the ocean
was in a rage last night
but today,
these peace offerings
of blue mussels and kelp
1st Place
Judges' Comments:
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 2, rather than using a word such as storm. We admired the use of a simple comma at the end of line 3 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. There is an infinity of treasures found in the ocean. We found the blue mussels and kelp a delightful choice made by this poet. In our judges' report, we touched upon reciting tanka to take in its 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 3. You might experience tranquility with lines 4 and 5. We did.
on this night
of our awareness,
the aurora
brushes an ensō
across lake and sky
Honourable Mention
Judges' Comments:
This tanka offered a wonderful visual image of sky artistry in the shape of the Zen form of the brush-stroked circle known as ensō. The circle, of course, has been a time-immemorial symbol of Life with no beginning and no end. Reading this tanka did, in fact, provide both judges a moment of awareness. The poet asks us to imagine a transition from night to the first light of dawn when anything is possible. There is magic in the transcendence gifted by this tanka.
wheat fields
tousled by fingers
of wind
I tuck a strand of hair
behind your ear
Honourable Mention
Judges' Comments:
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 allowed 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.
Note: There were 476 entries to the contest. I am grateful to Jessica Malone Latham and Neal Whitman for their generous commentaries.
Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Skylark, Vol. 6, Number 1, Summer 2018
Honoured to have my photograph chosen for Skylark's inaugural cover contest:
Individual kyoka and tanka:
macular
degeneration
I see
more clearly now
than ever before
a mirage
of mountains beckons
us homeward
we don't know their names,
but they know ours
they have
scarcely enough
to survive
and yet, this music
under the bridge
Selected Tanka Sequence for Another Chance to See Feature
Going Back
big sky morning
ancestral homesteads
felled by wind
hollow bones whistling
a song I used to know
barrelling
down washboard roads
between fields
plumes of the past lingering
on all I left behind
at day's end
light beams splintering
across shorn fields
on this moonless night
I, too, am camouflaged
Note: Going Back was first published in Ribbons, Volume 11, Number 3, Fall 2015
The Cherita, Book 13, April 2018
Issue: "on a quiet street"
the Witch of November
unbuttons autumn's cloak
with icy fingers
a tapestry of leaves
becoming sparrows,
becoming snow
the Witch of November
unbuttons autumn's cloak
with icy fingers
a tapestry of leaves
becoming sparrows,
becoming snow
Tinywords, Issue 18.1, June 2018
Note:
Haiku received First Place in the 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Moonbathing, Issue 18, Spring/Summer 2018
wind murmurs
through prairie grasses
the bones
of my ears listen
to what is unspoken
through prairie grasses
the bones
of my ears listen
to what is unspoken
Folded Word, June 2018
Solstice Series Selection
in the meadery,
this offering of wine
and honey . . .
all that remains after
angels receive their share
in the meadery,
this offering of wine
and honey . . .
all that remains after
angels receive their share
#FemkuMag: An E-zine of Women's Haiku - Issue 1, June 2018
pay equity
she swims against
the current
missing
women
the
places
they
fill
in
our
hearts
she swims against
the current
missing
women
the
places
they
fill
in
our
hearts
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 28, Number 2, May 2018
moon dogs
the unexpectedness
of this moment
at dawn,
a mustang stallion
leads his mares
through the badlands . . .
I, too, am unbroken
life flows by
in a murmuration
of days . . .
my shape has changed,
but I still know who I am
Note: This issue contains the results of the 2017 British Haiku Society Awards (please see April 1, 2018 blog post for commentary).
rimed fence
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
the unexpectedness
of this moment
at dawn,
a mustang stallion
leads his mares
through the badlands . . .
I, too, am unbroken
life flows by
in a murmuration
of days . . .
my shape has changed,
but I still know who I am
Note: This issue contains the results of the 2017 British Haiku Society Awards (please see April 1, 2018 blog post for commentary).
rimed fence
the cattle and wind
change direction
Honourable Mention
Australian Haiku Society, 2018
Honoured to say that these haiku were included in the PDF booklet featuring selected poems from the prompt!
snow angels
we compare the length
of our wings
frozen bird bath
my niece teaches her doll
how to skate
chimney smoke
Dad lets the genie out
of its bottle
Akitsu Quarterly, Summer 2018
traffic jam
a different song
in each lane
onion shoots
we inhale the scent
of our labour
a different song
in each lane
onion shoots
we inhale the scent
of our labour
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Kaji Aso Studio, 30th Annual Haiku Contest 2018
circles of lichen
I thought we would have
more time
Third Place
Note: Results of the contest were published in The Fenway News (Boston area newspaper), Volume 44, Number 6, June 2018.
I thought we would have
more time
Third Place
Note: Results of the contest were published in The Fenway News (Boston area newspaper), Volume 44, Number 6, June 2018.
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, May 2018
Featured Artist: May 1 - 17, 2018
I often use my photographs as the inspiration for writing short form poetry, and for making art in a variety of media (watercolour, ink, digital). During the creative process, I strive to produce images that enhance and expand the scope of my small poems, either implicitly or explicitly. After the hard work of writing haiku and tanka is done, I reward myself with the joy and freedom of making haiga, my favourite form of artistic expression!
I often use my photographs as the inspiration for writing short form poetry, and for making art in a variety of media (watercolour, ink, digital). During the creative process, I strive to produce images that enhance and expand the scope of my small poems, either implicitly or explicitly. After the hard work of writing haiku and tanka is done, I reward myself with the joy and freedom of making haiga, my favourite form of artistic expression!
Note: poem publication credits appear in the Daily Haiga archives.
The Haiku Foundation, HaikuLife Film Festival 2018
These haiga videos are comprised of previously published poems (with recitation) to celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day, an initiative of The Haiku Foundation, held April 17, 2018.
Watercoloured Words
Limned
a ragged curl
of birch bark fluttering
in the sun
even our smallest wounds
become limned with light
(tanka published in Red lights 11.1, 2015)
Becoming Water
listening deeply to the poetry of water i become a wave
(tanshi published in The Bamboo Hut Press, 2015)
The Haiku Foundation, Haiku Windows, May 2018
Windows prompt and selections by Kathy Munro - May 2, 2018
children's hospital
the window cleaner
dons his cape
children's hospital
the window cleaner
dons his cape
The Haiku Foundation, re: Virals, May 2018
re: Virals 140 - May 18, 2018
The Haiku Foundation's weekly poem commentary feature on some of the finest haiku ever written in English. This week's poem was chosen by Mary Hanrahan (thank you, Mary):
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
The Haiku Foundation's weekly poem commentary feature on some of the finest haiku ever written in English. This week's poem was chosen by Mary Hanrahan (thank you, Mary):
cloudless sky
a pelican's pouch
full of light
Editors' Choices, The Heron's Nest 18.2 (June 2016)
The Haiku Foundation, Per Diem, April 2018
Selected by Jennifer Hambrick for the theme of "Play": April 26, 2018
porch swing
songs where we least
expect them
Modern Haiku, Volume 48.3, Autumn 2017
porch swing
songs where we least
expect them
Modern Haiku, Volume 48.3, Autumn 2017
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