old baobab
sky-roots tangled
with bird nests
gazania
a thousand suns
dot the hill
Sunday, April 09, 2017
Ribbons, Volume 13, Number 1, Winter 2017
a wake of fog
rolls over canyon walls
silence empties
into our noisy minds
until we become quiet
rolls over canyon walls
silence empties
into our noisy minds
until we become quiet
NeverEnding Story, March 2017
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu
skinny-dipping
with my sisters
washing moondust
from our hair
then braiding it with stars
Atlas Poetica 18, July 2014
Chen-ou Liu's comments:
These great visuals (especially the concluding one) in Debbie's sensually intimate tanka resonate well with one another.
skinny-dipping
with my sisters
washing moondust
from our hair
then braiding it with stars
Atlas Poetica 18, July 2014
Chen-ou Liu's comments:
These great visuals (especially the concluding one) in Debbie's sensually intimate tanka resonate well with one another.
KYSO Flash 2016, State of the Art Annual Anthology Number 3
Coming Undone
She always wore the same sweater. I've kept it all these years, and I wear it whenever my memories of her start to fade. Today, the last button came off, and I put it in the sweater's frayed pocket for safekeeping. When it slipped through a hole, and dropped between the floorboards, I finally realized that she was never coming home.
heirloom quilt
sparrow prints embossed
on new snow
Haibun: Second Publisher's Choice Award, HTP Writing Challenge 2016
Commentary by KF Editors:
This little button of a haibun reminds us of the set-up in "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry, in which the consumptive young woman thinks that she'll die when the last leaf falls outside her window. "Coming Undone" avoids any clever plot twists and aims directly at the heart in a spare and effective way.
She always wore the same sweater. I've kept it all these years, and I wear it whenever my memories of her start to fade. Today, the last button came off, and I put it in the sweater's frayed pocket for safekeeping. When it slipped through a hole, and dropped between the floorboards, I finally realized that she was never coming home.
heirloom quilt
sparrow prints embossed
on new snow
Haibun: Second Publisher's Choice Award, HTP Writing Challenge 2016
Commentary by KF Editors:
This little button of a haibun reminds us of the set-up in "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry, in which the consumptive young woman thinks that she'll die when the last leaf falls outside her window. "Coming Undone" avoids any clever plot twists and aims directly at the heart in a spare and effective way.
Inner Voices - International Women's Haiku Festival, March 2017
cirrus clouds . . .
she donates hair
before chemo
Editor's Comments:
Debbie Strange turns those wispy clouds that look like pony tails into locks of hair on the stylist's floor. The woman in this haiku is a picture of proactivity, strength, and generosity in the face of possible death, embracing her diagnosis with eyes and heart wide open.
she donates hair
before chemo
Editor's Comments:
Debbie Strange turns those wispy clouds that look like pony tails into locks of hair on the stylist's floor. The woman in this haiku is a picture of proactivity, strength, and generosity in the face of possible death, embracing her diagnosis with eyes and heart wide open.
—Jennifer Hambrick
laundry day . . .
my skinny jeans
fat with wind
Editor's Comments:
It's not enough that the thought of wearing skinny jeans strikes fear and dread in the hearts of some; the wind has to rub it in. The image of the puffed-up skinny jeans pokes fun at our warped obsession with weight and body image, leaving us to laugh at how quickly we abandon more noble constructs of authentic beauty, and thus the paths to true contentment, in the pursuit of pretty packaging.
—Jennifer Hambrick
Gusts, Number 25, Spring/Summer 2017
wind-sculpted
evergreens bending
but unbroken
we survive even when
our roots are washed away
the peace
that accompanies
forgiveness
after this long drought
an ecstasy of rain
every hill
buttered with celandines
her memories
return with the swallows
but fade at season's end
evergreens bending
but unbroken
we survive even when
our roots are washed away
the peace
that accompanies
forgiveness
after this long drought
an ecstasy of rain
every hill
buttered with celandines
her memories
return with the swallows
but fade at season's end
Creatrix Poetry and Haiku Journal, Number 36, March 2017
feathers
on the empty beach
I write his name
silver wings
etched against clouds
our last goodbye
ice castle
my neighbour's house
after the fire
on the empty beach
I write his name
silver wings
etched against clouds
our last goodbye
ice castle
my neighbour's house
after the fire
Cattails, April 2017
river stones
polished to a soft sheen . . .
in sharing
the weight of our worries
we each become light
my dreams
wander in and out
of yours . . .
rabbit warrens
in the bluebell woods
origami class
the beautiful folds
of our elders
old documents
the things we forgot
we knew
the curve
of an avocet's bill . . .
sickle moon
Editor's Choice
Editor's Comments:
Avocets are from the genus Recurvirostra, meaning 'bill curved backwards'. These striking waders can be distinguished easily by their bills. The poet juxtaposes the beautiful image of the upward curve of an avocet's bill with the sickle moon. A skilful use of two concrete images to create an unusual association in the mind of the reader.
polished to a soft sheen . . .
in sharing
the weight of our worries
we each become light
my dreams
wander in and out
of yours . . .
rabbit warrens
in the bluebell woods
origami class
the beautiful folds
of our elders
old documents
the things we forgot
we knew
the curve
of an avocet's bill . . .
sickle moon
Editor's Choice
Editor's Comments:
Avocets are from the genus Recurvirostra, meaning 'bill curved backwards'. These striking waders can be distinguished easily by their bills. The poet juxtaposes the beautiful image of the upward curve of an avocet's bill with the sickle moon. A skilful use of two concrete images to create an unusual association in the mind of the reader.
—Geethanjali Rajan
Butterfly Dream: 66 Selected English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku, Vol. 3, 2017
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu
stone cairns
a faded cap drifts
downriver
1st Place
2015 HSA Harold G. Henderson Awards
stone cairns
a faded cap drifts
downriver
1st Place
2015 HSA Harold G. Henderson Awards
Brass Bell, April 2017
waxwings again not enough berries for jam
squash blossom . . .
creases form between
her brows
squash blossom . . .
creases form between
her brows
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 27, Number 1, February 2017
the scent of hay
whickers of horses
in my dreams
sodden roses
line the graveyard path
bowed down
how do we survive
this broken-heartedness
this struggle
to hold back the tide
every breath
might be my last
but I refuse to drown
whickers of horses
in my dreams
sodden roses
line the graveyard path
bowed down
how do we survive
this broken-heartedness
this struggle
to hold back the tide
every breath
might be my last
but I refuse to drown
Akitsu Quarterly, Spring 2017
soft rain
bitterns camouflaged
as rushes
a tuft of sky
snagged in the fir
blue jay
bitterns camouflaged
as rushes
a tuft of sky
snagged in the fir
blue jay
Saturday, March 04, 2017
Living Senryu Anthology, 2017
A portfolio of 25 senryu published between 2014 and 2016 may be viewed at:
http://senryu.life/index-of-poets/75-index-s/strange,-debbie.html
http://senryu.life/index-of-poets/75-index-s/strange,-debbie.html
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