Tanka on Tuesday Feb. '21

Tanka on Tuesday, Feb. '21

I resist

ways she might shape me

into herself –

then someone tells me

‘You’re so like your mother!’

2/2/21

phone-calls

with an old friend –

lately

when he talks politics

I change the subject

9/2/21 

just four today

in the healing circle —

two old women

one small black-and-white dog

one life-like baby doll

we send healing

to all the animals

all living things

and to one new infant

struggling to keep breathing

16/2/21

night noises –

I put a tiny gecko

back outside

(whew!) then all alone I find

an unknown book on my bed

23/2/21

What's Tanka on Tuesday? See here.

Sharing with Writers' Pantry #60 at Poets and Storytellers United.  

Rescue Cat: Online Photo

Rescue Cat: Online Photo

I can’t have another cat, I say to myself with resolve.

I want
to be responsible. I’m too old and unwell to care for
this cat:
he deserves better, this calm-faced, strokably sleek
black cat
gazing from the screen as if directly at me, imploring,
gold-eyed …
Just think of the expense! I tell myself. Reluctantly,
I do.

This is written for Weekly Scribblings #58: Two Into One Will Go, at Poets and Storytellers United. The form is a Waltmarie, created by Candace Kubinec: 10 lines, the even lines of two syllables, the others whatever you like.  The even lines form a poem within a poem, telling their own story. It's harder than you might think!

NaHaiWriMo 2021, Days 15-21

NaHaiWriMo 2021, Days 15-21

(responding to prompts at the NaHaiWriMo group on facebook)

Day 15: One

after 10 years

our one frangipani

covers the wall

 

Day 16: Vertigo

your dead voice

whispers in my ear –

everything spins

Day 17: Beautiful Day

cool wet summer –

beautiful weather

with no bushfires

 

Day 18: Pride

all my cats
prowled stalked pounced and lolled
as lions

Day 19: With or Without You

dear facebook

surprise! – you’re not the only

source of news

[Aussies can no longer see Australian

news on fb. They’re punishing us for our 

Govt's attempts to enforce copyright fees.]

Day 20: Where the Streets Have No Names

(variations on a theme; not a sequence)

in the dreamscape

bleak streets are empty

their signs blank

*********

the street signs

unseen by human eyes

say nothing

*********

with no-one left

to read the street signs
they point nowhere

Day 21: I Still Haven’t Found 

What I’m Looking For

‘Let’s hunt the snark!’

‘Yes!’ Only later wondered 

what that might be.

Sharing via Writers' Pantry #58 at Poets and Storytellers United'.

 

Following Blackout

Following Blackout

Be an uncrushed flower!

Burst into constellations of dance!

Love can be a monster, or not …

the choice is always yours.

Written for Weekly Scribblings #57 at Poets and Storytellers United, where Magaly invites us to 'scribble new prose or poetry inspired by one (or all 3) of the following lines (which are blackout poems, created by her): 1. Be an uncrushed flower. 2. Burst into constellations of dance. 3. Love can be a monster, or not. Feel free to use the exact words, or not—the choice is always yours.'

As you see, this is basically a straightforward found poem, found in the above instructions – with a bit of erasure to create title and last line. Which seems kinda appropriate for this prompt ... as well as, perhaps, the lazy way to approach it. (I can't help it; it just jumped out at me when I read the prompt, and would not be silenced.)

[Is it bad when the process notes are very much longer than the poem?]

Haiku on Friday and Tanka on Tuesday – Back story

Haiku on Friday and Tanka on Tuesday – Back story

In December 2020 I finally retired and archived the groups 'Haiku on Friday' and 'Tanka on Tuesday' which I began in 2006 on MySpace and continued on facebook (where, despite the names, it was easier to let people post any and every day).

For most of that time my friend (and mutually-adopted brother) Phillip Barker was my co-host. After he died in June 2019, I found I lost the heart to continue.

NaHaiWriMo 2021, Days 8-14

NaHaiWriMo 2021, Days 8-14

The prompts – from the NaHaiWriMo facebook group – are meant to inspire and evoke, not necessarily to be taken literally (though they can be).

Day 8: Tangerine

enticing

the colour, the juice … 

then the tang

Day 9: Four Sticks

4 of Wands

the poles, a garland  –

celebration

Day 10: When the Levee Breaks

lawns and weeds

explode in sudden growth –

all this rain

Day 11: Dazed and Confused

cold rain –

this time last summer

fierce fires

Day 12: No Quarter

new president 

still seeks to prosecute

Assange

Day 13: Kashmir

‘pale hands I loved’

houseboats on the lake –

once upon a time

Day 14: Stairway to Heaven

full moon

over dark water –

path of light

Sharing with Writers' Pantry #57 at Poets and Storytellers United