Unless stated otherwise, all poetry on Swimming in Lines of Haiku is Copyright Kirsten Cliff and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from the author. kirsten(DOT)cliff(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Monday, July 2, 2012

Tanka Entries for The SILOH Tanka Contest!

Many thanks to all here for their entries into The SILOH Tanka Contest. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below about which tanka you enjoy, and say hello to your fellow poets. Good luck to everyone who has entered! :)

*
winter greys
if tomorrow never comes
will she know?
just how much
I loved her

Mike Keville
England UK.

*
end of summer
these cherries smell
of snow
suddenly I realize
we have the same skin

angie werren
USA

*
the shiver
of a long-forgotten wish
winter dream
our days slowly become
longer and longer

Christina Nguyen
USA

*
winter parting…
I’m leaving on the night plane
won’t be back…
on his pillow her last note
in her bold perfect writing

John Daleiden
Phoenix, Arizona USA in the Sonoran Desert

*
mulling over
the difference between
haiku and senryu
I buy courgettes
out of season

Dick Whyte
NZ

*
snow falls
into the darkness
beyond our back door
a thousand dreams
waiting

Aubrie Cox
USA

*
suddenly awake
to see a sharp sickle
hanging low
in the winter sky...
I grasp the edge of my dream

Chen-ou Liu
Canada

*
waking up
this winter morning
I remember
how to fold paper
into a heart

Angelo B. Ancheta
Philippines

*
first winter dream
i float inside the heart
of my mother's womb
evening snow blankets
my innocent body

Pamela A. Babusci
USA-NY

*
crescent moon
its winter companions
crisp clear stars
inside we dream
the milky way


Jeff Hanson
USA

*
winter evening
the choices I didn’t make
the path I have taken …
it is never too late
to dream another dream

Asni Amin
Singapore

*
wrapped up
in my favorite book
I resist
the temptation to skip
to the last page

Cara Holman
USA

*
even as I sketch
you're softly erasing
the dream...
to the last beat of my heart
deer tracks in the snow

Claire Everett
UK

*
waking to fireworks
the midwinter's dream
has long vanished
I no longer can remember
the sound of his voice

Merrill Ann Gonzales
Dayville, CT USA 

*
snow caps
lost in our view
through smoke
the full thunder moon
refocuses our dreams

Andrea Grillo
US

*
spectacular sea
of clouds, I hope no one
finds
an alibi as I drift
lazily to age(s)

Ernesto P. Santiago
Philippines

*
restringing
your grandmother's pearls
pure and white
worn on our wedding day

and now at divorce court

Patricia Sullivan
USA

*
sand peppered on rocks
wind-powered balls of froth
beach observations
salted tears sting my face
anger seasons memories

Kylie Dinning
Australia

*
an old love
remembered...
beneath the snow
does the meadow dream
of spring

Paul Smith
England

*
like that wooden bench
on which we first kissed
in your garden
you and I both have seen
much better days

johnny baranski
USA

*
my dream is one
of winter long ago...
my cold father
whom first I met late in life
helps me build a snowman

André Surridge
New Zealand 

*
left hemisphere or right
north or south
shadows cast on both sides
of the gnomon in a
winter solstice dream

Terri L. French
USA

*
A winter's journey
Glow of candles light the way -
Another year
A handful of dreams
For me and you

Kris Kennedy
USA

*
winter dreams
how they always show me
the same thing...
you waking from your sleep
in the graveyard

Tracy Davidson
UK 

*
crystal droplets
and leafless branches
of dark bronze. . .
my chandelier becomes
a winter garden

Janet Lynn Davis
USA

*
summer heat
inching closer on
the subway to read
her tattoo
Winter Dream

Alan S. Bridges
Littleton, MA USA

*
winter dream
some clouds a bouquet
of roses
in sleep even emptiness
is an embrace

Alegria Imperial
Canada

*
putting aside
a book, I meet your face
a cloud of smoke
rushing in haste out of
the terrace glass door

Sasa Vazic
Serbia

*
‘brass monkeys’
don’t care about origins—
the wind
coming off the North Sea
pulls tight on my scrotum

Colin Stewart Jones
Scotland

*
the transparent weave
of this vintage tea-cloth
my fragile dreams
still hand-dried and polished
by the faded green linen

Julie Thorndyke
Australia 

*
a frosty start
and fog that hangs around
all day
I dream of coconut palms
and a warm lagoon

Elaine Riddell
New Zealand

*
winter darkness—
holding on to a light
summer vision
        that field full of fireflies . . .
        each slight luminescence

Margaret Dornaus
U.S.

*
A lacklustre moon
upon snow-capped mountain peaks
amidst dwindling stars
I walk a desolate road
to exit my winter dream

Keith A. SIMMONDS
FRANCE

*
winter dream...
waiting for the not waiting
in thrall to the sun
and a place to spread our wings
before the earth has woken

Helen Buckingham
England

*
by the fireplace
the crackle of our laughter
melting into a dream
only the winter moon knows
how long is forever

Christine L. Villa
USA

*
the tremble of pine
in cardinal song
from Vivaldi's dreams
I measure my breath
by candles not yet blown

Kathy Uyen Nguyen
USA

*
Summer solstice
Sweat wet days
Cicadas scream love songs
Bringing dreams
Of winter

Charles T. Whipple
Japan

*

8 comments:

  1. some very nice tanka here, folks. Enjoyed reading them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. waking to fireworks
    the midwinter's dream
    has long vanished
    I no longer can remember
    the sound of his voice

    So glad I found your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Merrill Ann Gonzales
    snowbirdpress@sbcglobal.net
    Dayville, CT USA

    waking to fireworks
    the midwinter's dream
    has long vanished
    I no longer can remember
    the sound of his voice.

    Thanks for letting me know it was entered... Hope this is o.k.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Merrill! Will add your entry to the ones above. I'm so happy you found my blog too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. left hemisphere or right
    north or south
    shadows cast on both sides
    of the gnomon in a
    winter solstice dream


    The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon (γνώμων) is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Terri. Please send me your email address so I can contact you if you're the winner!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A lacklustre moon
    upon snow-capped mountain peaks
    amidst dwindling stars
    I walk a desolate road
    to exit my winter dream

    Keith A. SIMMONDS
    FRANCE
    kasuls@yahoo.co.uk
    Happy, healthy and peaceful birthday, Kristen!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you, Keith. Both tanka and birthday wishes well received! :)

    ReplyDelete