Postage stamps

postage stamps

with LOVE swirled in red—

the mail clerk

asks if it's okay

to use them on my letters

—Fire Pearls 2, 2013

True story. She seemed to want to get rid of those stamps. So, yes, I allowed her to put them on my letters, and I bought a few additional ones to take home. I thought it was very considerate of her to ask, lol. Here's one:

And this marks the end of the second annual "Love Month" at twigs&stones.

One year; this small pendant

one year
an emerald ring
next, sapphire ...
before we parted
they were meadow and sea

this small pendant

I wear every day:

inside the heart

an open-winged dove

holding an olive branch

—both from Fire Pearls 2, 2013

We scour shelves

we scour shelves

for half-price chocolates,

our way

of sweetening

February 15th

—Atlas Poetica 14, spring 2013

Well, bad luck nowadays on snatching up good candy after Valentine's Day. This year, on February 15, the shelves were practically bare.

As we listen

as we listen

to Bonnie Raitt’s blues

     somewhere between

finding her man and losing him

my husband’s hand touches mine

—Fire Pearls 2, 2013

He helped the artist design this pair of hippos on the couch by suggesting to the shopkeeper that hearts be added. The artist liked the idea!

Barely twelve

barely twelve,

apples profuse on our tree—

through the mail slot

he pushes love notes

for me to discover

—Fire Pearls 2, 2013

Announcement: Tanka Society of America to Publish Anthology—Free to 2014 Members

The Tanka Society of America (TSA) has announced plans for a 2014 members' anthology, scheduled for release this autumn. For this year only, current members will receive a complimentary copy.

M. Kei, widely known tanka poet and publisher of Keibooks, will edit the anthology.

The submission window opens on February 15 and closes on April 30. Details are posted at the TSA website and also will be published in the Winter issue of Ribbons, the TSA journal.

If you're not a current (2014) TSA member, consider joining or renewing your membership today!


P.S. Since I'm now on the TSA Board (as vice president), you'll probably be seeing additional TSA announcements from me throughout the year!

Bringing home

bringing home

his newborn daughter . . .

hands steady 

on the steering wheel

he takes the safest route

—Fire Pearls 2, 2013

Now she, my niece, is in college, where she's class secretary, continues to play violin, and is studying to be a teacher.