Scent of beeswax

I am still catching up with published poetry. Blithe Spirit is the publication of the British Haiku Society. They selected two haiku and two tanka of mine to publish in the winter issue.

Blithe Spirit Fall/Winter Issue 2022

 

1.

brevity
the ripeness
of a pear

 2.

children
fragile as blossoms
learning to let go

3.

fragrant spices, each
with a story to tell,
a bit of this, dash of that
     my pen moves as if
propelled by a stranger
 

4.

scent of beeswax
melting as we draw
invisible designs
on our pysanky eggs—
forgotten childhood

 

.

The last plum blossom, etc. (a mix of tanka and haiku)

The lovely New Zealand journal, Kokaku, published two haiku and two tanka in their fall issue: Kokaku #37, 2022.

Kokaku #37,  2022

evening web –
the last plum blossom
caught fast

       ***

corner flower shop –
if only our lives were
arranged so well

       ***

quick twists and turns
of rutting deer ~
another season passes
adrift in colours
of passion and promise

       ***

This tanka appeared on my blog last month but was from this issue (37):

a tiny fawn dead
by the side of the road –
I close my eyes & imagine
all those children lost
in Ukraine strikes

 

       ***

 

So many bodies in Bucha…

 

This is the first of two tanka published in:

 

Gusts No. 36 Contemporary Tanka  
fall/winter 2022

 

 

 

so many bodies in Bucha,
even more mass graves
are dug and quickly filled
. . . no mourners, no prayers
at the gravesite today

 

 

 

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Winter birds

 

Presence #72, Spring 2022

.

winter birds crack seeds
& feast on blocks of suet –
my long morning is spent
polishing old pieces
of silver we rarely use

.

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Screen Shot 2022-10-04 at 3.07.18 PM

Photo by Stauffers of Kissel Hill