Catching up!

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Over the past few months, a lot of my work has been published, but I’ve been negligent in getting them posted. Breaking from my usual tradition of a separate post for each journal, I’m going to post all of them here in a single posting. Separate poems and journals are both divided by  ***.

 

 

Redlights, Volume 15, No. 2, June 2019

.

a day will come

when we are the faces

in old picture albums

and no one left

to give us names

***

 

babcia’s borscht recipe

in faded black ink—

can you smell the beets

bubble and hear her

hum along

 

 

Ribbons Spring/Summer 2019: Volume 15, No. 2

.

 

PET scan . . .

all the dogs & cats

I ever knew & loved

romp in the tunnel

where I lie in stillness

***

 

Ribbons Spring/Summer 2019: Volume 15, No. 2

Tanka Café:  Theme: What Matters [to You]

 

they say time

moves faster as we age

yet here I am

stealing an hour

to listen to the birds

 ***

 

cattails: The Official Journal of the United Haiku and Tanka Society, April 2019 Issue

.

 

late winter

the garden’s breath

shifts once more

 

*** 

 

one crow

and a clutch of chickadees

at the birdfeeder —

that simple need

to fit in someplace

       

 

***

 

 

Frogpond 42.2 * 2019

.

graveside—

white blossoms

lighten the darkness

 

 

*** 

 

 

Blithe Spirit 29.2, 2019

.

 

evening meditation

fireflies flit here

& there

                           & there

 

***

.

sacred sites

finding myself praying

in another language

.

***

.

the soft rustle

of quivering aspen leaves

over and over

I replay the words

I might have said

.

***

.

a feeling of you

standing behind me …

when I turn around,

only shadow

only silence

.

 

*** 

 

 

.

Moonbathing 20 Spring/Summer 2019

.

 

sea glass

    a distant story

        told in waves

            I long

                to read

 

.

*** 

.

The Heron’s Nest, Volume XXI, Number 2: June 2019

.

 

a single brass button—

I try to remember

his voice

*** 

.

Eucalypt  Issue 26,  2019

.

 

without warning

a leaf rises in the wind

then tumbles—

our need for forgiveness

so unexpected, too

.

(Eucalypt, The Distinctive Scribblings Awards)

http://eucalypt.info/E-awards.html?fbclid=IwAR2TIZkoI7env3GUJGjZftPzY1FSJbEBKzn5UTsZ7nmXxncO_NpCwyEzE_A

 

 

*** 

.

Gusts, Contemporary Tanka  No. 29, Spring/Summer 2019

 

.

 

faint notes

of a harpsichord

playing Bach –

why is it you always wait

for one wrong note

 

 ***

 

you pour a second cup

of pale moon tea

in a teashop in Prague

. . . I wonder what story

the leaves might tell

 

 

***

 

walking alone

past the tide’s own

push and pull –

I turn to see my footprints

wash away

 

 

*** 

 

 

Kokako 30, 2019

 

.

 

abbey ruins

voices of evensong

     nowhere                 everywhere

 

***

 

 

old burying ground

so many grave markers

buried too

 

***

 

 

in the coffee shop

a glimpse of someone

who looks just like you—

I quickly check my face

in a mirror

 

***

 

 

dark storm clouds

dissolve in sunlight

and shift again—

your changing moods

just as quick

***

 

 

20 thoughts on “Catching up!”

  3. I hope this goes through. My third attempt. Word Press keeps asking for a new password and I’m about at my wits end.
    However, your poetry is worth trying to comment on again and again. The beauty and the depth of it. It makes me feel very connected, Mary.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Mary Jo, what a beautiful thing to say. It’s a wonderful feeling to know my work connects with a reader. You’ve left many kind comments in the past, and they are always dearly appreciated. ❤

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  4. Your haiku poetry and tanka’s are awesome and so thought-provoking, touching simple yet profound trying to learn how to do haikus when I was in honors English in high school and I have a bunch of them that I’ve done over the years turn after reading your collections that you recently printed, you inspired me to want to print some of my most favorite ones.

    There’s a big congratulations to all of your publishing send the recent books that you were in as well. If you have any pointers on how I could submit some of my work to any of the Publications that you’ve the publishing, I would love to hear what you have to say. Once again congratulations and I look forward to reading more on your blog and of your inspirational words.

    Paulette Le Pore Motzko

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • You might want to explore a website such as this: http://www.graceguts.com It is edited by Michael Dylan Welch, who is a very important person in both the haiku and tanka world. The best thing really is to read and read and read and then write, write, write. You will learn to self-edit and build the skills you wish. If there is a local haiku group near you, join it and get involved. 🙂

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  6. Beautiful work, Mary. I’d written before but had a problem with the site. There is so much to praise here, to steep oneself in. I’ll need to come back many more times. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I wish I had read this post before the other I commented on! My comments very much came to my reading all these fine poems. I will read them again and pause more with each one.

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