Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 167, #Poet’sChoice #Haiga

My daughter Natasha and I saw this beautiful mural in Glasgow when we were looking at accommodation for her course starting in August. She is going to Strathclyde university to study to be an English secondary school teacher. It is the work of Australian artist Smug and depicts the patron saint of Glasgow, St Mungo, appearing to be breastfed by his mother, St Enoch, while a robin – said to signify one of his later miracles – perches on her wrist. It is alleged that St Mungo restored life to a robin, that had been killed by some of his classmates.

This is my HAIGA in response: 5/7/5, 3/5/3, 2/3/2 syllable structure. A Haiga is an observational form of poetry which contains an image with either a Haiku or Senryu written on it or near it.

A new adventure

Such a wondrous sight – robin!

It’s a good omen.

A surprise!

Beautiful robin

Let’s go!

Mother

Daughter time

Explore!

Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 167, #Poet’sChoice

My new release: Mr. Sagitarrius, poetry, prose and photography is now available in full paper paperback, kindle and free on kindle unlimited. Buying Link: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius.

Latest review: 5 stars! https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2020/03/04/smorgasbord-book-reviews-poetry-and-prose-mr-sagittarius-by-m-j-mallon/

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Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
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March 6, 2020 18

Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 164 #SynonymsOnly

Love & Harmony were the prompt words this week.

For love I went for lust and passion! For harmony I chose balance and peacefully.

What are Haiku, Senryu and Tanka?

Remember: Senryu poems make the human, not the world around them, the subject of their creative endeavor. Humor and sarcasm are two of the most favorable elements in a Senryu and should deal with the human condition. Think about sexual matters, family relations, religion, politics, and anything that touches on the pain we experience through sorrow, prejudice, oppression, anger, and frustration. Senryu do not deal in sentimentality.

I haven’t written any Senryu before so here goes… I’ve written three…

Lusty lips

Pouted

The Viagra

Swallowed

Peacefully

Downed in one

His lust overwhelmed

He was so fit

Did the splits

Balanced on one leg

Our mismatched passion

Made me quiet

Depleted

My balance

Broken

https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/02/11/colleens-2020-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-164-synonymsonly/

Well, that was a strange one! The Senryu encouraged me to play with words to come up with some unusual results!

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

Preorder link: Mr. Sagittarius (kindle)

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February 14, 2020 11

“The Circle of Life” Nonet

The Circle of Life is an interesting prompt from Colleen, one that got me thinking… with age we become childlike and vulnerable again.

A Nonet seemed the perfect form to express this continuum with the fragile fullness of life at the top and the single word, too, representing the tendency to become childlike at the end of life.

The circle of life begins at birth

With sharp cries of fragility

We long for sweet sustenance

Latching to mother’s breast

We feed, grow, and live

Aging each day

Becoming

Childlike

Too

© Marjorie Mallon 2020

https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/01/28/colleens-2020-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-162-themeprompt/

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

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January 30, 2020 12

Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 161 #PhotoPrompt

Photo via Willow Willers.

Trying out the differing haiku formats

In the 3/5/3 format:

Summer time

Holiday tattoo

Memories

In the 2/3/2 format:

Henna

Tattoo time

Sun fun!

https://colleenchesebro.com/category/colleens-2020-weekly-poetry-challenges/

https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/01/21/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-161-photoprompt/

And a new form I’ve never come across before:

Gogyohka – no restrictions…

A simple silver band

Could be overlooked

Amongst henna tattoos

Flowers escaping

Fingernails unpolished.

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

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January 25, 2020 17

Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge #Photoprompt #TankaTuesday #Micropoetry

This week for Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge there’s an awesome photo to use as inspiration, which you can see above. Image Credit: Commons: Wikipedia.ogr

Hibiscus flowers bring back memories of tropical sunshine. Nowadays, I enjoy catching a glimpse of them at the Botanical Gardens in their glasshouses, this is one I photographed a while ago…

My Tanka poem in response to this:

Hibiscus Flame

Hibiscus Flower

Fragility of your flame

Memories not lost

Recalled by rain drops falling

Caressing tender petals.

https://colleenchesebro.com/2019/12/17/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-158-photoprompt/

Wishing you a very happy holiday season.

A Merry Christmas to you all. xxx

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

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December 20, 2019 2

Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge – Poet’s Choice

It’s been a while… I’ve missed writing poetry but I’ve been very busy trying to finish editing the second book in my series The Curse of Time and to be honest I’ve been struggling with it as it is a very ambitious project, especially as I work full-time. I’m getting there but still lots to do. My beta readers have been an enormous help and I’ve had lots of feedback after attending the SCBWI conference in November.

More about that here: https://mjmallon.com/2019/11/06/scbwicon19-tips-for-newbies-writing-illustrating-conference-agents/

So, in the meantime a little poetry diversion is in order… inspired by a lovely robin that came to sit beside me whilst I was on my lunch break from work. This seems to happen to me quite a bit, last time it was a dragonfly! https://mjmallon.com/2019/09/29/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-146-synonymsonly/

The robin was very tame and stayed with me for some time. I was feeling sad, (it was the day after the terror attack on London Bridge, in which two young Cambridge University graduates died,) so his visit was very welcome and his gentle, unobtrusive time with me lifted my ailing spirits.

I’ve written a double Etheree…

Bench,

A bird,

Red-breasted,

So tame you rest,

Beside me Robin,

Two friends on a park bench,

One human, one of nature,

I appreciate your kind time,

Until you away… exploring far,

Hinting at possibilities you go.

I wonder what you notice in your world.

And why you chose that ground to explore,

When you could have stayed here with me,

In mindful meditation.

Maybe you’ll visit me,

Christmas day, perhaps?

To bring good cheer,

Until then,

Peace to,

You.

https://colleenchesebro.com/how-to-write-an-etheree-poem/

I wonder who will visit me next on the park bench…

Bye for now,

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December 7, 2019 16

Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge #Poet’sChoice #Etheree #Trees #Photography #Bookish

I love trees, and enjoy my wanders in the Cambridge Botanical Gardens which is home to many champion trees. Just recently I came upon this beautiful Paperbark Maple, such a find for an author: a tree that peels it bark, like the well-worn pages of a book that has been read many times! So, I decided to grace its beauty by writing an Etheree poem which you can see below.

I will also be sharing more about the Paperbark Maple soon on the The Sisters of The Fey Blog so do keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, here is my poem, I hope you enjoy!

Paperbark Maple – An Etheree

see you

Paperbark

Peeling brown curls

Enticing me quick

Imagination twirls…

Wow, what a bookish delight!

A captivating, living art

Small tree but unique, fresh and renewed

You’ve captured my heart, Magic Maple bark!

https://colleenchesebro.com/2019/09/03/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-142-1st-of-the-month-poetschoice/

Bye for now,

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September 7, 2019 8

COLLEEN’S 2019 WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 141 #PHOTOPROMPT

A Shadorma…

Internet

Stalker, killer words

Trapping me.

No message

Of kind words roaming the seas,

Only threats uncorked.

Check out Colleen’s poetry prompt:

https://colleenchesebro.com/2019/08/20/template-colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-141-photoprompt/

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

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August 23, 2019 10

Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 138 #SynonymsOnly #Haiga

“Clear & Nature” are the synonyms but we can’t use them! Boo hoo… So for clear I chose (clean) and Nature: (character.)

The photo below is taken from my recent trip to Cromer, Norfolk Coast with my hubby.

Mr Seagull’s boat

Seagull’s character

To clean the ocean of boats

And bring them ashore

Haiga:

The haiku is the most important part and must stand alone.

In haiga, it must add something to the reader/viewer’s appreciation of the scene. I hope this works! The photo alone would make you think of a seagull dreaming or looking for his next meal, whereas the haiku makes the seagull do something unusual which he can’t do in reality!

The image can create for the reader/viewer an alternative reading to the one conveyed by a literal reading of the poem.

https://colleenchesebro.com/how-to-create-haiga-poetry/

https://colleenchesebro.com/2019/07/30/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-138-synonymsonly/

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)

Social Media Links

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/

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July 30, 2019 10

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

Word prompts: Kind and shift. For kind, I used breed and shift: transform.

The idea for this Tanka came from a passage in my WIP: The Curse of Time Book 2 Golden Healer when Esme (the mirror girl,) tells Amelina (my main protagonist,) about her experience with the shadow men.

Could it be a dream or is it real?

I am currently working through my edits after my beta reading comments with a view to publishing this in the autumn.

Here’s a short extract:

A black furrow of shadows lined his forehead. He beseeched me with his eyes, but when he saw my resolve a maniacal laugh erupted from his demented mouth. This laugh galloped from his lips in the form of a diaphanous spirit which became a pack of wild neighing horses – all black, glossy stallions. They galloped towards me. They didn’t stop, they kept on coming. Their hoofs trampled upon me pounding all of those black shadows away. They should have crushed me but I didn’t die. Instead, their hoofs stamped and stamped, breaking bones, crushing my organs and tissues until the bleeding stopped. The pain was unbelievable. I longed for death. But the horses whinnied, as if laughing. Their laughter ran through my body, fixing my broken bones, easing my pain, making me whole again. They tossed me up in the air, and I landed on top of the lead stallion’s back. He leapt into the blackness, carrying me off with him.

Black Diaphanous Horses

Such a breed they are

Like no other you will see

Transformed from shadows

Wicked horses galloping

Are they real or devil’s dream?

If you’d like to join in the challenge here’s the link:

https://colleenchesebro.com/2019/07/23/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-137-synonymsonly/

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

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July 25, 2019 15