for those willing to listen
for those willing to listen
the answers are out there
while the world walks in circles
trying to find the truth
a poet’s voice rings out
For Glen Buttkus, a poet whose truth lives on.
Shared with An OLN Memoriam to Glenn Buttkus at dVerse Poets Pub.
At Home
What is a trip to a place left behind,
one that always lives in my heart?
Have I returned home when I visit there,
or when I leave?
This is my response to Twiglet #308: returned home.
As an exercise, I have also written this as a gogyohka and a senryū.
(Also shared with Colleen’s #TankaTuesday
Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 303, Senryū.)
always present
a trip to a place left behind
always in my heart
at home in two places
past and present as one
never gone
have I returned home
when I visit the past
or when the trip ends?
Senryū are similar to haiku, but they tend to be about human nature, rather than nature.
Gogyohka (pronounced go-gee-yoh-kuh)
~ a form of Japanese poetry pioneered by Enta Kusakabe in the 1950s
~ 5-line poetry ~ like tanka, but with freedom from restraints
~ no fixed syllable requirement
~ no conventions regarding content
~ brief lines in keeping with the tradition of Japanese short verse
collection of poems
in heartfelt delivery
friends from near and far
hear labor of love in words
poetry reading
I wrote a gogyohka this morning, then realized
I could use the same theme to write a sijo to respond to
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Challenge #44: Overcome.
Words of Healing
Searching both heart and soul,
a poet finds words of healing.
Held close at first, they come alive
when read to a circle of friends.
Recovery follows loss,
as a gentle rain quenches a drought.
roads to travel
to honor another, lost
December’s dark days
once again conspire
to deliver sorrow
I’ll be traveling this week, so I’ll be absent from WordPress, but I should be home by Friday. I’m leaving now, Monday morning, to drive to Buffalo to attend the funeral of the mother of a dear friend I have known since childhood.
batter dropped in oil
much more than simple donut
brings sweet memories
a cloud passes before the moon
there is no attempt to diminish its light
theirs is a shared moment
the moon a steadfast presence
the cloud a lesson in possibilities
This poem is inspired by Merril Smith’s poem, Chance.
Image copyright
David, The Skeptic’s Kaddish
distance, measured in time
always out of reach
in the future lie possibilities
in the past, all that is unobtainable
memories, the only present
This gogyohka is my response to Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 274, #Ekphrastic #PhotoPrompt, where we are asked to write any form of syllabic poetry (including gogyohka), inspired by a photo provided by David, The Skeptics Kaddish.
The photo is of David’s father who is gone, but always present in his heart.
astronomers marvel
as my heart swells,
consumes the cosmos,
at the mere thought
of your presence
This ekphrastic poem, inspired by an image from Astronomy Picture of the Day,
is my second response to Day 11 at napowrimo.net,
where we are asked to “write a poem about a very large thing.”
Image source: © Francesco Batistella via Astronomy Picture of the Day
your mate with just a blush of red
never far from your side
in your brilliance
cardinal or otherwise
there is no sin in your presence
This gogyohka is my response to Colleen’s #TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge No. 255: #Tastetherainbow, in which we are to use the syllabic form of our choice with
a color of our choice.
there is brilliance
to be found
in family tradition
generations gathering
in celebration
This gogyohka is my response to Colleen’s #Tanka Tuesday Weekly
#Poetry Challenge #255: #Poet’sChoice (with a twist),
which asks that our syllabic poetry have a December festival/tradition.
Photo: The Crossing Magic Tree, Columbia, Missouri
(click image for a larger view of my photo in a new tab)
color gone
as night awakens
dim dusk light
crescent moon rises
pale color returns
This gogyohka is my response to Colleen’s #TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 247, #SynonymsOnly at Word Craft: Prose and Poetry,
using dusk and color for the offered words, twilight and hue.
I suppose you could say it’s a “short-line”tanka, as the syllables are consistent.
Photo: 27 April 2020 (click for larger view in new tab)
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