Archive for the ‘Tanka’ Category

Blue Temple

…response to prompt #14 from Magpie Tales…

The image of this plate above, this week’s prompt at Magpie Tales, immediately put me in mind of serenity. Also, while the plate may be Chinese in origin, it also made me think of the ancient Japanese poetic form called tanka.
Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the [...]

Boxes - Contemplation in 3 Parts

In response to the Ist prompt on the newly opened We Write Poems, I contemplate boxes

Boxes

Contemplation #1

my memories gather and squabble
like crows in fallow fields
they pick clean
the bones of my recall
bones against the cruel clay
of an arid barren mind
bones spilled from soul boxes
in which I’d desperately collected
the scarred and damaged pieces
of my broken dreams
dreams now [...]

NaPoWriMo #28

This is my twenty-eighth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by day 28 of National Poetry Month
____________________________________

 
Not Spring

the moment of not-spring
has no bold herald
save a passing notation
on one’s calendar
easily missed
there is not a disruption
in the earth’s crust
there is no disturbance
in the air
the planets
do not misalign
the moment of not-spring
is [...]

NaPoWriMo #27

This is my twenty-seventh post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one acrostic
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Carolee Sherwood ’s day 27 prompt at read write poem to write an acrostic
____________________________________

 
Evolution

Even in chaos nature finds balance.
Violent floods beget fertile fields.
One thing ends, another begins.
Life is a cycle of birth and death.
Untamed wildfire creates forest [...]

NaPoWriMo #26 - Power / Alternatives

This is my twenty-sixth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Jill Crammond Wickham’s day 26 prompt at read write poem
____________________________________

 
Power

let us speak of power
the writer’s words
the artist’s eye
the craftsman’s hands
the singer’s voice
the player’s soul
the actor’s courage
all who rise up in creativity
to share their gift
who elevate our humanness
shun [...]

NaPoWriMo #25

This is my twenty-fifth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Joseph Harker’s day 25 prompt at read write poem
____________________________________
 
Hotaslava

I will not forget you
memory still burns
tearful recollection of the first time
my eyes beheld your luscious curves
skin smooth as satin
golden as you lay before me
seductive in the summer sun
you [...]

NaPoWriMo #24 - In Vain / Daddy’s Girl

This is my twenty-fourth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• This poem that follows is inspired by Marie Gauthier’s NaPoWriMo day 23 prompt at readwritepoem to find and use a colloquial phrase — and by the current frustration I am feeling trying to deliver on my promise of at [...]

NaPoWriMo #23 - Skyward Suite / Midnight Gliding

This is my twenty-third post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one three-poem suite
• one tanka

____________________________________
• the first poem is inspired by Sage Cohen’s day 23 prompt at read write poem
____________________________________

Spread Offense

…making PB&J, as a wrestling match…

it appears everything is ready
for a great competition today
this has been the moment
we’ve anticipated
since the [...]

NaPoWriMo #22 - The Gaia Suite

This is my Twenty-second post for National Poetry Month 2010
• an Earth Day message
• two tankas
• one prayer

____________________________________
• • Happy Earth Day • •
____________________________________

• Go and visit the Earth Day Action Center 2010, and please — be aware!

An Earth Day message:
These are some thoughts I would like to share on this Earth Day 2010. [...]

NaPoWriMo #21

This is my twenty-first post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one short prose
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Kristen McHenry’s prompt at read write poem
____________________________________

As I age, my imperfections begin to manifest themselves more and more. I once was young, and handsome, and strong – but that all is waning, and [...]

NaPoWriMo #20 - Heroes

This is my twentieth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• two free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Jessica GC’s prompt at read write poem
____________________________________

 
Reality At 30,000

(a hero returns)

distant
slurred
reverberant
like a voice in a canyon
I hear her calling in my mind
my name
rolling sweet as nectar
from lips soft as orchid petals
full as a bursting peach
glistening deep coral
as [...]

NaPoWriMo #19 - Ah Hah!

This is my nineteenth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one limerick
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Rallentanda’s day 19 prompt at read write poem
____________________________________

 
Surplus

it struck me the moment I met you
I just didn’t want to upset you
didn’t know how you’d act
if I acknowledged the fact
but now that you’ve asked guess I’ll have to
I know that [...]

NaPoWriMo #18 - Human Arrogance

This is my eighteenth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
• inspired by Irene’s day 18 read write poem prompt / and #49 at carry on tuesday
____________________________________

…a thing of beauty is a joy forever, a captive wild soul — is a tragedy…

 
Pacing

from rippled sinew black as midnight
bores a stare of [...]

NaPoWriMo #17 - Memories

This is my seventeenth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• two free verse poems
• one tanka

____________________________________
…this piece that follows was inspired by the April 15th prompt at Magpie Tales…
____________________________________

 
Engraved

he places it in my trembling hand
as he lays dying
it marked sacred
all the precious moments
of our life together
be they great
be they small
all are in here
the moment he [...]

NaPoWriMo #16 - Breathe Deep / On The Bar-B

This is my sixteenth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

____________________________________
…this piece was inspired by Julie Jordan Scott’s day 16 prompt at read write poem…
____________________________________
…the three photos that follow here are of my yard — the poems are just below them…

 
Breathe Deep

I sit
writing at my desk
a cool afternoon breeze
wafts through [...]