Inaugural Issue of Ephemerae (part 2)

My own tanka sequence in English and Tagalog translation published in the first issue of Ephemerae. 

    

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

Ribbons Winter 2016

STUPOR

no one 

calling my name

this morning

a cup of water stays cold

in the microwave

preparations

for the memorial 

the chrysanthemums

quietly wither

on the side

an avalanche 

of memories snowballing

into grief

the stories behind

a box of receipts

every now and then 

the flicker of a firefly . . .

still in my hand

all of you I need

to let go

not accepting

what goodbye really means

my breath lingers

in every shape and sound

of spring dusk

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

 

Second Issue of Hedgerow Poetry Journal

     So delighted that my tanka sequence and haiga are appearing in the second issue of Hedgerow. Thank you, sweet Caroline, for featuring me among 12 other poets! It is a wonderful collection of poetry and artwork.  

 

     My untitled tanka sequence and haiga:

 

eternally lost
in a garden maze
I search for you
in places I need you
most

 

will I ever be loved
the same way as before
the willow hedges
of where we’ve been
still longs for you

 

entrenched
in my lonely heart
memories
like dandelions
full of wishes

 

before the day ends
counting morning glories
I have to accept
my life the way it is
without you

 

 

     Click here to read the issue.

 

Seize the Poem (September 10 prompt)

 

can you see
through the remains
of my past...
inside me I know
life has never ended

 

(Me)

 

all that remains
from the underbelly
of maple leaves . . .
the scribbles of a snail
from where I once let go
of old broken things

 

(Kathy Uyen Nguyen)

 

 

 

See comments here.
 

Cattails - Premier Edition January 2014

      *My very first tanka sequence now appears in Cattails, the first collection of the United Haiku and Tanka Society. If you'd like to be a member of UHTS or would want to submit for the next issue, go to this link. 

Between the Rubble


huge waves roar
throughout the city . . .
over and over
just my urgent prayers
all through the night


after the storm
between the rubble
and stench of death . . .
I wait to hear a voice
on my cellphone


another coconut tree
uprooted from the ground . . .
my finger shakes
as I scroll down the list
of flood survivors


a midnight call
jolts me from my sleep . . .
am I dreaming
when you say you're alive
yet thirsty and starving?

(Dedicated to the Quisumbing family who were victims of typhoon Haiyan. There's nothing that love cannot rebuild)

*I've just requested to be a member. Here the link to see the membership list.