Ribbons (Spring/Summer 2016)

Tears of a Child

where are the memories
of mother loving me?
tiny spiders
crawl out from the cracks
of her headstone

the many times
I rolled down the stairs
as a child
her spankings hurt
more than any fall

moth wings quiver
with the slightest wind
all the things
I wish I could have done
without fear

growing up
her photos followed  me
around the room
an artificial flower arrangement
stuck in an old vase

a tree branches out
with its blossoms and fruits
I didn’t know
what I wanted to be
but to be loved

you ask me why
now I write these stories
for children. . .
tears rolling down
the doll’s face are mine

Tanka Poets on Site (November 17 prompt)

a storm surge

sweeps away
the whole village . . ....
a girl clings to nothing
but a broken doll



prompt: a child's treasure
See comments here.
 

Daruma Dolls From Setouchi Matsuyama Photo Haiku Contest

     These are my 5 1/2 inch Daruma dolls from Japan. Aren't they adorable? :-) I just can't stop admiring them! These came in a box together with a congratulation letter and a booklet containing all the award-winning haiku for the Setouchi Matsuyama Photo Haiku Contest.  My haiku was among the 8 selected. Five hundred haiku were received from haikuist in 20 countries, including America, Australia, Belguim, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, England, Germany, Greece, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Philippines, Romania, and Serbia. You can go here to read some comments from the contest's judge David McMurray.

     Daruma dolls are supposed to bestow good fortune and happiness. I wish this year would be a year of abundant blessings - good health, love, peace, joy, prosperity! I also pray that my creative nature would continually bring blessings to me and others.

"Rebuilding" Theme for Asahi Haikuist Network

     Just a few days before Christmas in 2011, a disastrous tropical storm hit the Philippines. It was heartbreaking seeing the aftermath of the floods and landslides. The first thing that came to my mind were the children. Wondering how the traumatized children were coping, I wrote this haiku for David McMurray's next issue.

after the typhoon...
a child runs after
her floating doll

                        Asahi Haikuist Network (March 16, 2012)    

     I've been told once that it's better to hold onto a haiku for some time to sort out what's best for it regarding word choice, line order, punctuation, etc. One day you may like your haiku so much. After submission, you may feel the opposite. I'm guilty of not taking this advice because a few times, I wish I had waited longer and had written some of my haiku differently. This haiku is one of them. Though it still is a good haiku, I wish I had written it this way--

after the typhoon
a child runs after
a floating doll

     This doesn't actually need an ellipsis. As for changing the third line, "a" makes a lot of difference to me. It evokes another level of piognancy. Here, the child loses all her possessions so she desperately runs after a stranger's doll. She finds comfort in whatever she has now.

     I think sometimes deadlines causes a poet to act impulsively. Do you agree? :-)