Colleen’s 2019 #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge Recap No. 137, #SynonymsOnly

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 Entries must be the original work of the author, be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere for the entire time period it takes to complete the judging.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.

I’m still having issues with WordPress – It takes a bare minimum of two tries to get your links to take in the editor. In addition, when I grab your poem from your emails many of your poems come across as “Headings” in the new Gutenberg editor. That means each line has to be manually changed into a paragraph and centered on the post. Until we all use the same Editor on WordPress, I don’t see this issue improving.

This is the final week I will be featuring all the poems in the recap

Because of this issue, and due to time constraints (I’m novel writing), starting next week, I will ONLY include the Poet of the Week, and the Honorable Mention(s) in the Recap. You won’t be required to email me your poems any longer. I will visit your poems from the links on the challenge post, and encourage everyone else to do the same. Thank you. ❤

Thank you for jumping through hoops this year as we struggled together to find a workable solution to the Recap. Thanks for understanding. ❤

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 Sue Vincent as the Poet of the Week. Her Tanka, called “Whispering,” really captured the meaning of the prompt words. Her accompanying photos, which are quite haunting – along with her words, gave me goosebumps! All in a good way. She tapped into something primal! This poem is a true Tanka and can be read forward and backward. Excellent!

The Honorable Mention this week goes to The Dark Netizen, for his Senryu, called “Human Nature,” which really conjured up images of the prompt words, kind and shift. Many of us touched on this same subject. We all need more kindness in the world! Not sure about the difference between a Senryu vs. a Haiku? Click HERE.

HERE’S WHO JOINED US LAST WEEK FOR THE POETRY CHALLENGE USING SYNONYMS FOR

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“kind & shift” , #Tanka by Keerthi Ramesh Iyer

dawn awakes soft warmth

blushes in sweet pink and red

horizon paves change

embrace the giving light

tearful prayers of hope

***

“Compassion,” #Tanka by Ritu Bhathal

An alteration
In attitude will bring
About compassion
We all need to change the way
That we act and see the world

***

“Before,” #Cinquain by Vashti Quiroz-Vega

Before

I was someone

I didn’t want to be

I was sad, lost, and invisible

I changed

Before

I became strong

I knew what it was like

to be weak and undeserving

I changed

***

“Beach Bum,” #Haiku by Donna Matthews

affable beach bum
spurning frenetic movement
soaking up sunshine

***

“To Better Understand,” #Etheree by Sally Cronin

It
is most
genial
to meet someone
who is of like mind,
and who influences
us to explore and to change
the perspective we have of life,
so that we can better understand
how we are all connected together.

***

“Crazy Bug,” #Haiku by Traci Kenworth

The nature of

Family, a crazy bug

Their stretch endless.

***

“A Helping Hand,” #Haiku by Dave Madden

Sometime, you get stuck.

A helping hand can change things,

Getting you on track.

***

“Spirit Lingering,” #Shadorma by H. R. R. Gorman

Down she treads 
In ivory chemise, 
Steps muted. 
The spirit puts 
Her pale lips 
To the sleeping babe’s forehead, 
Wishes gentle sleep. 

***

“Nice Try,” #Etheree by Annette Rochelle Aben

Eyes

Rolled twice

About face

FORWARD MARCH, now

We don’t tolerate

That TYPE of behavior

Young lady, you know better

Than to lick all the chocolate

From the raisin and peanut candies

And then put them back in the covered dish

***

“Whispering,” #Tanka by Sue Vincent

Consciousness wavers

Ancient kindred whispering

Silent secrets shared

To know with other senses

Understanding of the heart

***

“Black Diaphanous Horses,” #Tanka by M. J. Mallon

Such a breed they are

Like no other you will see

Transformed from shadows

Wicked horses galloping

Are they real or devil’s dream?

***

“The Heat Breaks,” #Shadorma by Kerfe Roig

sky clouds rain–
suddenly letting
go, transformed–
drunk vortex,
mélange of thunder swirling–
spilling wind water

***

“To Be the River,” #Butterfly #Cinquain by Linda Lee Lyberg

Subtle
nature’s movement
when deep dark rivers glide
through rolling hills and lush valleys
tranquil
smooth stones buried in shifting sand
Oh! to be the river
to understand
life’s flow.

***

“Human Nature,” #Senryu by The Dark Netizen

If Humans Were More
Caring, We Could Change This World,
And Make It Better…

***

“Shift & Kind,” #Etheree by Anita Dawes

My

Loving

Father said

You have it all

Move your thoughts forward

Plan your life your own way

Make as many changes you need

I felt my father’s gentle whisper

With his help, I became the butterfly…

***

“Beware,” #Tanka by Willow Willers

What type of weather

Has this earth’s moved its axis

Climate upside down

Be caring of our planet

Don’t cover it in granite.

***

“Milk of Human Kindness,” #Butterfly #Cinquain by Jane Dougherty

What breed

is ours that stirs

only when our little

cup over-flows though death stalks for

others?

Evil grows banal and we watch

with bored indifference

as the red tide

rises.

***

“Late Afternoon Weeding,” #Haibun #Tanka by Frank J. Tassone

Mira has the green thumb, not me. The cool of the late afternoon comes upon us at last. The humidity remains constant; that is the one thing we did not miss out west! Still, She decides it’s a better time to weed than during the prime heat of the day.

She fills her pine basket with the first round. One grunt, and the intruders strangling her flowers come up, roots and all. She hums as she works. Meanwhile, grasshoppers chirp on, a cicada sounds off, and sporadic birdsongs abound beside a central Air Condition’s constant drone.

Under her care, our flower and vegetable gardens have a chance. The backyard critters will be so happy.

descending sun

and a gracious change

in the weather

a mammoth-sized cottoball

slowly floats away

***

“Save Our Mother,” #Haibun #Haiku by Colleen M. Chesebro

I feel the tremors of mother earth beneath my feet. In my heart, I know she is on the brink of a huge shift – the likes we’ve never seen before. Many issues will come into play for us and our many worldly neighbors: politics, economic disasters, dramatic weather fluxes and changes, the migration of peoples to other lands, and even our own shifts in perception of the truth. These are the thoughts tearing my heart apart today.

I want to speak out – to somehow make my voice heard above the constant grind of the news cycle. How can I help?

Hearts in the right place—
demand a public forum
cry for songs of change

Some secrets should be made public, known, shown, and spoken. Still, our cries for the truth go unheeded. When will we work together in concert to save our earthly mother?

***

See you tomorrow for the new challenge!