Published in Wild Plum, a Haiku Journal
3:2 Fall & Winter 2017
Author Archives: Mary Kendall
Luna moth . . . (haiku)
Luna moth
this brief life
soon eclipsed
~Mary Kendall~
Published in Presence Issue 58, July 2017
Luna Moth, photographer unknown
Faded numbers… (haiku)
faded numbers
tattooed on your arm
I slip back in silence
.
~Mary Kendall~
Published in Presence 58 July 2017
.
.
Back story on this tanka. In 1972 I visited friends in Israel. As a tourist, I was eager to see the historical sites, one of which was Masada, site of a group suicide where a Jewish community was surrounded by Roman soldiers. The Jews chose suicide rather than be taken as captives. As I stood high up on the hilly site with other visitors, it was very, very quiet. It was after all a sacred place. An older man stood next to me, and I happened to glance at him also looking out at where the soldiers would have been waiting, hoping to starve out the isolated Jewish community. I noticed on his arm, faded numbers–numbers, of course, indicating he’d been captive in a Concentration Camp. The poignancy of him being there has stayed with me for over forty years. Never again, please Lord, shall we do such things to our fellow men.
Both pictures are from travel sites to and in Israel. Masada is located in the Judean desert, very close to the Dead Sea. Visiting these sites is like stepping back two thousand years. I am so grateful for having had this opportunity to visit.
A sudden glint … (tanka)
staring skyward
at the meteor shower
I brush away two fireflies–
a sudden glint
of new found love
~ Mary Kendall
Presence, Issue 58, July 2017
My thanks to the editors of Presence for publishing this tanka.
A pile of ripe plums…(a tanka)
Photograph of plums by Renee Johnson
The soft blue stars of Agapanthus…(a tanka)
On the day I die…(a tanka)
This tanka was published in the Tanka Café in Ribbons Spring/Summer 2017: Volume 13, Number 2. The Tanka Café theme was nature.
A soft rain…(a tanka)
Ribbons Spring/Summer 2017: Volume 13, Number 2
a soft rain falls
as you work in the garden …
what I’d give to read
the chapters of your life
you never share
In Memoriam: Maya Lyubenova
Last year I posted a request in a Face Book haiku/tanka writing group asking if anyone had a photo of Lily of the Valley that they were willing to share and allow me to use for a piece of tankart I was working on. A very quick response from the poet/photographer Maya Lyubenova gave me the perfect picture. I never really knew Maya. We’d never met, and we chatted only a few times on FaceBook in poetry groups and on Face Book Messenger. I was certainly a real fan of hers. Bulgarian by birth, Maya could compose gorgeous haiku in English. She could also pair her poems with her equally exquisite photographs to create haiga — visual poetry of the highest quality. I was touched by her generosity in allowing me to use the photo she had sent.
Only recently did I learn that Maya Lyubenova had passed away on December 30, 2016. Like so many, I mourn her loss as a person and as a poet and artist. I wish I had known her better, but I cannot change that. Her work still remains for us to look at, to study, to learn from and to be dazzled by … that will not end.
I’d like to dedicate my piece of tankart to Maya Lyubenova — our single connected piece of art. Thank you, Maya, for bringing so much beauty into this world. May you rest in peace.
Maya Lyubenova’s website:
http://mayalyubenova.wixsite.com/maya-lyubenova
The link to her amazing haiga:
http://mayalyubenova.wixsite.com/maya-lyubenova/haiga
Oil slick rainbow (a haiga)
Published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 22, July 2017
Cloud watching (a haiga)
Published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 22, July 2017
Ice-fishing (a haiga)
Published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 22, July 2017
Proprioception…(three senryu)
Prune Juice : Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun & Haiga Issue 22: July, 2017
Three of my senryu were published in the newest issue of Prune Juice. It is always an honor to be included in this excellent publication and among such fine poets. My thanks to editor and poet, Steve Hodge for including my work.
beginner’s yoga class . . .
our first sun salutation
eclipsed by the teacher
OCD
taming laugh lines
on my selfie
proprioception lost in his own world
Trying hard to hold on … (two tanka)
Red Lights, Volume 13, No. 2, June 2017
peeling an orange
in one long strand –
trying hard to hold on
to all I remember
of those now gone
a wooden pew
empty and waiting . . .
colored light
from stained glass
cupped in my hands
My thanks to editor and poet, Marilyn Hazelton, who published these tanka in the most excellent Red Lights.
Winter garden (a haiku)
This haiku is my first poem in the journal, Modern Haiku.
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winter garden–
a lone crab apple
holds fast
Modern Haiku
Volume 48:1
Winter-Spring 2017
Just past sunrise . . . 4 small poems
Two of my haiku and two tanka were published in Blithe Spirit, Journal of the British Haiku Society, Volume 27, No. 2, 2017:
autumn morning—
sweeping away all
that drifts inside
washed up
in the sudden flood –
a baby’s shoe
just past sunrise
a single scull
glides down the river. . .
a flash of what it was
to be young
the tight cord slaps
against the flagpole
all night long
I dream of a father
who used few words
My thanks to Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy, the editor of Blithe Spirit, for selecting these four poems for publication.
A respite … (tanka)
Note: This is the very first time one of my tanka have appeared in the Australian tanka journal, Eucalypt. My thanks to the new editor, poet Julie Thorndike.
Dark pebbles… (a tanka)
Note: Published by poet and artist, Pamela L. Babusci, Moonbathing is a journal of women’s tanka.
Willow branches (collaborative tankart)
This piece of tankart appeared in Frameless Sky 6 as part of an ongoing competitive challenge. In the last issue, a photograph I submitted was selected by a poet to go with her poem. Since my photo was selected, I was then asked, in turn, to contribute a tanka or haiku for the next issue. I wrote this tanka as a prompt. There were some wonderful pictures submitted, and it was very hard to select just one. In the end, I kept returning to this lovely ink drawing of a willow.. Terri Hale French, a distinguished and accomplished haiku poet was the artist. Our combined effort appeared in the latest issue of Frameless Sky. It’s a real honor to have this collaborative piece of tanka art published. Many thanks to Christine L. Villa, poet and editor of Frameless Sky.
Published in Frameless Sky 6, Summer 2017
Some colorful and ‘edible’ haiku
An online haiku journal I love is brass bell: a haiku journal. It is curated by Zee Zehava, herself an excellent haiku poet and teacher. This journal sends out a “theme” for the month’s submissions, and the results are always a delight to read. Recently I had several haiku appear under two different themes.
brass bell: a haiku journal, May 2017
Theme: Colorful Haiku
children now gone
no red wagon
to break the fog
flashes of azure wings
two bluebirds wake
the grey morning
brass bell: a haiku journal, April 2017
Theme: Edible Haiku
tasting a word
as I say it aloud —
gnocchi
the soft velvet
of apricots
against our lips
pierogi day —
pinching loose ends
of dough & memories
~ ~ ~
My thanks to Zee Zehava, curator of brass bell: a haiku journal. To read a full issue of this journal, please go to: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
Jasmine tea . . . (a tanka)
Skylark Summer 2017, Volume 5, Issue 1
from slabs
of common clay
delicate cups
that hold the scent
of jasmine tea
Mary Kendall (c) 2017
Tundra swans . . . (a tanka)
A new tanka just published in Skylark, Summer 2017, Volume 5, Issue 1
whistling wings
of Tundra swans
over the marshes
. . . what is this power
you hold over me
(c) 2017 Mary Kendall
Tundra Swans by Gerald Plowman
Between the Lines (a responsive tanka sequence)
This is the second responsive tanka sequence I’ve written and published with poet David Terelinck. A big thank you to editor Claire Everett for publishing this sequence in her beautiful journal, Skylark.
My thanks to David Terelinck for writing with me and guiding me all the way. You are the best mentor any poet could have.
Skylark Summer 2017, Volume 5, Issue 1
A responsive tanka sequence with Mary Kendall (USA) and David Terelinck (AUS)
Between the Lines
the conversation
turned so quickly
that morning in Paris . . .
your disapproval palpable
as you walked away
despite phrasebooks,
maps and interpreters
how often
we still lose our way
to understanding . . .
you sketch
a stranger’s likeness
with such ease –
how I hoped you could learn
to read between the lines
days spent
rehearsing a response –
why do those
who direct my life
now want to write the script
your practised words
sound right, but feel so wrong . . .
sifting through
shattered pots and ashes
left in an empty kiln
dementia steals
my name from her lips –
visiting hours,
relatives complete
the latest jigsaw
piecing together
from rumour and gossip
her final days –
I snake through minutiae
to make some sense
they contest
the unsigned will
. . . promises
we make to each other
but don’t intend to keep
© 2016 Mary Kendall & David Terelinck
Note: to my friends unfamiliar with responsive writing, David’s contributions are all in bold face type while mine are in ‘normal’ type.
Fire inhales . . . (tanka art)
It is a true joy to have a piece of tanka art accepted in Skylark. Sandi Pray is the new tanka art editor, and as all fans of contemporary haiga and tanka art know, Sandi is one of the most gifted creators of haiga and tanka art herself. Here is my contribution:
Skylark Summer 2017, Volume 5, Issue 1
This tanka art selection is dedicated to Joy McCall, a poet who inspires us all.
~
Whispers and unmarked graves
These three senryu and the single kyoka were published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun and Haiga, Issue 21, March 2017. It is always such a joy to have a poem selected to appear in this important journal of senryu. While senryu are frequently amusing and clever, they can also be dark or serious.
1.
slave burial ground
. . . only whispers
and unmarked graves
2.
evening news –
the tragedies of life
our common thread
3.
winter thaw –
finding a way back
from heated words
4.
morning doves
cooing their way
through the garden…
I, too, never saw
the neighbor’s cat
A haiga for poets
Do you like word play as much as I do? I’m a hopeless ‘punner,” and this senryu/haiga allowed me to have a little fun. I hope you like it, too.
This haiga was published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun and Haiga, Issue 21, March 2017.
Indecision… (two senryu)
I was very lucky to have two senryu published in Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu, Issue 16, April 2017
1.
traffic jam reversing my indecision
2.
sleeplessness…
balancing dreams
and more dreams
My thanks to editor, Mike Rehling. Failed Haiku can be downloaded as a pdf file. This issue contains so many wonderful poets and senryu. Please go and explore it:
Click to access FailedHaikuIssue16.pdf
Watching my hair dance . . . (haiga)
Using a photo I took and two different art programs on my iPad, a new picture appeared that was perfect for this senryu.
This haiga was published in:
Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu, Issue 16, April 2017
The first line of ‘us’
Gusts, Contemporary Tanka, one of my favorite print journals, arrived here in London this week. Edited by Kozue Uzawa, the journal is a publication of Tanka Canada. The tanka are placed on the page under a category heading such as “life,” “scent,” “moon,” or “relationships.” Many of my favorite tanka poets appear in this journal, and of course it’s always great to discover new poets or poets whose work I don’t know. The overall quality and standard is very high, and this makes for excellent reading and rereading. I’m pleased to say that three of my tanka appear in Gusts, no. 25, Contemporary Tanka, Spring/Summer 2017. I hope you enjoy reading them.
watching clouds
begin to drift
from your soft sable brushes –
you make the sky bluer
than blue, not grey
the shivery silk
of your words
slips around me –
the first line of us
now written
all that time waiting
to hear from you
I ascend the stairway
of a deserted station,
pale Freesias in hand
These three tanka were written by Mary Kendall, (c) 2017,
Gusts, no. 25, Contemporary Tanka, Spring/Summer 2017
Your glazing brush … (a tanka)
Ribbons, Winter 2017: Volume 13, Number 1
Journal of the Tanka Society of America
Edited by David Rice
Queen Anne’s lace …
I am always thrilled to have a haiku chosen for The Heron’s Nest. This is the first time a haiku of mine has been selected as an editors’ choice.
Queen Anne’s lace –
a childhood spent
in second-hand clothes
Haiku by Mary Kendall, published in The Heron’s Nest, Volume XIX, Number 1: March 2017
Here is a link so you can read the whole issue of The Heron’s Nest: http://www.theheronsnest.com/index.html
Scent of mock orange…
In the March issue of the haiku journal, Brass Bell, the theme was haiku by/about women. The offerings in the journal make for excellent reading. Please do go and enjoy the issue, edited by poet/editor, Zee Zahava, who always produces something worth enjoying.
scent of mock orange—
all the years spent
doubting myself
haiku by Mary Kendall (c) 2017 in Brass Bell, March 2017 Poems by Women
To read the full issue of Brass Bell, please go to: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com or
http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.co.uk
Unforgettable…
I’ve had two haiku and one haiga included in the newest edition of Wild Plum, a haiku journal, 3:1 Spring & Summer 2017.
unforgettable—
the taste of zinfandel
on your lips
forgiveness
the new year’s moon
lights the way
March brings lots of wonderful poetry journals. Another favorite of mine is
Wild Plum, a haiku journal, 3:1 Spring & Summer 2017. The journal is edited by Gabriel Sawicki. This journal is based in Poland, and it has a very international group of readers and contributors. The haiga editor is Maria Tomczak. I hope you will go to their journal directly and read it in full. It’s a very beautiful journal (lovely cover art by Azi Kuder. I’ve added a link at the bottom of this posting.
Here’s a link to the complete version of this lovely haiku journal:
Wild voices . . . an anthology by women poets and artists
It is very exciting to be part of a collection of poems and art by so many women I admire. Thanks to editor (and poet), Caroline Skanne, I have a haiku and three tanka included. The title and theme of “wild voices” was given to us to interpret in any way we chose. I urge those of you who love poetry to purchase a copy of this anthology for yourself and/or for a gift.
Wild Voices, An Anthology of Short Poetry & Art by Women
edited by Caroline Skanne, February 2017
***book available:https://wildflowerpoetrypress.wordpress.com/current-titles/
This title is also available on amazon.com or amazon.co.uk
Here are my poems that appear in this lovely anthology:
the softness
of a raspberry
on my tongue…
I remember our long
first kiss
wild honeysuckle
heady and sweet—
your hold
on me
just as strong
a softness of spring
flecked with apple blossoms ~
the morning you died
darkness swept in
lost and wild
foxglove—
danger hidden
in such beauty
Foxglove, also known as Digitalis purpurea
Meadow frost…
Fragrance of old books… (tanka)
Click on the link below if you care to hear me read this tanka:
My thanks to editor, Marilyn Hazelton, for publishing this tanka in Red Lights, one of the best tanka journals around.
Orion stands watch… (tanka)
If you choose to hear this tanka read aloud, simply click on this link:
I am so pleased to be published for the first time in Red Lights. Edited by Marilyn Hazelton, Red Lights is one of the quality tanka journals.
Walking Away
Where do poems come from? Anyone who writes poetry asks that question and has that question asked of them by others who wonder how a poem comes to be. There are many articles and books on the subject, but still there is no single answer. Every poet writes differently and often in a lifetime writing patterns and habits might change, too.
To show you how oddly this can happen, I’ve decided to post a poem that appeared in my chapbook, Erasing the Doubt (published 2015 by Finishing Line Press). “Walking Away” is a poem that has its own style, its own cadence and its own meaning. If I were to read this somewhere, I think I’d say it feels very much like an old fashioned poem, as if it echoes a voice from long ago. How did that happen? There is an unusual story behind this poem and how it came to be. It came to me as a whole poem when I was up late writing and suddenly became very, very tired. It appeared almost dreamlike to me. I typed it up quickly, read it once and went to bed. When I read it the next day, it didn’t feel or sound like me, but obviously I had written it. Strange indeed. This experience happened only once in my life.Was another poet speaking through me? Or was this merely a side freed from regular consciousness because of fatigue?
I’d love to hear your comments on this poem and what it means to you when you read it. Feel free to leave a message
I’ve recorded this poem if you care to listen as well as read. Just click on this link:
Walking Away
When you go, where do you wander?
When you leave me, do you look back?
I sit here, book in hand, not reading.
The wind blows fiercely through now.
They asked how long you had been silent,
And I answered with a lie, which
Was not the truth but might have been.
The wind blows silently through now.
Did you hear me whispering to you?
Did you hear what I had to say? Or did
I turn away and only mouth the words?
The wind blows piercingly through now.
Where do you go when you wander?
Tell me what you see. When you look
At me, I feel you walking away.
Lamenting the darkness, the wind blows softly now.
“Walking Away” was published in Erasing the Doubt by Mary Kendall (c) 2015, Finishing Line Press.
Memory’s Cup
If you would like to hear me read this poem, please click on the audio link below. It will take a few seconds to load.
Four Winter Haiku by Mary Kendall
How lovely to find out that Miriam Sagan has posted my Four Winter Haiku on Miriam’s Well.
night snow
boughs dreaming
of first blossoms
fog filled woods~
even the winter moon
has lost its way
a winter walk
footprints
tell no tales
the blue moon
silently closes the door
upon the year
***
First published Poets Online
© 2009 Mary Kendall
Later used as lyrics in “Winter Moon” by Paul Carey, a piece for women’s chorus in 2011.
(Posted on her blog, A Poet in Time, 2015, http://www.apoetintime.com)
A flash of gold…(tanka)
It is always an honor to have a poem appear in Moonbathing, A Journal of Women’s Tanka.
Issue 15
Fall/Winter 2016
Edited by Pamela A. Babusci
Searching for a tiny heart beat… (tankart)
Published in CATTAILS, September 2016
A flurry of poems…
The fall issue of cattails is out at last. Due to a big switch around of editors, the September issue was delayed and is now published in December. What a big issue it is, full of so many poems to read. Many of my favorite poets are in this issue and there are some who are new to me still to be discovered.
.
.
I have two haiku included in this issue:
.
.
first blossoms –
I tell myself this year
will be different.
.
daybreak …
the birds wake us
song by song.
.
and a few senryu:
.
.
long yawns …
breathing in
his boredom.
.
zafu zabuton zazen zzzzz
.
.
plus one tanka:
.
.
long ago I heard
the sound of wuthering wind
blowing through the night –
a bleakness so forlorn,
a loneliness bereft of words.
.
My thanks to all the editors of cattails for their hard work. I cannot begin to imagine the number of hours it takes to put together something this substantial.
Crossing the road…(a tanka)
Tanka by Mary Kendall
(c) 2016 Ripples in the Sand (TSA)
Into the Wind (a tanka sequence)
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 new silk scarf … (tanka art)
Published in Gnarled Oak, Issue 10: Dark Water, November 2016:
My deepest thanks goes to Mike Keville, poet, photographer and friend, who so willingly allowed me to use this photograph for this piece. His pictures are often so revealing, allowing viewers to see something we might otherwise miss.
Copyright (c) Mary Kendall and Mike Keville
My thanks also go to James Brush, editor of this lovely journal. I hope you will take some time and visit Gnarled Oak: http://gnarledoak.org/issue-10/a-new-silk-scarf/
A selection of haiku…
A lovely surprise today when I found out that eight haiku I wrote were published in the online journal, Under the Bashō 2016, in the Modern Haiku category. I was also fortunate enough to have two one-line haiku also published in the One Line category, plus one in the Poets’ Personal Best category.
My thanks to editors Kala Ramesh, Johannes S.H. Berg and editor-in-chief, Don Baird.
The links to the journal:
Modern Haiku category: http://underthebasho.com/2016-issue/modern-haiku/1798-kendall,-mary.html
One Line haiku category: http://underthebasho.com/2016-issue/one-line-haiku/1759-kendall,-mary.html
Poets’ Personal Best category: http://underthebasho.com/2016-issue/one-line-haiku/1759-kendall,-mary.html
The poems:
Modern Haiku category:
hospice –
rubbing lotion
into her still hands
bitten nails . . .
holding the pain
in her hands
worry beads –
one by one I parse
your silence
nightshade –
the smoothness
of an aubergine
lonely night –
even the moon
looks around
darkening forest –
a wood thrush
begins to sing
chance of a lifetime –
my finger in front
of the lens
unable to swallow
childhood memories
rise up
One Line haiku category:
lone tricycle blue in the whirlwind of leaves
burnt butter that morning in Provence
Poets’ Personal Best:
hospice . . .
a glimpse of moonlight
on the bed
The Heron’s Nest – June, 2016 (originally published)
When the Light Departs (a responsive tanka sequence)
Earlier this year, Australian poet and friend, David Terelinck, invited me to create a responsive tanka sequence with him. David is a poet I greatly admire, so it was a real honor to write with him. It was the first time I’d attempted anything like this, but under David’s very gentle and skilled tutelage, our sequence grew and grew. In creating this piece with David, I learned as much about trust as I did about the nuances of writing tanka.
When we finished our sequence, David asked, “Now where shall we send this sequence for publication?” I was dead silent, being a bit in shock that he felt this piece should be published. At his suggestion, we submitted it to Skylark, a Tanka Journal edited by Claire Everett. Claire is one of the world’s finest tanka poets and editors. She herself has written responsively with David, and he has provided the forward for her last book. Two of my favorite poets alive discussing publication and minor edits. What a wonderful thing to happen.
This month, Skylark, a Tanka Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, Winter 2016 was published.Here is our tanka sequence, When the Light Departs. My thanks to you, David Terelinck, for being my teacher, mentor and friend.
~
[Note: David’s verses are in regular font and mine are in italics.]
Responsive tanka sequence between David Terelinck (AUS) & Mary Kendall (USA)
When the Light Departs
this alloy
of clouds & winter light –
it’s not what you said
but how you looked
as you said it . . .
still unable
to explain why the world
seems darker now . . .
all the frozen buds
on the camellia bush
days and days
of endless rain that swells
the window sills –
only two weeks left
in her first trimester
a sudden
knowing of what
may never be . . .
the silence of snowdrops
pooling on the lawn
not the way
she expected to wear
all white . . .
the greying of her thoughts
following sedation
winter storm,
a young dove lost
in a sea of mist
. . . my empty arms
grow heavy
she spends the morning
filling freshly turned beds
with crocus bulbs –
what else can a woman
of a certain age do?
when the light
departs, I put down
my paintbrush . . .
this world of colour
between earth and sky
© 2016 David Terelinck & Mary Kendall
Published in Skylark, a Tanka Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, Winter 2016
Note: both photographs are from the public domain
A different kind of love poem … (a tanka)
It has always surprised me that the few love poems I’ve posted on my blog have the most “hits.” Word Press very kindly shows statistics of which postings are most frequently read and invariably the love poems are always at the top. This makes me smile since mine are not traditional love poems but simply poems for my dear husband who has been the most important person in my adult life.
In Skylark, a Tanka Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, Winter 2016, Edited by Claire Everett:
My thanks to Claire Everett for including this tanka in Skylark. It is always a great honor to be part of this brilliant journal.
Bare branches . . . (a haiga)
When it rains, it pours, or so the saying goes. This month I feel so fortunate to have so many things included in two of my favorite senryu journals, Failed Haiku and Prune Juice.
This haiga was published in Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 11, November 2016. My thanks to Michael Rehling, editor of this fine journal.
I took this photo in Regent’s Park, London, England, in 2015.
On my pillow… (a haiga)
It’s an honor to have this haiga published in Prune Juice: A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun and Haiga, Issue 20, November 16. My thanks to editor, Steve Hodge.
This photo was taken by me in a small cafe in Edinborough, Scotland in March, 2013.
Some New Senryu
November has been a month of riches–I’ve had senryu published in both Prune Juice and Failed Haiku.
Four senryu published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun and Haiga, Issue 20, November 2016:
Three senryu published in Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 11, November 2016:
An Honorable Mention . . . (senryu)
~ This poem/haiga is dedicated to all who have struggled with cancer. ~
~ ~
A wonderful surprise email told me that a haiga of mine had been selected as an “Honorable Mention, Mixed Media** Category” in the Jane Reichhold Haiga Contest sponsored by two wonderful senryu journals:
Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu Volume 1, Issue 11, edited by Michael Rehling
Prune Juice – A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun and Haiga, Issue 20, November 2016, edited by Steve Hodge
The Judges of the contest were: Kris Kondo, Ron C. Moss, Michele Root-Bernstein
Michele wrote the commentary on my haiga:
“With the sparest of words and imagery, this haiga lays bare the essence of life in the face of death. If the poem skirts the uncertain boundary between haiku and senryu, just as certainly the picture skirts the shadowlands of mortality, its single image illuminating the darkness with a pulsating light. So well integrated are text and image that the associative leap between the two has the power of metaphor: the shaved skull is the incubating egg, never mind the incongruity. Avoiding the maudlin and the sentimental, this haiga speaks simply, honestly, of the beauty to be found in the ordinary, ordinarily hidden from view.”
This competition was in honor of the late Jane Reichhold who was such a brilliant poet, teacher, editor and mentor to so many who write haiku, senryu, tanka and other small form poems. I never had the honor of meeting her, but her main book on haiku has been a bible for me and so many others.
**Mixed Media, which can be any combination of traditional and photographic, or computer generated images and text.
moon flowers . . . (a haiku)
Published in Brass Bell, November 2016:
Photo art by Mary Kendall
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moon flowers –
my son shows me
how they unfurl
Tanka by Mary Kendall
What a delight to have two tanka appear on Miriam’s Well today. What an honor. Thank you, Miriam Sagan.
who am I
to judge you
without knowing
why you built
your fence?
***
words grow muted
and hearing diminished –
I begin to tiptoe
along the lonely curve
of inner silence
This tanka first appeared in Ekphrastic, a Journal of Writing and Art about Art and Writing, 9/2/16
Mask Maker
Who are we really? We can present ourself to the world in many ways, and we do. It’s been quite a while since I posted a longer poem on my blog, so today I offer you a poem called “Mask Maker.” It was written to an ekphrastic prompt on Rattle a few months back, but it was not selected. The two winning poems were brilliant and should have been chosen.
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What’s great about writing to a good prompt is how an image can pull all sorts of ideas from us. The prompt was a picture of several sets of hands modeling in clay. I toyed with the idea for quite some time and discarded two other poems until I settled on the one that grew into this poem.
Mask Maker
Do you like this mask, the one I made
so carefully, molding it to the contours
of my face so it looks just like me?
I wear it day after day, occasionally
slipping it off and refashioning it a bit.
It changes as I change.
I was four when I made the first mask—
out of mud from the bare earth in the yard.
It blocked my fear, and hid my thoughts.
I was invisible to the world, hidden behind
this new cover. No one noticed when I wore it,
so I kept it on, and it protected me.
Once it nearly shattered during that long fall
down the stairs that he never spoke about.
Dazed, I woke up and checked the mask.
It was the one thing that hadn’t been hurt.
After that I knew I needed it to keep me safe,
to keep me quiet, to keep me out of the way.
When I closed my eyes, I could imagine it was
no longer a mask but just me, unseen by him.
It made me look like a normal girl, a good girl.
After many years and many masks, I became
quite good at molding a mask so flawlessly thin,
so delicate, transparent as a butterfly wing.
It was easy to slip on, and no one could tell
what was real and what was not, even up close.
It worked, and that’s all I ever wanted.
There is a small secret I learned from making
masks and wearing them day and night:
You must believe it’s you and not a mask.
It is you, but a different you, a you that won’t
cry out or tell secrets or even cringe too much
when unexpected blows come (and they do).
Close your eyes now. Imagine yourself this
way—in control and protected from the world,
safe from everything you fear, hidden far away
behind this lovely mask where you can watch
what’s going on, where you can be vigilant,
and where you are the real you only you can see.
Picking ripe figs . . . (a haiku)
~
Picking up a feather . . . (a tanka)
~
Chopin’s études . . . (a tanka)
This is my third tanka in the fall/winter 2016 issue of GUSTS, the journal of Tanka Canada and edited by Kozue Ozawa.
Tanka by Mary Kendall
Published in GUSTS, NO. 24, Contemporary Tanka, Fall/Winter 2016 (Tanka Canada)
We stroll along … (a tanka)
Smiles from strangers … (a tanka)
It’s an honor to have three tanka in the fall/winter 2016 issue of GUSTS, the journal of Tanka Canada and edited by Kozue Ozawa. Here is the first one:
smiles from strangers
amidst the ragged flow
of city streets —
stitching small holes
in the human heart
Tanka by Mary Kendall
Published in GUSTS, NO. 24, Contemporary Tanka, Fall/Winter 2016 (Tanka Canada)
Words grow muted . . . (a tanka)
words grow muted
and hearing diminished –
I begin to tiptoe
along the lonely curve
of inner silence
Title Unspecified, by Jean “Hans” Arp (French, b. German), 1950s
This tanka was published in The Ekphrastic Review: writing and art on art and writing on September 13, 2016. The journal is edited by Lorette C. Luzajic as part of the Ekphrastic 20 Challenge.
To visit the site, please click on this link: http://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/a-tanka-by-mary-kendall
Crescent moon… (a haiku)
Another haiku published in Wild Plum, a haiku journal, 2:2 Fall & Winter 2016:
First hard frost… (a haiku)
A new haiku published in Wild Plum, a haiku journal, 2:2 Fall & Winter 2016:
Grief (a haiga)
This haiga was published in Wild Plum, a haiku journal, 2:2 Fall & Winter 2016.
My warmest thanks to the editors, Gabriel Sawicki and Maria Tomczak.
Arrowheads rise…
It is always an honor to have a tanka published in , the Journal of the Tanka Society of America. My thanks to editor David Rice for selecting this poem.
arrowheads
rise to the surface
in a newly plowed field …
old memories
can be unexpected, too
Published:
Ribbons (Journal of the Tanka Society of America), Spring/Summer 2016, Volume 12, Number 2 (page 37)
I want to sing…
My thanks to Michael McClintock, editor of the Tanka Café in Ribbons, the Journal of the Tanka Society of America. The prompt was poems of spring and summer. Here is mine:
Sleepy French Canals…
And now my last tanka to appear in Frameless Sky 4 (Summer 2016), edited by Christine L. Villa. The beautiful photograph paired with this poem is by Irena Iris Szewczyk
To hear me read this tanka, simply click on the link below:
Notes:
My warmest thanks to Chrissi, for publishing this and my other pieces in Frameless Sky 4
and to Irena, for creating such a lovely picture and allowing my tanka to join it.
Closing the book…
This tanka was also published in Frameless Sky 4 (Summer 2016).
To hear me read this tanka, just click on the link below:
Learning to forgive…
One more tanka appearing in Frameless Sky 4 (Summer 2016), edited by Christine L. Villa.
To hear me read the poem, just click on the link below:
The hidden depths of sorrow
Another pairing of a tanka of mine with a stunning photography by Irena Iris Szewczyk that was published in Frameless Sky 4 (Summer 2016). I am amazed at how perfectly they matched…a big thank you to Christine L. Villa, editor of Frameless Sky for her excellent work and to Irena Iris Szewczyk for her beautiful photograph.
This link below is of me reading this tanka:
Clouds (haiku)
Another haiku published in Frameless Sky 4 (Summer 2016), edited by Christine L. Villa.
My thanks to Christine L. Villa for selecting this haiku for publication.
Looking back…
In Frameless Sky 4, editor Christine L. Villa paired my haiku/senryu with a another lovely photograph of Irena Iris Szewczyk. My thanks go to Irena Iris Szewczyk and to Christine L. Villa, editor of Frameless Sky.
Words by Mary Kendall
Photograph by Irena Iris Szewczyk
Frameless Sky 4, Summer 2016
So many I loved now gone
In Frameless Sky 4, my tanka was set to this beautiful photograph of Irena Iris Szewczyk. My warmest thanks to Irena Iris Szewczyk and to Christine L. Villa, editor of Frameless Sky. I will be posting others from this fine video publication in the next week.
A link to me reading this tanka is given below:
A Few Extra Notes:
Irena Iris Szewczyk is both a distinguished photographer and haiku poet. Irina blogs at Iris Haiku where she posts her photographs and her haiku: http://iris-haiku.blogspot.com
Her artwork for Frameless Sky 4 can be seen here: http://framelesssky.weebly.com/artwork.html
Christine L. Villa is editor of Frameless Sky. She is a distinguished poet herself. Her blog is called Blossom Rain and is located here: http://blossomrain.blogspot.com
Frameless Sky can be found here: http://framelesssky.weebly.com
All the blame… (a tanka)
My thanks to editor and poet, Pamela A. Babusci for publishing this tanka in Moonbathing, a Journal of Women’s Tanka, Issue 14, June 2016
To listen to me read this tanka, click on the link below:
Two new senryu
These two senryu were published in the May 2016 edition of cattails, collected works of the United Haiku and Tanka Society.
This inner fire …
My second tanka published this week in A Hundred Gourds:
A Hundred Gourds 5:3 June 2016
You departed…
One of the finest journals around for Japanese short form poetry has been A Hundred Gourds. The editors announced several months ago that the June issue would be the last issue. This is a great loss, but there is an amazing amount of work editors do to make a journal of this caliber work so well. The tanka editor, Susan Constable, is one of the finest poets around, and her skill and advice as an editor is special. I know I have learned a great deal from her through our correspondence this past year. My thanks go to all the excellent editors of this journal. I am fortunate to have two tanka selected for this final issue of A Hundred Gourds. I will be posting them separately, one today and one tomorrow.
A Hundred Gourds 5:3 June 2016
hospice…
The Heron’s Nest, Volume XVIII, Number 2: June 2016
Two New Haiga
June has brought with it the publication of some excellent journals. I love being able to read through them and enjoy the poems. Some are haiku, haiga, senryu or haibun, and others are tanka, tanka art or tanka prose. Hours and hours of fine reading that will stretch into the whole month of June.
I’ve been fortunate to have a number of small poems published this month. I’ll post these by type and by publication over the next week. Today I will begin with two haiga that were published in the newest issues of cattails, the publication of the United Haiku and Tanka Society.
Both haiga were published in the May 2016 edition of cattails, collected works of the United Haiku and Tanka Society.
Poem: On Viewing a Skull Painting by Georgia O’Keefe
I love Georgia O’Keefe’s quirky paintings and perspective. She did a lot of work using skulls, which seems quite natural. New Mexico must yield all sorts of bones in the mountains and deserts. Just as she studied and painted flowers, so she did the same with animal bones and skulls. She was very prolific in her work, painting a skull or pelvis in many views, often accompanied by a flower or other desert item. Many didn’t like her bone paintings, but that didn’t deter her in the slightest. Even her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, was initially critical of them. He later relented, as did most critics. To find beauty in death and decomposition and to create art that is somehow mesmerizing and thoughtful is quite an accomplishment.
This poem is from my chapbook (Erasing the Doubt (c) 2015, Finishing Line Press). It is hidden amongst just a few of these wonderful paintings.
Georgia O’Keefe and cow skull
Bob’s Steer Head by Georgia O’Keefe (c) 1936
Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses by Georgia O’Keefe (c) 1931
On Viewing a Skull Painting by Georgia O’Keeffe
- The Artist’s View of the Skull as Form
The sinuous curve
hollowed circle
smooth chalky bone
worn smooth, it goes
beyond the form
behind the slow dip
of the arching eye
twisting and curving
back on itself
2. The Skull’s Perspective
At first it all felt wrong,
reversed, bent forward
in a geometric embrace
of mass and space,
the brush stroke
through the hollow eye
that will never see,
beyond to the delicate shell
of the brain
that will never again think,
moving slowly
into that shadow of light
the sky insinuates itself in color
and it is there
that you alone can wander,
deep inside the form that is me
Georgia O’Keeffe, Ram’s Skull with Hollyhock, (c) 1935
Deer’s Skull with Pedernal by Georgia O’Keefe (c) 1936
Compassion (a poem about depression)
Depression is not very pretty. Nor is it very kind. It has many faces, and it comes and goes as it pleases. It can affect almost anyone. If you are someone who has struggled with depression, you know it never goes away completely but hides, waiting for the right moment to reappear. It isn’t something to be lightly dismissed in yourself or in others who suffer from it. Who hasn’t seen the devastating effect it can have on a vulnerable person? I’ve struggled with it, and I’ve certainly known many others who were also affected by it.
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Watching someone you love battle depression is never easy. It isn’t easily “fixed,” even in this age of modern medicine. Therapy and medicines are there, and for some people they help so much, but for others, less so. Compassion, patience, unconditional love and presence are the lifelines we can offer…to someone else and to ourselves.
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To listen to me read this poem, please click on the link below. It will take a minute to begin.
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Compassion
Taking on your pain was something
I tried to do, like slipping on your
jacket, pushing an arm in and then
another, pulling it tight around myself,
hoping that by feeling what you do,
it would diminish your pain.
No matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t a fit.
Your depression fell around me in loose
folds, the sadness sagging around my heart.
Besides, it would leave you cold, open
to the fickle winds that blew your way.
Compassion was first published in Erasing the Doubt by Mary Kendall
(Finishing Line Press © 2015)
Bell flowers ~
Campanula sp, Blue Bellflower. – Watercolour by Greta Mulligan (Australia)
I was very fortunate to have one of my haiku included in the May 2016 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal, curated by Zee Zahava. This month’s theme was Small Things. To read all the other excellent haiku, please visit: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
Bluebirds…
I recently had one tanka published in Skylark: A Tanka Journal. I’m thrilled to have a poem selected for publication by Claire Everett, the editor. She is one of the world’s foremost tanka poets and one whose work I love and admire.
Sunday Morning
The Ekphrastic Review: writing and art on art and writing, has published my poem, “Sunday Morning.”
Let me give you a brief “back story” on this poem. Many years ago, I stopped writing completely for around twenty-five years. Total silence in my life. I don’t know why it happened, but it did. After what can only be be termed a spiritual experience on a trip to the Fijordland in New Zealand, poetry somehow magically entered my life again. I can’t explain this. It just happened, and I know it happened for a reason. This poem was the first complete poem I wrote when my poetic “voice” returned, and it’s only been read by one other person until today. It’s taken me about fifteen years to gather courage to submit it anywhere. My deepest thanks to editor, Lorette C. Luzajic, for publishing this piece.
Here is the link to the journal: http://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/april-21st-2016
Rijksmuseum, Out the Window (c) 2013 Mary Kendall
Sunday Morning
Hymns unsung, prayers unsaid,
I sat by the window and prayed
for forgiveness one more time;
one more time I begged.
Holding the cup of coffee in my hand,
I hoped the warmth would fill me
where your words had left me cold,
but I knew nothing could do that—
fire can burn for hours and be unfelt.
Hymns unsung, prayers unsaid,
I lay down on the empty bed, pulling
the blanket across my cheek, turning
from the window, from the sky
and the sun, praying for some rest.
Note: The window in the photo is not, of course, the window of the poem. I love taking pictures of windows when I travel, especially indside looking out. This photo was taken in June 2013 when my husband and I were in Amsterdam, visiting the beautiful Rijksmuseum.
Gusts ~ Tanka #3
Gusts ~ Tanka #2
Gusts ~ Tanka #1
I’ve had the good fortune to have three of my tanka published in the latest issue of GUSTS,
NO. 23, Contemporary Tanka, Spring/Summer 2016 (Tanka Canada). This is the first time my work has appeared in this beautiful poetry journal, and I’m most grateful to the editor, Kozue Uzawa.
I’ve decided to post each tanka separately here on my blog.
Morello Cherries
Artwork by Alexis Rotella (c) 2016
In the Tanka Café, RIBBONS: Journal of the American Tanka Society, Winter 2016: Volume 12, Number 1:
Note: I would like to thank poet/artist Alexis Rotella for her beautiful rendition of these Morello cherries. I’m honored that she would create and share this lovely piece of art with me.
Train Whistle (a haiga)
My Train Whistle haiga was published in the April 2016 issue of Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, edited by Michael Rehling.
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Please view the whole issue of this wonderful journal: http://www.haikuhut.com/FailedHaikuIssue4.pdf
Some Senryu for Springtime
Some of you already know that one of my newest favorite online journals to read is Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu. Edited by Michael Rehling, this journal has taken off in the really large number of readers and downloads. The latest issue is 100 pages of some of the finest haiku/senryu poets writing today. Please be sure to visit and download the journal, which comes in pdf form. You will really delight in these poems and as with all senryu, emotions run from laughter to being touched deeply and seriously.
Click to access FailedHaikuIssue4.pdf
I was fortunate to have one haiga (which I will post separately) and two senryu published in the April 2016 issue. I am thrilled! These are my offerings:
Without Light ~ A Tanka Sequence
My very first tanka sequence was published in RIBBONS: Journal of the American Tanka Society, Winter 2016: Volume 12, Number 1. My thanks to editor, David Rice, for suggesting to me that these three tanka would work best in a sequence.
Silk Strands, a New Haiga
This haiga appeared on Daily Haiga on March 23, 2016. I would like to thank my dear friend, Sheppy Vann, for allowing me to use her beautiful photograph for this piece.
Here is the link to the original: http://www.dailyhaiga.org/haiga-archives/1805/-fall-s-footrpints-by-mary-kendall-usa
Senryu…three for today
These three senryu were just published in the March issue of faileD haikU, a Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 3, edited by Michael Rehling.
I hope you are enjoying senryu as much as I am. The world of haiku and senryu is so rich and open.
Two New Senryu…
I had two senryu published in the March, 2016, issue 18 of Prune Juice, Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun & Haiga, edited by Steve Hodge. It’s a real honor to be published in this excellent journal.
The first is dedicated to my friend, Gale, who underwent brain surgery last fall. She handled it with such grace and her usual humor. She has recovered and is doing really well. This poem is for her:
scalp stapled shut–
your laughter as you
try on bright new hats
Senryu have a human element to them. They are often thought of as being humorous, but that is not always the case. They can be very serious as in the next poem. This poem is a one line senryu. It is dedicated to someone dear to me who is undergoing cancer treatment.
your tumor growing we worry about the snow
I hope you will explore all the writers in this issue of Prune Juice: https://prunejuice.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/pj-issue-18-march-1603.pdf
Haiga #3 (a senryu)
This is #3 of the three photo haiga published in the March issue of faileD haikU, a Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 3, edited by Michael Rehling. A bit of nursery rhyme whimsy in this one.
Note: this beautiful photo is in the public domain free use category. The senryu is by Mary Kendall.
Haiga #2 (a senryu)
As mentioned in the last posting, I had three photo haiga published in the March issue of faileD haikU, a Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 3, edited by Michael Rehling. This is #2.
Note: Both the photo and senryu are by Mary Kendall.
Haiga #1 (a senryu)
I had three photo haiga published in the March issue of faileD haikU, a Journal of English Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 3, edited by Michael Rehling. The journal is only the third issue, but it’s become enormously popular…with good reason.
For this first one, I’d like to thank my dear friend and photographer, Yolanda Litton, for the collaborative use of her wonderful picture with my senryu.
I will post the other two haiga separately.
Marching on…
Two tanka and one haiku were published
in A Hundred Gourds 5:2 March 2016
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A Hundred Gourds 5:2 March 2016
http://www.ahundredgourds.com
Woodsmoke…
This haiku has just appeared in The Heron’s Nest, a distinguished journal of haiku. For me, as a first time poet in this journal, it is a truly great honor for which I’m thankful.
My poem is on page 11 of The Heron’s Nest: http://www.theheronsnest.com/March2016/haiku-p11.html
winter night—
the curl of woodsmoke
takes flight
I hope some of you will click the link to The Heron’s Nest to read the full issue of wonderful haiku from around the world.
Note: photo is in the public domain (found linked with many sources online)
