Three tanka published in one my very favorite journals.
GUSTS No. 28, Contemporary Tanka
(fall/winter 2018)
pounding rains
& the peonies are lost –
how did I miss
your pallor, your reticence
that last day?
turning from pale gold
to dusky violet
our last embrace
so certain
so final
rain patter
on windows –
just when it seems
the darkness is over
it all begins again
My thanks to my friend, poet and editor, Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy for writing this tanka sequence, “Changing Notes,” with me. It was published in Kokako 29, a journal of the Poetry Society of New Zealand.
Changing Notes
A Responsive Tanka Sequence
by
Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy (UK) and Mary Kendall (USA)
glass bangles
tinkling with laughter
rice grains
strewn on the newlyweds
seeding a new dream
(SK)
such longing
month after month
turning to years
suddenly the emptiness
disappears
(MK)
the curve of his hand
cups the moon
quickening
the one butterfly
aflutter in my belly
(SK)
watching
the fragile pulse
of his fontanelle
and those half smiles
in his milky dreams
(MK)
rocking horse
hither and thither
the long curls
of sun-kissed memories
braided into birdsong
(SK)
one day his son will chatter
in a different tongue
raven locks
eased into smoothness
. . . a new chosen land
(MK)
Two haiku and one tanka in Kokako 29, 2018, a journal of the New Zealand Poetry Society:
where the house
once stood
only cherry blossoms
billowing fog
the burden of keeping
your secret
rosé bottle
the forgiving vagueness
of frosted glass
the morning
after
no attribution for this lovely picture I found online
Ephemerae,
July Issue 2018
how softly
the light shifts
from day to dusk,
the familiar comfort
of my hand in yours
all morning long
the praying mantis
clings to a window screen—
my fingers less nimble
with each passing year
Praying Mantis and the Moon by Watanabe Seitei
Thank you, Chen-ou, for selecting this poem for your blog.
My thanks to poet and editor, Chen-ou Liu, for selecting this haiku to appear on his Never Ending Story, First English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku Blog. The two Chinese translations were done by Chen-ou Liu as well. I am deeply honored to have this particular haiku chosen as a selection.
Presence Issue 61 (2018) / three haiku and one tanka:
1.
a shadow blocks the light unwanted touch
2.
washed up –
this broken shell
once sang the sea
3.
far above
old cotton fields –
migrating swans
4.
thin curls of wood
fly away
from the lathe –
his memory slips
away bit by bit
failed haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, Volume 3, Issue 32
one haiku:
chopping carrots –
with each decisive cut
I think of you
and two pieces of tankart:
Haiku and Tankart are by Mary Kendall, (c) 2018
I’m so honored to have had a Senryu receive an honorable mention in the
H. Gene Murtha Senryu Contest 2018.
Honorable Mention:
worry beads –
one by one I parse
your silence
Originally published in Under the Basho: December 2016
Redlights, June 2018:
a newborn fawn
hidden in tall grasses,
with breath so soft
not even a dandelion
stirs
Photograph by Carmen Sterba Russell (used with her permission) (c) 2018
Redlights, June 2018:
when you were six
I longed to keep you
that age forever
once upon a time
I knew you so well
Dedicated to my son, Adam.
.
Published in Ribbons, Spring/Summer 2018: Volume 14, Number 2
the squeak
of the old swing . . .
only four when carefully taught
to keep that secret
to myself
This tanka was published in the Tanka Café of Ribbons
the little girl’s doll
marred by lipstick
scrawled on her face
. . . maybe this time
mother will notice
Published: Failed Haiku, a Journal of English Senryu, Volume 3, Issue 31,
July 2018
Guest editors: Lori A. Minor and Chase Gagnon
Primary editor: Michael Rehling
Note: I’d like to thank my dear friend, Christine M. Kalke for her permission to use her beautiful photograph that was taken in Scandinavia during one of her visits. The digital art work was done by me.
a wooden cross
hangs askew
. . . winter light
Modern Haiku, Volume 49.2, Summer 2018
Moonbathing, A Journal of Women’s Tanka, Issue 18, Spring/Summer 2018
blue-black mussels
torn from harbor rocks
fill the worn rusty pail –
there was no looking back
when I left you
Frogpond 2018 Volume 41 Number 2 (Haiku Society of America
the vastness
of a Condor’s Wings
Grand Canyon
Mary Kendall
Ephemerae, a new journal of hakai, Volume 1A, April 2018 has just been published in the U.K. I am honored to have two tanka included in this first edition. Edited by Shrikaanth K. Murthy, there are over 160 fine poets included from around the world.
returning again
to the faded notes
scribbled in margins
I search for traces
of who you really were
…
reflected
in a bookshop window
sun glinting behind
your image imposed
over mine
Both tanka (c) 2018 Mary Kendall
Skylark Tanka Journal 6:1, Summer 2018:
Two tanka
old walking stick—
once it was
a branch
that stretched
to the sky
. . .
all those years spent
twisted in shame –
cultivating old world roses
but still ignoring
the thorns
A beautiful walking stick made in the traditional manner.
Prune Juice, Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun & Haiga, Issue, 24, Spring 2018:
two senryu and one kyoka published
pulling a single
strand of silken thread …
her undoing
…
sipping skinny lattés
they march against
world hunger
…
a slight limp
on cold and rainy days
how easy it is
to fall out of step
with myself
Orb Weaver Web / Photo by Robert Potts/Getty Images
Published in Prune Juice, Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun & Haiga, Issue, 24, Spring 2018
Gusts, no. 27, Contemporary Tanka (Canada)
spring/summer 2018
heart fluttering
and eyes closed tight –
it was as if you knew
the swallows had flown
away again
shipwreck spoils
wash back and forth
upon the tide –
notes from other lives
left in sea glass shards
Both tanka (c) 2018, Mary Kendall
Mary Kendall (USA) & Hazel Hall (Australia)
around the turn
we come across a patch
of wild strawberries
. . . a sudden longing
for something left behind MK
dividing
our harvest carefully
the taste
of over-ripened fruit
lingers in the mouth HH
searching everywhere
for that old blue sweater
one dropped stitch
and a secret hidden
in worn woolen strands MK
unraveling
our future fears
. . . two sparrows
perched on the scarecrow
pull father’s scarf apart HH
somewhere in silence
lies an answer . . .
each spring the task
of double digging soil
before planting MK
wheel turning
I throw a new pot . . .
moulding hope
for the future,
a fragile process HH
Published in Ribbons, Winter 2018: Volume 14, Number 1
Ribbons, Winter 2018: Volume 14, Number 1
Tanka Café Winter 2018 ~ weather prompt
I was born
in a winter storm,
a tiny soul
almost lost
in a sea of white
The April 2018 issue of cattails: the Official Journal of the United Haiku and Tanka Society is out. Here is the link to the issue:
Click to access cattailsApril2018.pdf
I have three poems included–a haiku, a senryu and a tanka.
My thanks to the editors for selecting these poems to be published.
This collection is beautiful to read in hand. The poets and the poems are excellent. Some gorgeous haiga is included, too.
To order a copy: https://wildflowerpoetrypress.wordpress.com/current-titles/
It’s a real honor to have three tanka and one haiku published in a favorite journal of mine, Blithe Spirit. My thanks to editor Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy for his support and encouragement.
Blithe Spirit, Volume 28, Number 1, Journal of the British Haiku Society, February Issue 2018
curtains billowing
in the warm spring air
each strand of lace
intricate, undecipherable
… like you
an early daffodil
frozen in a bed of snow
you left us
long before
we were ready
spooning dumplings
into chicken soup
I imagine my mother –
how I wish we had
another chance
milkweed pods
fading to nothing
as we age
Milkweed Pods by Lucie Veilleux aka 3dots
In Washington, DC, the winners and runners up of the Golden Triangle Haiku Competition are displayed in individual signs on downtown streets. Mine placed third out of over 1,675 entries from 45 countries and 34 states, and the District of Columbia. This was quite a nice surprise for me. This year’s contest theme was “Spring in the City.”
Here is a press release giving background of this competition:
Use this link to read all the haiku that are now on signs on Washington DC streets.
Click to access Golden-Haiku-2018-Signs.pdf
Photo by Theodor Horydcz, Tidal Basin with Cherry Blossoms, Washington, DC
Not mine, but this is an example of how all the haiku are displayed in the Farragut Square area of Washington, DC
The poem, “Flying Against the Wind” is the final poem in my chapbook, Erasing the Doubt, (c) 2015, Finishing Line Press. (The book is available for purchase from Finishing Line Press.)
Flying Against the Wind
Your thoughts drifted out to sea—riding on the wind
like wisps of breath lost on a freezing day.
.
With only the lighthouse for company and water all around,your steady feet were planted firmly on the point.
You looked as if you were an island isolated from the world,
but you were not.
The chill March air made even you feel cold.
You pulled the flapping wings of your jacket closed,
zipped it, and slid your hands deep inside the pockets.
Except for this, you never moved.
You stood there looking at the sea that went on forever,
searching the horizon for clues where it might end.
The wind stung your eyes as waves conjured up whitecaps,
then swept them away like mermaids lost and turned to foam
while currents pulled together and then apart.
A fierce gust blew through your bones, trying to topple you,
but you stood fast. Even sea birds hid behind steep cliffs,
not daring to fly against the wind.
“Arai: Whitecaps on the Ocean (Arai—Enkai hato),” c. 1848-1849, by Utagawa Hiroshige I
It is always an honor to appear in Pamela A. Babusci’s Moonbathing, a Journal of Women’s Tanka. The high level of quality tanka in this bi-annual journal by some of the best women writers of tanka make it a journal to read again and again.
Moonbathing, a journal of women’s tanka, Issue 17, November 2017
your dark self—
that side
hidden
away like
a new moon
One of my very favorite poetry journals, hedgerow, a journal of small poems, published this haiku in their print issue #122. Isn’t the cover picture gorgeous?
new year moon—
looking backward
looking forward
My thanks to Caroline Skanne, the poet/editor behind this lovely journal.
In the November, 2017 issue of Blithe Spirit, the Journal of the British Haiku Society, these tanka and haiku were published. All poems are (c) 2017 Mary Kendall.
Queen’s dollhouse—
we examine the tiny rooms
in barely a whisper
crowning—
the full moon pushes
through fog
his fingerprint
left under a cup
he made
her only way
to hold on
the slow uncurling
of the fiddleheads
one by one
learning to let go
is never easy
Two tanka of mine appeared in the last issue of Ribbons, the journal of the Tanka Society of America.
Ribbons, Fall 2017: Volume 13, Number 3
still collecting dolls
into her old age
a special name for each –
and one story
she refused to tell
Tanka Café, Fall 2017: theme was “paper”
a book propped
by the pillow on my knees,
page after page
I ease into someone
else’s life
A one-line haiku published in
Acorn, A Journal of Contemporary Haiku,
#39, Fall 2017~
winter static the crackle of your silence
~
Under the Basho is an excellent and unusual haiku publication. It is unusual in that submissions and acceptances continue on a rolling basis through the year while other journals have very strict reading periods. It is also unusual in that the journal is divided into various haiku subcategories such as “Traditional haiku,” “Hokku,” “Modern Haiku,” “One-Line Haiku,” “Concrete Haiku,” and “Poet’s Personal Best Haiku.”
This is the second time I’ve had the good fortune of having haiku in Under the Basho in three categories: Modern Haiku, One-Line Haiku and Poet’s Personal Best Haiku.
Here are my three in the Modern Haiku group:
I have two in the One-Line Haiku group:
And I have one selected in the Poet’s Personal Best Haiku category. Poems in this group are haiku or senryu that have already been published:
It is a wonderful way to end the year by having six haiku chosen to appear in this journal. My thanks to the editors for selecting these haiku.
Also appearing in Skylark, a Tanka Journal, Volume 5, Issue 2, Winter 2017 is this piece of Tanka Art. The photograph was taken by me in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Church (where William Shakespeare is buried) in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK in 2015.
This tanka was published in Skylark, a Tanka Journal, Volume 5, Issue 2, Winter 2017:
The following tanka is dedicated to the courageous people who participated in the “Moral Mondays” in my home state of North Carolina. They risked arrest for gathering at the State Legislature to protest unfair and discriminatory legislation being passed. These protests were non-violent and led by the Reverend William J. Barber.
Moral Monday –
arm and arm linked
you choose to step
into the darkness
to find the light
This rengay was published in Skylark, a Journal of Tanka,
Volume 5, Issue 2, Winter 2017
DAY’S END
Mary Kendall & Bill Waters
stillness – MK
violet fades
to black
the scratch of a match BW
as I strike it
a flicker MK
of memory starts
then stops
turn of the tide . . . BW
how hard it is
to let go
a limb of driftwood MK
pulled back to sea
fair nights or foul BW
the lighthouse beam
shining
It is always a real honor to be invited to write responsively with a poet I admire. In this case, poet Bill Waters asked if I’d like to write a rengay with him. I love Bill’s poetry and his originality. I had read many rengay, but I’d never written one. Of course trying out a new form is always both fun and a challenge, so without hesitation I agreed. Bill had written rengay with other poets, so I depended upon him to keep me on track, and he did. The process of linking and shifting in responsive writing is the best part of the process. Having this rengay accepted for publication in Skylark, a Journal of Tanka edited by Claire Everett was another honor for both of us. Thanks, Bill, for this invitation.
Note: For more poetry by Bill Waters, please visit his websites:
Bill Waters~~Haiku/
Haiku + Tanka, Haibun, Rengay, & More:
https://billwatershaiku.wordpress.com
Bill Waters~~ Not Haiku (blog within a blog): https://billwatershaiku.wordpress.com/bill-waters-not-haiku/
Published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 23, November 2017
In addition to three haiga published in Prune Juice, there were also these senryu:
walking meditation
worries follow
in shadow
cerulean sky –
the wild sea air
tousles my thoughts
barren –
even the word
is devoid of hope
promises not kept—
that umbrella you gave me
blows inside out
This stormy, but fun, vintage illustration is from a 1911 book illustrated by Oliver Herford (1863-1935)
This Haiga was published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 23, November 2017.
Note on the photo: I took this picture on a beautiful, sunny winter day in Greenwich Park, Greenwich, London. Greenwich Park is one of the beautiful Royal Parks that make city living a joy. The frost on the leaves and grass and the bright sunlight were just exquisite that morning.
This Haiga was published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 23, November 2017
Note on the photo: In 2013 I visited Avignon, France, which is where this picture was taken of the outside of the Palais des Papes. It dates back to the 14th century.
This Haiga was published in Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, October 2017.
The artwork was done using Waterlogue.
This Haiga was published in Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, October 2017.
Published: cattails: The Official Journal of the United Haiku and Tanka Society October 2017 Issue
This poem was selected as an Editor’s Choice (EC) – Haiku in cattails by Geethanjali Rajan, haiku editor of this journal, whose comments are given here:
Published: cattails: The Official Journal of the United Haiku and Tanka Society October 2017 Issue
Tanka by Mary Kendall (c) 2017
GUSTS, NO. 24, Contemporary Tanka, Fall/Winter 2017 (Tanka Canada) This is the third of three tanka published in this issue of Gusts.
Note: I have added the picture of dark water here on my blog. The original tanka does not appear with the picture in Gusts. The original water picture is called, “Dark Water”and is by (c) LeandrasStock.
Note: This beautiful owl drawing appears on Pinterest, but I was unable to trace it to a specific artist. I am grateful to the unknown artist for putting this lovely piece ‘out there’ for others to view and use.
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
2017 Haiku Invitational Winners
USA
Honourable Mentions
spent blossoms—
the remission, too,
was unexpected
.
Mary Kendall
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
To view all the winners and honorable mentions, please click on this link to go to the official website:
http://www.vcbf.ca/haiku-invitational/winning-haiku/2017-winning-haiku
Note: The beautiful picture of cherry blossoms (above) is taken from the website, Flower Meaning (http://www.flowermeaning.com). Also, from this website:
What is the Sakura Flower?
While the Japanese called this flower the sakura, you likely know it as the cherry blossom instead. The blossom of the Japanese Cherry, also known as the Prunus serrulata, is technically the sakura flower. However, other varieties of blooming cherries are also grown in Japan and referred to with the same name. The cherry blossom became so popular in the Heian era of Japan’s history that the word for flower became synonymous with sakura. People have been picnicking under the blooming trees since 700 A.D., a tradition that continues today.
The beautiful and very short lived cherry blossoms symbolize the brevity of life. The kanji (above) is for Sakura or cherry blossom. I think the kanji is just as beautiful by itself as is a single cherry blossom.
These senryu/haiku were published in the October (2017) issue of Brass Bell, a haiku journal. The theme: Body haiku
Link to Brass Bell, the journal: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
Blithe Spirit is the Journal of the British Haiku Society. Two of my tanka and one haiku were published in Volume 27, Number 23 (2017). I am most grateful to be part of this issue.
old shoes –
the challenge
of moving on
plum blossoms—
watching you
struggle for so long
I remember how brief
a season is
stopping to study
fritillaries, tulips
and jonquils –
the sudden way
you take my hand
(c) 2017, Mary Kendall
Blithe Spirit, Volume 27, Number 23 (2017)
The September issue of Brass Bell, curated by Zee Zehava, had a prompt/theme of “water.” I was fortunate to have three haiku selected for publication (two one liners and one traditional three line haiku). I hope you will visit the site for Brass Bell and enjoy all the excellent haiku written to this theme. The link is given below.
her waters broken the beginning of the beginning
what was hidden now emerges water lillies
near the cattails —
two white egrets
lost in reflection
Photograph by Max Pixel http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com
Note: These haiku were published in the September (2017) issue of Brass Bell, a haiku journal. The poet is Mary Kendall (c) 2017.
Link to the journal: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
Both haiku were published in the final edition of Wild Plum. I’m honored to be included.
Published in Wild Plum, a Haiku Journal
3:2 Fall & Winter 2017
Luna moth
this brief life
soon eclipsed
~Mary Kendall~
Published in Presence Issue 58, July 2017
Luna Moth, photographer unknown
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.
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.
Photograph of plums by Renee Johnson
This tanka was published in the Tanka Café in Ribbons Spring/Summer 2017: Volume 13, Number 2. The Tanka Café theme was nature.
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
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
Published in Prune Juice, A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka,
Haibun and Haiga, Issue 22, July 2017
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.
This haiku is my first poem in the journal, Modern Haiku.
.
winter garden–
a lone crab apple
holds fast
Modern Haiku
Volume 48:1
Winter-Spring 2017
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.
Note: Published by poet and artist, Pamela L. Babusci, Moonbathing is a journal of women’s tanka.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
~
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
Ribbons, Winter 2017: Volume 13, Number 1
Journal of the Tanka Society of America
Edited by David Rice
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
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
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:
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
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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)
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
Published in CATTAILS, September 2016
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.
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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.
Tanka by Mary Kendall
(c) 2016 Ripples in the Sand (TSA)
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
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 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)
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 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.
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.
~
~
A Poet in Time 