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