[out of blue air . . . ]

out of blue air
the trilling of toads—
the space
under my breastbone
fills with light


~Ribbons 9:1, spring/summer 2013

quest

wild asters 
like a field of stars
tumbling 
over the prison-farm fence
I slip out of myself

     ~red lights 10:1, Jan. 2014 


at the end
of my quest
for truth—
a winged seed
stuck to my boot sole 

     ~Ribbons 10:1, Winter 2014

Heartwood

childhood

dreams of flying—

an arc of limbs

in a leaf-green wind

the compass of my life

high in the arms

of a sugar maple

with my book

and a golden apple. . .

sap rising in my veins

in forests

and libraries

the whispers

of myriad leaves

gathering light

I follow

a will-o’-the-wisp

from tree to tree—

the thing with feathers

singing down my bones

      ~cattails 1:1, Jan. 2014

E-mail subscription problems

Apparently my Feedburner email subscriptions are no longer working, so if you subscribe to this blog via email you probably have not received any notifications recently.  This seems to be a problem common to many blogs, but I have not been able to find out how to fix it.  However, I can suggest a possible work-around.   Go to www.feedspot.com , create an account if you don't have one, and enter the URLs for sites you want to follow.  They will send you an email notification of new posts. 

TSA Contest coming up

Be sure to mark your calendars for the 15th annual Tanka Society of America International Contest! 

You can find submission details at the TSA website and also in the forthcoming issue of Ribbons 

The submission window will open on May 1 and close on June 30, 2014.

openings

behind bars
of sunlight and shadow
tendrils twine
in a wallpaper prison
my blinds snap open

~The Bamboo Hut 1:2, Jan. 2014

this silver river
flowing underground
at three a.m.
a trapdoor opens
in the cellar of myself

~red lights 9:2, June 2013

spectrum

Hypothetical

My son, age 30, sits close beside me, copying for the millionth time the Fujita Scale of tornado strength. The scale only goes to F-6, but he insists that I describe for him the theoretical damage of an F-7,  an F-12 . . .   

Browsing the science news on my laptop, I come across a journal called Medical Hypotheses. Doctors speculate that a certain growth protein abundant in breast milk might protect at-risk infants from developing autism. 

fourteen months

suckling my baby,

our gazes locked in love . . .

yet still the wild winds

tumble through his brain

                            ~Haibun Today 8:1, March 2014

his paintings
purple, indigo and rose
with bolts 
of lemon lightning—
autism spectrum

                            ~Ribbons 9:2, Fall 2013