Tanka by Mary Kendall
(c) 2016 Ripples in the Sand (TSA)
Category Archives: poetry
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.
A Poet in Time 