Category Archives: nature poetry

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

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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

 

       ***

 

Lucid dreaming

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Brass Bell June 2022

Theme: One line haiku

 ~ ~

lucid dreaming wild-eyed pansies glancing back and forth

~ ~

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~ ~

Note: All pansy pictures are taken from Pinterest. No specific photographers were listed.

The simplest thing

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The simplest thing

 

Three poems (two haiku and one tanka) were published in the winter issue of Kokako, 2021. I have a real fondness for this journal because I love all things Kiwi. New Zealand is a beautiful country with such great people. They have a very active poetry community, and Kokako is a beautiful journal to be part of.

 

1.

snow drifts ~
the wild wind’s
last brief fling

2.

woodland colours
now grow pale
winter light

3.

arranging zinnias
in an old milk jug,
this pandemic silence
urges me to notice
the simplest things

Note: Photo of Zinnias (c) 2021 by Park Seeds

Whirlwinds (tanka)

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Redlights, Volume 17, No. 1, January 2021

 

 

Photography by Autumn Mott Rodeheaver

 

whirlwinds of scarlet
and ochre leaves
flit across the square –
days of self-isolation spent
learning to slow down