Welcome to the Tanka Tuesday Poetry Recap featuring the work of poets from around the globe. If you would like to participate in this challenge, you can learn the rules in the menu item called Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Guidelines.

POETRY NEWS: POETRY CONTESTS & JOURNAL SUBMISSIONS

Currently, UHTS is accepting poetry for the Autumn Issue of the Cattails Journal. Submissions for Autumn/ October issue open 1st July (midnight) GMT and close 15th August (midnight) GMT. 
Read the submission requirements: HERE. You can view the journal HERE. READ the UHTS poetry definitions that are acceptable for submission HERE.

UHTS also is sponsoring the “Fleeting Words” Tanka Competition. Submission Period and Deadline: May 1-August 15 of each year. There is a 10 poem limit on the number of submissions. If more than 10 poems are submitted, only the first 10 poems will be entered. Entries must be the original work of the author, be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere for the entire time period it takes to complete the judging. Click HERE for submission requirements and read carefully to find the current competition.

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DON’T FORGET TO EMAIL ME YOUR POEM. And, to those of you who did email their poems, thank you for using the new email tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. ❤

Remember, please send me your name, title of your poem, #type of poem, and the link to your blog post where the poem was published.

Please don’t just send me your link. When you do that, I have to go to your blog, copy your poem and information, cut and paste that with no formatting into a Word document and then, cut and paste the poem into my new post. The recap takes me about 3 hours to compile into a post. I need your help in order for me to continue publishing a RECAP featuring your poem with a link back to your blog. Starting July 23rd, I WILL NOT grab your poems from the link-backs. Sorry, it’s just too much work. ❤

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This week, we tried something new! A photo prompt or Ekphrasis prompt. (Many thanks to Merril D. Smith, for the additional information on the official name of this type of prompt). The Poetry foundation shares:

“Description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning. 

Poetryfoundation.org

DON’T FORGET: The Poet of the Week & the honorable mentions will be published in the 2019 Poet of the Week Anthology, which everyone will be able to grab as a FREE PDF in January 2020.

Each week, I like to highlight a poet who I call the Poet of the Week, who has shared an exceptional message, or shown impassioned creativity through words or form. Poetry is all about perception, so don’t be shocked if you don’t feel the same way about a poem that I do.

This week, I’ve chosen H. R. R. Gorman as the Poet of the Week. His poem, The Woman at 106, was gritty and raw in its intensity. After you read it once… read it again. The undercurrent of his words blew me away. In true form, he took on the persona of the woman who lived in that house, and I loved how he read between the lines. I think he saw things, the rest of us didn’t. Here’s what he shared:

“I don’t really know where this came from, but I just looked at that peaceful little house-front and tried to imagine who lived there. The bicycle drew my attention. With “women’s bikes’ relatively rare out there, I tried to cultivate this image of a person trying really hard to seem feminine. As a North Carolinian, I’ve had close exposure to extremely transphobic laws and situations, and I guess that inspired this poem.“

H. R. R. Gorman

I gave one Honorable Mention to Sally Cronin, and her heartfelt poem, Those We Left Behind, because of the great emotions she evoked with her words. Once again, she looked beyond the layers in this photo to show us what was buried beneath this almost too perfect exterior.

I also gave Willow Willers an Honorable Mention for her poem, The Package. Willow tells a delightful story in a double Etheree. Even though Etheree poetry is usually unrhymed, I liked the rhythm her words created. As I’ve stressed before, sometimes you’ve gotta break the rules just a little bit!

Congratulations Poets!

HERE’S WHO JOINED US LAST WEEK FOR our 1st Ekphrasic POETRY CHALLENGE using the image below:

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ORDER: title, type of poem, followed with the name of the poet, and the link back to their post, and the poem.

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“This Place, Home,” #Etheree, by Merril D. Smith

Train

slows down

time has stopped

rather, reversed–

a more pleasant time–

or perhaps it’s a dream.

She wants to stay here. This place

where flowers bloom, and it is spring

always. She gets off at the stop, now to

live another life, or one meant to be.

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“Sweet Memories” #Haibun by Miriam Hurdle

For sentimental reason, I still keep many pieces of projects my daughter made. I have a flowerpot she decorated when she was in 5th grade. It is sitting on a round glass top table between two chairs in the front patio. I like to sit in the front porch to drink coffee in the morning. The flowerpot reminds me of the things we did together when she was growing up.

Kids are grown and gone

Keeping the bikes where they were

Jolly wheels still turned

Muddy feet through door they came

Hungry mouths screamed for cookies

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“Home, Sweet, Home,” #Haiku, by Traci Kenworth

Green vines climb

Bicycle sits idle

A light warms.

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“Nature Wins,” #Haiku, by Donna Matthews

ivy creeping up
vines crawling up and over 
nature wins again

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“The Beacon,” #Haibun #Haiku by theindishe

The stony steps lined by a verdant gossamer of thin moss led to the teak paneled door of the house. Embedded in the pristine granite frame, it stood guard, a sentinel to love and life inside. The trellis lush with green foliage embellished its facade. Radiating a vernal bloom that was incited by the spark of tranquil serene from the insides of the house. The mystical French Windows, elan and regal, threw open a vista of untold love. And the bicycles stood by the trimmed hedge awaiting to be ridden onto unchartered territories. The lamp cast a bright light on a dark day.

A light of hope bright,
A beacon to show me way,
I stumble to rise.

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“106,” #Etheree, by Anita Dawes

106

Looks out

At the world

With lights shining

As if it belongs

Chairs hidden forgotten

Bicycles never ridden

Parcel placed outside just for show

Looking for all the world to belong

Hologram, a picture from the future…

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“The Woman at 106,” #Etheree/DoubleEtheree, by H. R. R. Gorman

She
Lives at
One-oh-six,
Rides a ten-speed,
Listens to a mix
Of classic rock and soul.
Once you get past the bricks
Guarding her house and her ego,
You’ll see to whom my heart is transfixed
But God says I must admire from afar.

She
Joined no
Stupid cliques
Back in high school
Where girls had no dicks.
I’d swim the river Styx
And challenge Pluto for her,
But I can’t cross the crucifix
As He stares me down and tattle-tells
To my boss, to my mom, to politics.

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“Blue Twilight,” #Etheree, by Linda Lee Lyberg

Blue 
twilight 
drifting in 
on evening breeze 
welcoming day’s end 
lush scent of greenery 
surrounds the welcoming porch 
a place to pause, a chair to rest 
gather the day’s worries, toss them to 
the wind, sip a glass of red wine and dream.

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“Those We Leave Behind, #Haibun #Haiku, by Sally Cronin

I wait in the shadows of the trees opposite the house. I glimpse movement as the family moves back and forth across the windows. A house of character, substantial and clearly a happy home. Tears run down my face and gather in grief below my chin. I do not have the will to wipe them away. They remind me of another time when I was part of the laughter and happiness. Those that I have left behind have moved on. Do they even remember me? A face appears at the window and stares across the street. A small child with a face that owes much to me, her grandmother. She waves and smiles. Content I fade back into the woods and on to my final destination.

Death is not the end
when we gift a part of us
to those left behind.

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“Home, Sweet, Home,” #Tanka, by Ritu Bhathal

This is home sweet home
Where the light on the doorstep
Shines a bright welcome
A place filled with memories
A house full of family

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“Decadent,” #Tanka by Bobby Fairfield

Sounds of jollity

carried on electric light,

pierce ivy shutters,

through twice glazed frames declaring

Neo-Georgian mockery.

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“Memories,” #Shadorma, by Pratibha

Memories –
Some faded on corners
Others bright;
A green house
Ringing with love and laughter 
With me; or without ? 

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“The Package,” Double #Etheree, by Willow Willers

Six
O’clock
Amazon
Has been to call
And left the parcel
Outside against the wall.
Jen arrives and parks her bike
This house is still not quite a home
For he is away and she’s alone.
Then she sees the package outside the door.
Full of excitement she gathers it up.
She rushed in doors to open it
It’s a beautiful photo book
Delighted she takes a look
There he is full of smiles
Waving to her from
Across the miles
Suddenly
They are
One

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“Putting Down Roots,” #Shadorma by Jane Dougherty

Putting down

roots, clothing bare dreams

with ivy,

is painting

futures with the golden hues

of shared warmth.

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“Photo Prompt,” #Tanka by M. J. Mallon

Who’s blue bike is that?

Oh wait, I see your shadow

Two bikes and two chairs

Two fruit scones, butter and jam

Two old friends sit by the light

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“Breaking Free,” #Tanka, by Robbie Cheadle

Is it possible

To escape conformity

And break your shackles?

Try riding a bicycle

With your face into the wind

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“Home is Where We Love,” #Tanka, by Vashti Quiroz-Vega

Beyond the black door

there are rooms and furniture

tastefully arranged

A home built with love and dreams

The sweetest sort of heaven

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“Home,” #Nonet, by Colleen M. Chesebro

As the fringes of darkness descend
cicadas sing their summer songs
inviting all kith and kin 
where hearts dwell together
wrapped tightly in love
dear memories
bittersweet
send me
home

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Are you looking for more writing/poetry/photography challenges?

H.R.R. Gorman has created a comprehensive list on his blog. Click HERE to learn more. ❤