of this drought haiku.

NeverEnding Story, June 2020

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


wheat fields
tousled by fingers
of wind
I tuck a strand of hair
behind your ear

Honourable Mention, 2018 Sanford Goldstein Int'l Tanka Contest


Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judges Jessica Malone Latham and Neal Whitman)

...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 enabled 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...

NeverEnding Story, May 2020

Special Feature: Mother's Day Haiga

Note: this haiku was selected for the 2018 Yamadera Basho Contest

Note: this haiku originally appeared in Modern Haiku 48:1, 2017

Note: this tanka received 3rd Place in the 2018 San Francisco Int'l Haiku, Senryu and Tanka Competition

Note: this tanka originally appeared in GUSTS 23, 2016

NeverEnding Story, February 2020

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


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

1st Place (tie), 2016 San Francisco International Competition


Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judge Marilyn Shoemaker Hazelton)


...we stand at the delicate edge of winter where air is crisper, and "reindeer moss" whispers beneath our feet. The color of this tundra is muted. Perhaps the light is also. In response to small, mysterious sounds framed by quiet, the breaths of those within the poem startle and deepen. And we have an opportunity to appreciate what we usually take for granted...

NeverEnding Story, January 2020

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


circles of lichen
I thought we would have
more time

Third Place, 2018 Kaji Aso Annual Haiku Contest


Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

Enhanced by the bio-social functions/symbolism of lichens, the juxtaposition of circles of lichen and human relationships is visually and emotionally effective...

NeverEnding Story, November 2019

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


frozen trough
I cup the warm breath
of my horse

First Place, 2018 Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest


Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

excerpted from comments by the contest judge, Cezar Florin CIOBICA, accessed at:

https://sharpeningthegreenpencil.blogspot.com/p/2018.html

NeverEnding Story, October 2019

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


antelope
grazing on sagebrush
at first light
the horizon stitched
to an infinitude of sky


A Hundred Gourds, 5:1, September 2015


Chen-ou Liu's Comments:

Enhanced by the cinematic "zoom-out" technique, the visually and emotionally evocative juxtaposition of antelope/grazing on sagebrush and the horizon stitched/to an infinit[e] sky makes this wildlife tanka effective.

NeverEnding Story, July 2019

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


homecoming . . .
a bouquet of sky
in an old jar

1st Place
2017 Australian Haiku Society Spring Haiga Kukai


Chen-ou Liu's comments:

L1 sets the theme while visually evocative Ls 2&3 enhance the tone and mood of the haiku. And the fresh phrasing and perspective employed in L2 make this homecoming haiku emotionally effective.

NeverEnding Story, June 2019

Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:


mute swans
under a moon bridge
the things
I should have confessed
make no difference now

1st Place
2016 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest


Chen-ou Liu's comments: (excerpted from the judge, an'ya's commentary)

"...Selected for the first place in this competition, is this tanka by a well known author from Canada, Debbie Strange. Smoothly composed, the words "mute swans" in line 1 and "under a moon bridge" in line 2 starts it off beautifully. Debbie creates a distinct pause before she goes into lines 3 and 4 which juxtapose with a human relationship. This tanka then finally spills over to line 5, in a flowing crescendo and the moment of closure. Simple images, and straightforward words make this tanka work for anyone and everyone who reads it..."