Tanka Tuesday WEEKLY POETRY CHALLENGE STARS | #SyllablesOnly & #PhotoPrompt: Kat Myrman @likemercurycolliding & Diana Peach @Dwallacepeach

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

What an exciting week it has been. Thanks to everyone who put up with the switching of domain names between Word Craft Prose & Poetry and my author blog. I’m still working out the kinks… so please bear with me. If you see something wonky on my blog, please let me know. I appreciate you all! ~Colleen~

We combined challenges this week and I loved how you all picked up the themes and went with them. You’re such stars! Trent’s photo got us in the mood with a spectacular autumn scene. David Ellis’ words: “move and make” gave some some great synonyms to work with. Many thanks to you both!

Congratulations to all the poetry STARS who joined in this week!

1.Padre8.Dolores15.Linda Lee Lyberg
2.Trent McDonald9.Dolores16.Vashti Quiroz- Vega
3.Kat10.Dolores17.Pat
4.willowdot2111.kittysverses18.Kerfe Roig
5.Cheryl12.s. s.19.D. Wallace Peach
6.Jude13.Myforever. blog20.You’re next!
7.anita dawes14.Jules  

This week, for the #SyllablesOnly challenge, I selected Kat Myrman’s tanka prose, called “Just Breathe,” inspired by the photo by Trent McDonald and the prompt words Move (drift) and Make (forming) from David Ellis. This is such an excellent example of the divergence between forms. You have the prose portion that bears Kat’s thoughts and feelings. I bet most of us feel this way right now.

Notice how her tanka poem describes the beauty in the photo. Contrast that with her prose. This is what a juxtaposition is… Two separate thoughts that converge in one cohesive message. The link between the two is the phrase “just breathe…” something we all need to do for the next couple of months. ❤

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“just breathe”

I keep forgetting to breathe. The fear of dreadful unknowns fills my head. Though, not entirely unknown, having been ravaged by hate, unmanaged pandemics, misogyny, injustice, racism, bigotry, and a planet on fire for these last few horrible years, I am certain another four years of the same insanity would surely undo all that we hold decent and righteous and good. All of this hinging on a simple checkmark in a box, and on the outcome of a fragile, broken system. Not breathing seems a reasonable thing to do in times like these, though not very wise…

autumn’s reflection

ruddy treetops on blue glass

where swans drift slowly

barely forming waves, the air

still, cool as it fills my burning lungs

©2020 kat

The next poem I selected for the #PhotoPrompt challenge belongs to Diana Peach. Her creative double nonet also reflects the emotions of our current world! Notice how she flipped Trent’s photo! Now… how creative is that? Her poem reflects the topsy-turvy world of American politics, covid, and the general unrest we’re all sensing.

Trent’s photo upside down
A Beholder’s Eye

a beholder’s eye mirrors the mind
blind to the bafflement of lies
where seeing’s not believing
a world turned upside down
in clever madness
leading white swans
to slaughter
plucked of
heart
yet
wisdom
shall surface
for truth is love
unfurled on bright wings
beyond proud illusions
swans glide on tranquil waters
holding unguarded the others’
beloved reflections face to face

©2020 Diana Peach

Congratulations, Kat Myrman, it’s your turn to pick the syllables for next month’s #SyllablesOnly challenge. Please Email me your choice at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com before next month’s challenge.

And… Congratulations, Diana Peach, it’s your turn to pick a photo for the #PhotoPrompt challenge for next month. Please Email me your choice at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com before next month’s challenge.

See you tomorrow for a special celebration challenge!

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.

27 thoughts on “Tanka Tuesday WEEKLY POETRY CHALLENGE STARS | #SyllablesOnly & #PhotoPrompt: Kat Myrman @likemercurycolliding & Diana Peach @Dwallacepeach”

  1. Well done Kat Myrman and Diana Peach for your beautiful poems, and Thank you Trent, and David for the prompt, and of Colleen thank you for working so hard 💜💜💜

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Excellent, beautiful poems! A big “thank you” to the poets and to Colleen for sponsoring this challenge. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Kat and Diana, excellent both! Kat, yes, looking at nature, trying to remember to breathe. Every. Single, Day. Diana–we are indeed living in an upside-down world–but those last two lines are beautiful.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Thank you so much, Colleen. I’m just tickled that you enjoyed the poem as well as Trent’s photo turned upside down. It’s definitely how I feel – upside down and backwards. And Kat’s haibun tanka is a perfect “reflection” of how I feel. A wonderful choice. Thank you for the wonderful and inspiring challenge. ❤ ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I can so relate to Kat’s poem, as I’m sure MANY can. Sorry I missed the challenge, but I was one of the people getting email notifications then I click on the heading and got a 404 page all last week. Glad you’re all fixed up now ❤

    Liked by 1 person

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