Tag Archives: #poetrycommunity

by | January 3, 2024 · 5:15 am

Shadow and Light: #TankaTuesday

In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge, we are now at Part I, Early Cold (January 5 – 20) Shokan 小寒. I suppose even in Arizona this is true. We are now colder than we were. On my daily walks I wear a lightweight neck scarf, a thin cardigan, and a rain-type jacket. It is not really winter wear, but it is a far cry from the heat of our summers when I only want to wear the lightest sundress I can find.

This winter’s cold light,

crisp and startling, throws shadows

on glistening grass.

Have you seen the cat lady portraits by art photographer Brooke Hummer? Gorgeous and smart. https://apanational.org/inspiration/entry/brooke-hummer-cats-women-and-art/

The gardener and I have an anniversary on Friday. We have been married so long the kids need to plan a party for next year! Also in news: grand baby is coming in a little over three weeks! I’ve been working on my grandma name. Thinking of the Dutch “Bomma,” but still mulling.

I submitted the second section of my unpublished memoir to the Tucson Festival of Books contest. I received notice that it is a finalist for the contest. Last year the first section was a finalist in the same contest. I have been joking that I’m “always a bridesmaid,” although I am grateful that it is

70 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Arizona, art journaling, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | December 23, 2023 · 7:39 pm

Trying the Abhanga: #TankaTuesday

This is Part I of 2, Winter Solstice (December 21 – January 4) Touji season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

I decided to try an abhanga, which is an Indian form of 6-6-6-4 syllables with lines 2 and 3 rhyming. Generally, this form is–I believe–a religious poem form. I have bolded the kigo words.

This first poem is about Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women. In the book, Mrs. March shows the girls how to begin their Christmas by delivering food and care to a starving, freezing German immigrant family. In the mid-nineteenth century, Germans were one of the main groups immigrating to the United States. But the March family was living without the father for the time-being, and they were quite poor themselves. The girls ate bread and milk for Christmas breakfast because that was all that was left after feeding the strangers.

DELIVERING THE FAMILY’S BREAKFAST TO THE POOR IMMIGRANTS

Alcott’s Little Women

models Christmasy love

gifting others above

that of one’s self

***

Here’s another poem that uses kigos that fit with my daily life.

THE SEASON OF DAILY WALKS

on my pink sunrise walks

the wren and the robin

sing sweet carols, all in

for the season

***

I submitted the second section of my unpublished memoir to the Tucson Festival of Books contest. I received notice that it is a finalist for the contest. Last year the first section was a finalist in the same contest. I have been joking that I’m “always a bridesmaid,” although I am grateful that it is a finalist

Here’s a fun 101-word story published by the journal 101 Words. Hope you find it humorous!

https://101words.org/small-battles/

I’ve been working on the 5 minute challenge hosted by The Ugly Art Club. These are the first three spreads I completed. The prompts, in order, are CYCLE, LUNAR, and SLOTS.

May your holidays be healthy and happy. XO

46 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, art journaling, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Poetry, Publishing, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | December 12, 2023 · 2:59 pm

Kimos with Kigos: #TankaTuesday

This is the 2nd week of the  Heavy Snow (December 7 – 20) season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

The challenge this week is to write three kimos, which are an Israeli form of haiku. Colleen suggested three kigo phrases to use in the three. A kimo has 10, 7, 6 lines and is fairly static. Here are the kigo phrases:

  • #1:“buying a new calender” (7 syllables)
  • #2:“winter desolation” (6 syllables)
  • #3:“trimming the Christmas tree” (6 syllables)

Here are my kimos:

almost at the end of a painful year

buying a new calendar

brings me hope for healing

***

remembering his proposal to her

on the twelfth of December

winter jubilation

***

on my mother’s floor they gather around

to celebrate together

trimming the Christmas tree

The first poem is obvious. This has been a pretty bad year on a global scale.

The second poem is about my daughter and SIL’s engagement several years ago. It was on December 12. Then they married in the courthouse on March 12 during Covid and had a big wedding on February 12 almost two years ago. As Colleen points out in her #tankatuesday post, this is the 12th season. We are also in the 12th month by our calendar. Notice that I turned the kigo “winter desolation” around, making it “winter jubilation.” I wanted to write about daughter’s love of twelve and didn’t want it negative.

The third poem is about my mother’s retirement community.

Lit Christmas tree ornaments

On Sunday, the journal Roi Fainéant Press and its EIC Tiffany M. Storrs published my new Remedios Varo-inspired tiny story, Mimesis. This one is just as weird as the others, and it does have a cat as an important character. https://www.roifaineantpress.com/post/mimesis-by-luanne-castle?fbclid=IwAR0J2DQ4KmcmG_l1Iw8te2MYMXtAw6ydZfm11MEr68lrlFXVBZIJgVMv0Wk

29 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Art and Music, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Poetry, Publishing, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | December 7, 2023 · 3:34 pm

Of the Season: #TankaTuesday

This is the 1st week of the  Heavy Snow (December 7 – 20) season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

I wrote a chōka and followed it (as is the custom) with a short poem called an envoy. I included a senryu, which is like a haiku but about human foibles, not nature. We are supposed to find all the kigo we can in the above painting, but I took it as a very loose guide.

anticipation

the sky more shaded, nuanced

a hawk soars above

what lies in store before end

of year and new times

preparing for Hanukkah

lighting the darkness

winter birds fly overhead

taking our troubles with them

*

Hanukkah candles

are lit in the darkest month

to lead a new path

I focused on Hanukkah because it starts tonight and lasts for eight days. The kigo words/phrases that I used are anticipation, hawk, preparing, Hanukkah, lighting the darkness, winter birds. The photo image I chose was something I see on my walk everyday, the mighty Arizona saguaro. I think they look similar to giant menorahs.

If you remember my bad knees poem from last month, I am excited to tell you that it was in the top ten read poems on One Art in November. Yay!!!! https://oneartpoetry.com/2023/12/01/one-arts-top-10-most-read-poets-of-november-2023/

cactus plant
Photo by Thomas Plets on Pexels.com

49 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Arizona, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | November 29, 2023 · 10:53 am

Light Snow, Week 2: #TankaTuesday

This is the 2nd week of the Light Snow season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

Colleen gave us our kigo phrases for this week, as well as the poetic form. We were to write three dodoitsu, a form of Japanese poetry, following a 7-7-7-5 syllable count pattern.

  • #1: “early winter dusk”
  • #2: “chilly north winds blow”
  • #3: “warmth around the hearth”

###

afternoons lose light sooner

coyotes prowl for dinner

gloom collects in my kitchen

early winter dusk

###

chilly north winds do not blow

we balance in luxury

no longer hot, but not cool

air gentle to touch

###

though today’s weather is fair

tomorrow will be chilly

and then we’ll be grateful for

warmth around the hearth

###

Care December will be starting day after tomorrow at Everything Art. Every year, Kasia who runs EA offers this free self-care and intuitive art “course.” Every day we get a video with art prompt and self-care tip as well as a brief nature experience. The only thing she asks is that we donate what we can to Action Against Hunger.

In preparation for the Care December experience, I made myself a little junk journal with a pretty cover. For the journal, I used a New York Life brochure. The staples didn’t hold so I bound it with a shoe lace. The cover is denim from an old pair of jeans, plaid fabric from a dress Grandma made for me when I was twelve, and an applique I had for my daughter’s wedding junk journal that I did not use. I wish the colors came out truer in the photo, but it’s this early winter daylight, I guess. The applique and lace are the same hunter green. The greens in the plaid are rich. And the denim is a true dark denim blue. So this image is a dud, clearly.

Each page is prepped for usage with gesso or collage.

49 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | November 21, 2023 · 12:58 pm

Light Snow, Week 1: #TankaTuesday

This is the 1st week of the Light Snow (November 22 – December 6) Shosetsu 小雪 Northern Hemisphere & Fine Weather: Shoman 小満 Southern Hemisphere season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

For a kigo word I chose turkey because even though we have spectacular summery weather right now, it is Thanksgiving week–even in Arizona! I decided to try a new to me form, tanka prose. I hope I did it right.

###

Grateful for Our Blessings

Once again our family will meet for Thanksgiving amidst the beautiful Phoenix weather. How grateful I am that we can be together. There will be ten plus one this time. The “plus one” will be brought by DIL and son . . . and is due in two months (or so).

under bluest skies

with bare arms and cheeks sunkissed

we come together

kids bring turkey and gravy

we offer fixins with love

gray scale photo of a pregnant woman
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

71 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | November 10, 2023 · 8:30 am

New Poem at JMWW

Jen Michalski, Managing and Founding Editor of JMWW Journal, has published my poem, “Edna Pontellier Needed a Bagpiper.” Edna Pontellier is the protagonist of the novel The Awakening. I don’t think you need to have read the book to understand the poem or Edna’s “fascination” with the water.

Poetry: Edna Pontellier Needed a Bagpiper* by Luanne Castle

If you’re so inclined, comments may be left on the site.

In case you’re wondering, yes, I’ve experienced a bagpiper on the shore, as well as many other wonderful places. I used to think I was a reincarnated Scottish person because of my love of the pipes. But it might have started with ballet classes. My ballet teacher also taught Scottish Highland dancing (which I wanted to take SO BADLY but my mother said no), so I was used to hearing the pipes at the studio and at performances.

scottish piper playing bagpipes
Photo by Lewis Ashton on Pexels.com

Leave a comment

Filed under #amreading, #poetrycommunity, #writerlife, #writingcommunity, Literary Journals, Poetry, Publishing

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | November 2, 2023 · 6:49 am

What Happened in My Mother’s Retirement Community When I Visited?

I’m very grateful to Mark Danowsky, Editor of One Art, who has published a poem I wrote when I visited my mother in August. I traveled with my bad knees and my husband to see Mom and attend our high school reunion. We stayed in a guest room in the retirement community where Mom lives. And this is what happened the morning we were leaving. I hope you enjoy this narrative poem. It all happened just like this . . . .

Traveling to Visit Mom with My Bad Knees by Luanne Castle
Long corridor, Britannia Royal Naval College
Long corridor, Britannia Royal Naval College by David Hawgood is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

18 Comments

Filed under #amreading, #poetrycommunity, #writerlife, #writingcommunity, Literary Journals, Poetry, Publishing

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 31, 2023 · 6:30 am

Poem Published by Blue Heron Review & #TankaTuesday

Cristina M. R. Norcross, Founding Editor of Blue Heron Review has published one of my new poems in the new issue of the journal. The theme is Heart Source & Haven. In these dark, anxiety-ridden days, what a wonderful issue to read. My poem is about a magical place I found when I was a kid. It was in the woods across the narrow rural road near Caledonia, Michigan.

You can find the issue here: https://blueheronreview.com/bhr-issue-17-fall-2023/ You will love these poems!

Here is mine:

A Very Specific Opening in the Woods Near Caledonia

The road lilts through the thick woods on either side.
There are no mailboxes to denote location, but
that heart-shaped patch of lupines marks the entry
if I remember to balance across the moss-covered log
and bend down to pass under the sugar maple leaves.
Follow the burbling creek down past the grasses
nestling the tree trunks and saplings and when
I’m lulled into the rhythm of the path, it appears
in front of me—an open meadow sparkling with
sunlight on the kaleidoscopic array of poppies,
Sweet William, and phlox—hummingbirds
and butterflies—even dragonflies—rising amidst
the motes of pollen and seed, a bluebird’s chest
pumping its song, and an alert squirrel scolding.
At the top of my basket is the tablecloth—red
and white checkered, natch—and I lay out the wine
and chocolates, the ginger cake and oranges.
Later, I drowse with my head on my doubled sweater.
That’s when they arrive in their gossamer tutus
and green tights, with their silvery voices. In the haze
of my half-opened eyes, I watch them for memory’s
sake. I will paint them later, as if they are a dream.

I wrote a tanka with Dia de Los Muertos as the kigo word for #TankaTuesday.

[Topic: First Frost]

Before winter’s here

on Dia de Los Muertos

we remember ones

we have lost to the Reaper

and celebrate life and love.

Although we are not in danger of a frost in Phoenix, the days and nights are cooler than they were. When I wake up in the morning, we are in the low 50s. I’ve been walking in the morning to take advantage of cooler air.

woman in a a costume and makeup for the day of the dead in mexico
Photo by Oscar Damián Jiménez on Pexels.com

BONUS: to use Trick or Treat. Here is my lune:

Trick or treat, smell my

feet, give me

something good to eat.

(stolen from the childhood jingle)You can’t improve on a classic!

34 Comments

Filed under #amreading, #poetrycommunity, #writerlife, #writingcommunity, Literary Journals, Poetry, Publishing, Syllabic Poetry

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | October 24, 2023 · 1:28 pm

First Frost, Week 1: #TankaTuesday

This is the 1st week of the “First Frost” season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.

Although we don’t have a first frost in October ever in Arizona, and some years no frost at all, there are other aspects of the season that we do share with the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, as Colleen points out. She mentions Halloween and All Saints. I, of course, think of Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Two years ago I created a nicho to celebrate the day and the lives of my kitties who had passed over the rainbow bridge. https://writersite.org/2021/10/06/making-after-loss/

This year I bought a Count Dracula costume for my black cats. I wanted to capture Meesker’s little white fangs, but unfortunately, he is not a model. My daughter had to add in the fangs for me. Meet Count Meeskula!

My old lady Kana, on the other hand, is quite the ham. She loves dressing up. She does not have fangs, though. Meet Countess Grannyula!

So when I saw that black cats for luck is a kigo I knew I would write about them!

MEESKER AND KANA

We’ve entered

a time to ponder

new darkness,

more shadows,

and celebrate the season

of lucky black cats.

57 Comments

Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Cats and Other Animals, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , ,