windblown seeds
refugees try to cross
the border
neon lights
a cardboard roof
sags with snow
Welcome to this archive of my published poetry, photography and art. Thank you for allowing me to share my creative passions with you, and for taking the time to visit. Please be kind, and do not copy any of the content on this site without permission and attribution. All rights reserved © Debbie Strange. I unfold my origami self / and swim into a lake of fire / washing my hair in ashes / the crane-legged words / of a thousand burning poems.
- Archive
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- Images & Words
- Other Writing
- Photography Publications
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- Readings/Videos
- A Year Unfolding: Haiku
- Mouth Full of Stones: Haikai eBook
- Prairie Interludes: Haiku eChapbook
- Random Blue Sparks
- The Language of Loss: Haiku & Tanka Conversations
- Three-Part Harmony: Tanka Verses
- Warp and Weft: Tanka Threads
Friday, April 05, 2019
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 29, Number 1, February 2019
frost-silvered
the withered garden
blooms with light
moonsongs
we drive deep
into the night
a waterfall
frozen in time . . .
I brush
mother's hair until
she falls asleep
thirty-five
types of snowflakes . . .
no one told me
that they would
all taste the same
Note: this issue also contains my selections and commentary for the Museum of Haiku Literature Award
the withered garden
blooms with light
moonsongs
we drive deep
into the night
a waterfall
frozen in time . . .
I brush
mother's hair until
she falls asleep
thirty-five
types of snowflakes . . .
no one told me
that they would
all taste the same
Note: this issue also contains my selections and commentary for the Museum of Haiku Literature Award
Australian Haiku Society, 2019
Honoured to say that these haiku were included in the PDF booklet featuring selected poems from the prompt!
backyard campout . . .
we fall asleep counting
the ghosts of stars
the flash
of a stranger's smile . . .
sun shower
office tower . . .
a peregrine nests outside
my window
Atlas Poetica, Number 36, February 2019
wintertide
glissading down
steep mountainsides . . .
we are horses
with our snowy tails
streaming in the wind
every year
winter casts its spell . . .
like children,
we are bewitched anew
by the signature of snow
the length of night
yet again,
sleep eludes me . . .
an owl and I
ponder the eternal
question of identity
insomnia . . .
mice at play
inside
the thin walls
of my dreams
girlhood
we brew tea
from the dark leaves
of cat's whiskers
but first, you tickle me
with their stamens
we chase
each other across
cloud shadows,
nothing under our feet
but this prairie sky
we once played
in this tangled garden,
enchanted
by the quiet fireworks
of bergamot and butterflies
glissading down
steep mountainsides . . .
we are horses
with our snowy tails
streaming in the wind
every year
winter casts its spell . . .
like children,
we are bewitched anew
by the signature of snow
the length of night
yet again,
sleep eludes me . . .
an owl and I
ponder the eternal
question of identity
insomnia . . .
mice at play
inside
the thin walls
of my dreams
girlhood
we brew tea
from the dark leaves
of cat's whiskers
but first, you tickle me
with their stamens
we chase
each other across
cloud shadows,
nothing under our feet
but this prairie sky
we once played
in this tangled garden,
enchanted
by the quiet fireworks
of bergamot and butterflies
The Mamba, Issue 7 - Africa Haiku Network, March 2019
the peacock rattles
its tailfeathers
the length
of a giraffe's tongue . . .
acacia thorns
Saturday, February 02, 2019
San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka, 2018
a star tortoise
carries the universe
on its back . . .
are we slowly moving
away from each other
2nd Place Tanka
Judge Kenneth Slaughter's comments:
Tortoises and turtles are survivors. The star tortoise, however, is an endangered species because of its beautiful shell. Humans like to collect them. It's an earthbound creature that carries the symbolic weight of the universe on its back. There are many ways to go in lines 4 and 5, and the ellipses give us a moment to ponder the possibilities.
Scientists know the universe is expanding, and everything is moving away from everything else. The poet reminds of this and wonders if, on a human level, we are also drifting apart. The "we" could be a married couple. Or it could be all of us, as we struggle with alienation, loneliness, and a growing distance from one another. This is a very topical poem, suggesting a whole lot in just five lines.
small embers
of rose hips in snow . . .
the look
in mother's vacant eyes
so hard to define
3rd Place Tanka
labyrinth i walk into and out of myself
3rd Place Senryu
Judge Christopher Herald's comments:
Yes! Both! Love it!
carries the universe
on its back . . .
are we slowly moving
away from each other
2nd Place Tanka
Judge Kenneth Slaughter's comments:
Tortoises and turtles are survivors. The star tortoise, however, is an endangered species because of its beautiful shell. Humans like to collect them. It's an earthbound creature that carries the symbolic weight of the universe on its back. There are many ways to go in lines 4 and 5, and the ellipses give us a moment to ponder the possibilities.
Scientists know the universe is expanding, and everything is moving away from everything else. The poet reminds of this and wonders if, on a human level, we are also drifting apart. The "we" could be a married couple. Or it could be all of us, as we struggle with alienation, loneliness, and a growing distance from one another. This is a very topical poem, suggesting a whole lot in just five lines.
small embers
of rose hips in snow . . .
the look
in mother's vacant eyes
so hard to define
3rd Place Tanka
labyrinth i walk into and out of myself
3rd Place Senryu
Judge Christopher Herald's comments:
Yes! Both! Love it!
Of Love and War and the Life In Between, Tanka Society of America Members' Anthology 2018
overnight,
filaments of hair ice
grow longer . . .
how tenuous these threads
that bind us to each other
filaments of hair ice
grow longer . . .
how tenuous these threads
that bind us to each other
Ink Sweat and Tears - The Poetry and Prose Webzine - December 2018
The Twelve Days of Christmas Feature
Ninth Day, December 30, 2018
fog deepens
the sound of rabbits
nibbling night
Grand Prize, 2016 World Haiku Competition
on the tundra
caging a winter sky
caribou bones
3rd Place, 2014 UHTS Hortensia Anderson Haiku Awards
snowy field
the owls we thought
were stones
HM, 2017 Irish Haiku Society International Haiku Competition
NeverEnding Story, January 2019
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Excerpted from the commentary provided by the Judge, Bruce Ross:
Many haiku have been written about the effect of moonlight and the moon's reflection. This haiku is unique and highly poetic in its expression.
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Excerpted from the commentary provided by the Judge, Bruce Ross:
Many haiku have been written about the effect of moonlight and the moon's reflection. This haiku is unique and highly poetic in its expression.
Jalmurra, January 2019
In celebration of Bee Week:
wildflowers
beside the dock . . .
diving bees
Chuffed Buff Books - Kigo: Seasonal Words, Issue 2, Summer 2014
time
drips from my fingertips
slowly
in the honeyed moments
of a thousand bees
Bright Stars Tanka Anthology, Number 4, January 2014
(the haiku embedded in the above haiga originally appeared in Brass Bell, March 2017)
(the haiku embedded in the above haiga originally appeared in The Bamboo Hut, August 2016)
#FemkuMag: An E-Zine of Women's Haiku - Issue 8, January 2019
bitter(n) she extends her beak into everyone's business
white rhino
the text I meant
to send
white rhino
the text I meant
to send
Ephemerae, Volume 1C, November 2018
aspen grove
he fills his pockets
with pirate gold
a spider web
strummed by soft breezes . . .
we can
almost hear the song
of morning dew
he fills his pockets
with pirate gold
a spider web
strummed by soft breezes . . .
we can
almost hear the song
of morning dew
Bottle Rockets, Vol. 20, Number 2 (or #40), February 2019
dripping eaves
new music composed
of old snow
new music composed
of old snow
Asahi Haikuist Network, January 2019
Christmas skates . . .
a rainbow of little boots
in the warming hut
a rainbow of little boots
in the warming hut
Fuga No Makoto: Ten Years of the World Haiku Review (Tenth Anniversary Edition Book 1), 2019
ice fog
everything familiar
unfamilar
fireflies
so many reasons
to shine
crescent moon
a scar on the curve
of your belly
dewfall
the weight of light
on bent grass
mending fences
the scent of sagebrush
on your fingers
everything familiar
unfamilar
fireflies
so many reasons
to shine
crescent moon
a scar on the curve
of your belly
dewfall
the weight of light
on bent grass
mending fences
the scent of sagebrush
on your fingers
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