Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick, Cumbria, UK
This tanka sequence was recently published in Ribbons (Journal of the Tanka Society of America), Fall/Winter 2016, Volume 12, Number 3:
Into the Wind
the sparrow hawk
swoops down in silence …
shiver of surprise
seeing death come
so quickly
from a distance
the boulders look small
. . . there were times
when you seemed
almost harmless
mountain colors
shift as rapidly
as the wild weather
deep shadows
of unexpected fear
on a barren plain
the stones are silent
… why did I surrender
when faced
with rage?
a lone pillar
stands so tall
. . . facing into the wind
I finally learn
about resistance
out of nowhere
two young kestrels
soar above . . .
my voice
can now be heard
Mary Kendall, (c) 2016
Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick in Cumbria, UK
A Poet in Time 
What a nice surprise to see your name in my inbox. I also have another blog, Kamakura Mirror Micropoetry at sterbapoet.com. Recently, at a haiku conference in Washington state, we had a Canadian professor, Sonja Arntzen, and expert on tanka. She has translated several Heian classic diaries with waka/tanka. One is a favorite of mine, The Sarashina Diary.
LikeLike
Hello Carmen, how nice of you to leave a comment on my blog. I just looked up The Sarashina Diary, and it really does sound most interesting. I am not a scholar, but a diary like this can take anyone back in time and imagine what life was like for a woman in the eleventh century. I’ll look at your other blog very soon. Please do visit my blog again. 🙂
LikeLike
Amazing writing, Mary. The second verse made me gasp.
marion
LikeLike
Thank you, Marion. I’m touched by your kind words. 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
stunning work Mary!
LikeLike
My warmest thanks, Rachel. ❤
LikeLike