January 2014
- Details
- Written by: Stephen Bailey
a bird cocks its head
at nothing — within this hush
a priest breaks the bread
- Details
- Written by: Stephen Bailey
step by step
our paths merge together
as water and wine . . .
in these unplanned moments
we sip eternity
cattails Premier Edition - January 2014
Editor's Choice - Tanka
Editor's comments:
Being a hopeless romantic and given that tanka originated as court poetry, this one by Hansha Teki of New Zealand, is one of my Editor's Choices. The rhythm being approximately s, l, s, l, l, right off qualifies it as a tanka rather than just a free verse or mainstream short poem. The content is poetic yet not overly done, nor does it lack either in substance or depth. Lines 1 and 2 set up the situation, line 3 gives us a pause plus a twist instead of simply being a run-on sentence. Lines 4 and 5 bring us back to the beginning which gives us closure. Literally “we sip eternity” of unplanned moments with its author.
— cattails Principal editor an'ya, USA
- Details
- Written by: Stephen Bailey
trickling stream . . .
stones at rest gather
smoothness