The British Haiku Society Awards 2021 (First Place)

I woke up with a big surprise! I won first place in the Tanka Section of the British Haiku Society Awards 2021! My deepest gratitude to The British Haiku Society and to the esteemed judge, Margaret Chula, for selecting my poem. Here is my winning tanka and the judge's commentary.

Congratulations to all the winners. http://britishhaikusociety.org.uk/.../results-bhs-awards.../

brass bell: a haiku journal

My two haiku about childhood memories published in brass bell: a haiku journal. Thank you so much, Zee Zahava. Looking forward to the next issue!

Life Poems on Beautiful Defect

Check out Susan Furst's Life Poems on her website, Beautiful Defect. I offered this haiga here from my poetry collection, The Bluebird's Cry.

Fujisan Tanka Contest

What a way to end the year! My tanka received honorable mention in the Fujisan Tanka Contest. Congratulations to all the winners!

Click this link to see all the winning haiku. 

Cold Moon Journal

Sharing my monoku, dedicated to my father, published in Cold Moon Journal. Thank you so much, Robin Jacobson. 

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Sonic Boom's Sixth Annual Senryu Contest

I'm so happy that I was given this opportunity to judge the Sixth Annual Senryu Contest of Sonic Boom . It was a pleasure picking out the winners and writing my commentaries for each poem. 

I took screenshots of the results because I know one day only the list of winners will be posted. I'd like to keep a photo of my commentaries. If you would like to read them, here they are below. Right now, you can still view the whole thing by clicking here. 

Haiku Page edited by John Zheng

So honored and blessed to be the featured artist of Haiku Page! I didn't know that I will be having my own section with all these poems with alcohol ink art below. John Zheng sent me the pdf and I was blown away. :-) Soon you will be able to view the full issue on the The Haiku Foundation digital library here.

Human/Kind Journal Issue 1.8

My debut appearance in this journal edited by Robin Anna Smith. 

                                                                  fallen maple leaves—  

the prayers of sycophants

*****

slanted against morning a red bird's wings cutting names 

*****

*Sources for found poems in this issue, in order of appearance: “The Letter” by Mary Ruefle, “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa, and “Winter Flowers” by Stanley Moss.

Moonbathing Issue 16 (Spring/Summer 2017)

25 Cherita

     I am very grateful that ai li invited me to submit for a special feature on cherita (pronounced ‘CHAIR-ee-tah) in Atlas Poetica. Cherita is a narrative and lyrical six-line poem invented by ai li in 1997. Though it was challenging for me to write a cherita since it was the first time I heard about it, I ended up being one of the 25 poets who were featured. That was a big surprise to me! To be honest, I wasn't sure of what I was doing. I just read the guidelines, several examples, and gave it a shot. Instinctively, I wrote like I was writing a tanka with one extra line.

death anniversary
sprouting weeds
on mother’s burial lot
maybe today
I’ll find a memory
to miss her

     To read more about "25 Cherita," edited and introduced by ai li, visit the following:

http://atlaspoetica.org/?p=1640

http://atlaspoetica.org/?p=1667

http://atlaspoetica.org/?page_id=1654 to read ’25

     Since cherita's inception, it has grown tremendously. Poets such as ai li, Larry Kimmel, Sheila Windsor, and other cherita poets on Atlas Poetica have experimented on this form. You can read their written work on their respective websites and on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/cherita?f=tweets&vertical=default

http://larrykimmel.tripod.com/cheritatwo.htm

http://www.winfredpress.com/the-cherita-form/ 

Butterfly Dream: Death Anniversary Haiku

     Another post in NeverEnding Story. This time Chen-ou Liu selected one of my haiku from The Bluebird's Cry. His translation in Chinese may be read here.


tracing the cracks
on his leather chair . . .
death anniversary


Chen-ou's comment:

The unexpected yet emotionally power closing line lifts the poem out of the ordinary, and on a second reading, the opening image of "cracks on his leather chair" successfully carries emotional weight and symbolic significance.

Haiku Presence 2016

     I LOVE my first appearance in Presence! I should start believing that I can reach for the highest stars.

 

 

Here's Angelo Ancheta's translation in Tagalog. Love it!

 

 

Ribbons Journal (Fall 2015)

     Are you enjoying every single page of Ribbons (Fall 2015)? I hope you haven't skipped my tanka sequence, "Last Sip," on page 45. For those who don't have a copy, here it is.

 

Last Sip

 

parch lips . . .

for you I draw a well

of memories

from steel drum music

to the sound of waves

 

a sparrow's last sip
from the birdbath . . .
on your birthday

how I didn't want to believe

in your goodbyes

 

my thoughts

spinning counterclockwise

the silence

after I decide to turn off

the oxygen machine

 

streaks of foam

tail away from the reef . . .

how I remember

your wishes for me

when you're gone

 

Skylark 3:2, Winter 2015

Premier Issue of Undertow Tanka Review

     I'm delighted to be one of the contributors of the very first issue of Sergio Ortiz's bi-monthly review of tanka and tanka sequences named Undertow Tanka Review.

     Here are the ten tanka poems that appear this new journal.

another gaze
from a handsome stranger . . .
I seal my lips
on a heart pendant
with my husband's ashes


the way he tucks
my hair behind my ear . . .
for the first time
I feel the sincerity
of a man's apology


belly ache
from laughing
at my own jokes . . .
I realize I've carved
a deeper sorrow


where do I go
without you now . . .
the heavy silence
after I turn off
the oxygen machine


to love somebody

even after death . . .

I keep in a box

a photo of a woman

he once loved


the sound
of him sleeping
more hours in a day
any birdsong
is a sad lullaby


a dewdrop dangling
from the tip of a petal . . .
I try hard
not to show him
my tears


a whiff of hyacinth
by the grocery entrance . . .
this cold winter night
I hope from aisle to aisle
thinking of spring


all the pills
he couldn't take anymore . . .
alone I count
the tulips waiting
to be photographed


a baby enclosed by her
mother's arms . . .
when does a shell
let go of her pearl
 

     Enjoy the full issue here.

 

     Submissions are now open for the 2nd issue. You can submit up to 10 previously unpublished tanka, tanka art, and/or 1 sequence. Send your poems to undertowtanka@gmail.com with the subject heading "Undertow Tanka Submission."

NaHaiWriMo #7 prompt and Dos Por Dos

 

dead damselfly

he holds the matchbox

so gently

prompt: box

See NaHaiWriMo comments here.

See Dos Por Dos comments here.

PH-Philippine Haiku #4 prompt

the teardrop
on his last breath . . .
twilight moon


prompt: salty
See PH-Philippine Haiku comments here.

Bamboo Hut Vol. 1 Issue 2

     Here are my five tanka included in the 2nd issue of Bamboo Hut.

all the things
your didn't want to
talk about . . .
now I'm left with
crumpled leaves               


not knowing
if my heart will ever
stop hurting . . .
the train passes me by
one more time


as you drift away
I cherish the sweeping light
of our memories . . .
the darkness of the night
brightens all the stars


days after
the memorial . . .
I find comfort
watering his plants
for the first time


sunlight dance
on the bedroom wall . . .
how my heart flutters
with the way you say
good morning


Click this to read the issue. 
The print copy may be purchased from Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/shop/view-cart.ep;jsessionid=4DC71B0C924D47A322EE8D100653D414

For Kat Creighton

     She will be surely missed by many. Rest in peace, Kat.

     This is the haiku she wrote for my photo at the 2nd Haiku My Photo Challenge in 2012.

early autumn . . .
all this talk
about our direction

For Kat:

the sting
of the wind
this winter night . . .
who knows when
and where we'll be

Moonbathing Issue 9 (Fall/Winter 2013)

     My first tanka in Moonbathing: a journal of women's tanka.


a woman carries her child
through a flooded street . . .
my heart sinks
as a branch hangs heavily
from a dying tree


   This poem was inspired by photos in the internet showing the ruins caused by typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines.