Colleen’s 2019 #Tanka Tuesday #Poet of the Week & Honorable Mention(s), No. 145, #PhotoPrompt

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inPrior Years Poetry StarsTags:, , , , , , , ,

Welcome to the Tanka Tuesday Poetry Recap featuring the Poet of the Week and any honorable mention poetry. 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.

I had a terrible time picking only one or two poems for this week’s challenge. Emotionally charged poetry seemed the order of the day as many of our poems featured a climate change theme.

Passions ran high! I enjoy thinking our poetry can change the world for the better. Although I’m not sure Jane Dougherty expected to ignite a poetic climate change forum with her photo pick. Many thanks to Jane for selecting this image. I begged asked her to pick the winners, but she kindly declined. ❤

Congratulations, and many thanks to all the participants! Please visit the challenge post comments HERE, where you’ll find the links to everyone’s poetry. Stop by and say hello! ❤

I will publish the Poet of the Week and Honorable Mention Poets in the 2019 Poet of the Week Anthology, which everyone can 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. You may not feel the same way about my choice. That’s okay. Perception is different for all of us.

Remember, if you’re selected as the Poet of the Week, you select next month’s photo. Just email me a few days before the challenge so I can put the post together. Thank you. ❤

The Poet of the Week

This week, I’ve chosen D. Wallace Peach as the Poet of the Week for her Double Etheree poem featured below. Next month, Diana will select the image for the photo prompt challenge on October 15th. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

This double Etheree contains a sharp political edge. She doesn’t mince words and states the plight of the world’s climate in succinct terms. It’s amazing the inspiration we can get from one photo.

Read this poem out loud. Her words are full of imagery, another fine example of show, don’t tell.

Fades to Black

white
ice melts
in trickles
etching gullies
calving blue glaciers
until oceans submerge
gray ashes of field and farm
when birds and butterflies succumb
will we bray for justice, thoughts, and prayers
proclaim false innocence, righteous despair
or rue our excuses and pay our debts
spill tears for an absent tomorrow
bewildered as our children drown
between islands of lost trees
rooted in salt waters
among dying leaves
a wasted world
of green life
fades to
black

©2019 D. Wallace Peach

Honorable Mention

Pat R. took a different approach with her Tanka poem. I found the imagery of where “freshwater meets saltwater” to be a nice analogy for getting along – compromise, if you will. Her message was one of hope and the possibility that we will overcome and adapt.

Compromise

below the surface
hidden in these reflections,
lives of compromise
where ocean water meets fresh –
overcoming, adapting

©2019 Pat R.

Poetry!

See you tomorrow for a new challenge! Be ready to write some syllabic poetry.

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

49 thoughts on “Colleen’s 2019 #Tanka Tuesday #Poet of the Week & Honorable Mention(s), No. 145, #PhotoPrompt”

  7. Thanks so much for the honor, Colleen. I’m just tickled pink and no longer depressed about writing such a bleak poem. Ha ha. Thanks to Jane, once again, for the awesome prompt. I have a doozy in mind for next month’s image. 🙂 Can’t wait. ❤ ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Excellent choices, Colleen, each so very different from the other. My favorite line: “will we bray for justice, thoughts, and prayers.” “Bray” is exactly the right word.

    Liked by 2 people

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