Tag Archives: #TankaTuesday

by Luanne | February 14, 2024 · 2:48 pm

UPDATE: Early Spring in Arizona and Writing News (#TankaTuesday)

In this post I forgot to mention a reading that Storyteller Journal had this past weekend. I read one of my poems from Kin Types, a poem I’ve never read aloud before. Here’s a link if you’re interested. My poem is at the 20 minute mark.

The challenge for 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 21 is Early Spring, Part II. I wrote a Butterfly Cinquain because I liked the name and the idea of it for early spring. I have bolded the kigo words, “coming of spring.”

The Weather Has Shifted Toward Spring

Today

I celebrate

the coming of spring days

the sun has turned up its wattage

I smile

without even realizing

so glad for sun-kissed skin

for blossoms tipped

upward

###

The Power of the Feminine I, Volume 1, a poetry anthology edited by Christal Ann Rice Cooper and Donna Biffar is one of the most exciting anthologies I’ve read. The perspective of each poem is from a feminine speaker, and the inspirations come from mythology, history, the female body, and the contemporary world. The breadth of subjects is astonishing, and the poems well-crafted. I am thrilled to have a poem in this book, keeping company with work by many of the finest poets. I expect Volume 2 to be just as exceptional as this one.

My poem is about a healer woman accused of being a witch. I’ll have two more in the second volume. But SERIOUSLY this is a book you want. I am so impressed with all these wonderful poems. It would also make a great gift for anyone interested in women’s voices, women’s history, feminism, etc.

This thick book is only $10.99 on Amazon–or if you prefer a Kindle version, only $3!

The Lothlorien Poetry Journal has published a new volume. Five of my poems are in there, along with lots of poetry by other poets.

If you’re reading this today, February 14, Happy Valentine’s Day. Currently, my Valentine is my grandson, who is the cutest baby the world has ever known.

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by Luanne | January 31, 2024 · 12:21 pm

Two Arizona Bussokuseki: #TankaTuesday

The challenge for 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 19, 1/30/24, Part II: Deep Cold is to write a bussokuseki poem which is similar to a tanka, but has an extra line at the end: 5-7-5-7-7-7. My kigos are “ground hog day” and “depth of winter” and I used one in each of two bussokuseki. Spring really seemed to have sprung on my walk today, but of course we are supposed to get a rainstorm and cold tomorrow night.

in depth of winter

the sun comes out and warms us

the sweet acacias

blossom, perfuming the air,

birds chirp and trill their anthems

tomorrow chill will set in

***

Friday ground hog day

will determine spring’s advent

fair days came for us

with the birth of our grandson

who will celebrate one week

of life on that holiday

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by Luanne | January 26, 2024 · 7:08 pm

Baby Haiku: #TankaTuesday

24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 18, 1/23/24, Part I, Deep Cold (January 20 – February 2) Daikan 大寒

For this week’s haiku I used “bleached grasses” for a kigo.

the bleached grasses

wave in a joyful welcome

to my new grandson

Now you can tell me how adorable he is :)!!!!

UPDATE: I have switched out the baby’s photo with this one of me holding him because I don’t want his photo floating all over the internet. So hopefully it will go away from any searches soon.

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by Luanne | January 16, 2024 · 4:13 pm

Sonoran Blossoms Haibun: #TankaTuesday

In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge for #TankaTuesday we have Poet’s Choice, as it’s the third week of the Early Cold season. My kigos are “Amaryllis” and “cold light,” which can be found in the haiku portion of the following haibun.

***

Sonoran Blossoms

The two gardening seasons in the Sonoran desert are warm and cool. We plant flowers in the spring, which can be from February though May, for summer blooming. In the fall, we plant cool season flowers, which last until May. Our months of choice are generally October and May. My yard is one acre with a wash running through it. On one side of the wash the land is slightly higher than the other, and because cold air sinks, some winters the lower side may experience a slight freeze that lasts until mid-morning, while the other side rarely freezes. The flowers may freeze to death occasionally, if they are not covered by frost cloths. However, many winters we get no freeze at all. Because of the mild weather, we can plant blossoming indoor-outdoor plants outside after they lose their flowers.

amaryllis blooms

fade under winter’s cold light

time to plant outdoors

Sometimes people get creative with protecting plants when the temperature hovers uncomfortably close to freezing in the early morning hours. This person uses Santa hats usually, but this year after New Year’s they replaced them with multi-colored beanies!

Recently, I participated in an Ugly Art Club event and in Care December from Everything Art. I’ve mentioned them both before. This is the Care December journal I finished. Each spread is an exploration in emotions and self-care, rather than being an attempt to create art. So there is a lot of hidden meaning behind each one. And, yes, the idea for me was to create another GRUNGY journal, as they are my favorites. The theme this year was the color blue in all its meanings.

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by Luanne | January 9, 2024 · 9:25 pm

Verse Envelope Haibun: #TankaTuesday

In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge, we are now at Part II, Early Cold (January 5 – 20) Shokan 小寒. The request was to write a haibun, so I decided to try a verse envelope haibun where the prose passage is bookended by haikus. Generally, my haibun are prose passage followed by one haiku. My kigos are bolded. I think the first haiku is stretching the definition of haiku, but it’s what I wanted to say.

***

new year is now old

new beginnings are over

the routine is back

We approach each new year with anticipation, hoping for something to stir us. We want to feel renewed and ready for a spark to keep us placing one foot ahead of the other. But we are only in the second week of 2024 and already we have resumed the labor of our jobs, the routine of our personal care and feeding. For most of us, our relationships have not changed. But divinity willing, within the next 2-4 weeks I will have a new relationship with a grandson.

after we meet, I’ll

introduce you to snow crows

and sweet acacia

***

This tree is in my yard. Notice how its scars are hearts. Can’t wait to show that to the kid!

(I had to go back to classic editor to add the photo because I was getting an error message. “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed.” Has anybody else been getting that message and do you know anything about it?

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by Luanne | 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

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by Luanne | 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

***

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

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by Luanne | 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.

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

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by Luanne | 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

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by Luanne | 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.