Christmas Break!

It's Christmas time again and I am going to take a little break from blogging.

I want to thank you all for your support, encouragement and inspiration throughout 2010. It is much appreciated.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and all the very best for 2011.


is it possible
to exist in a world
so pure -
the tiny flame of a robin
flickers against the snow

the corridor
was long and dark...
news of your death
closer
with each step

so many
different paths
to choose
raindrops
on the window

she sees
something beautiful in me
I can tell
by the flowers
in her eyes

a leaf falling
a breath briefly held...
tell me
what else
is this life

across the fields
at dawn
morning rolls
the grey wheel
of another day

so deep
and dark
and beautiful...
the stories it could tell
this ink-stained heart

New Followers!

I see that I have a number of new followers here at Paper Moon. A warm welcome to you all, your presence is valued.

fresh snow -
it's not the sight
of it
but the music
that moves me

Gusts No 12 Fall/Winter 2010

I won't give up
my dreams
so you might as well
move on -
autumn wind

rippling the lake
with a broken branch...
the not knowing what
I came for
turned out to be this

no more distant
than the stars
in this clear
night sky...
my thoughts

the ink
of night
runs dark -
a river
without swans

yes yes
I've known loneliness...
I can sing its song
just like you
little robin

the whole world
washed grey -
I feel its uncertainty
a coal tit
on the feeder

as if it too
longed for solitude
a kingfisher
left its absence
above the reeds

watching a moth
hit the window again and again -
that's how it felt
all those years, trying
to get through to you

Take Five Volume 2 - Best Contemporary Tanka 2009

I see it glisten
in her eyes
from time to time
that place
where time has no meaning

Atlas Poetica No 6 Summer 2010

the art of feelings
is a mystery
lines drawn
in sand
over and over again

she carried me
to another world
this butterfly
and never once asked
what if? or how long?

I stop to pick
a roadside flower
as if this
could ease
the pain of leaving

Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine

in her presence
words stumble
down the stairs
of my tongue
like elephants

nothing is lost
in translation
as poems
spill out
from moonlit eyes

Haiku News

One of my poems is on Haiku News today. You can view it by clicking on the link above.

This site is well worth bookmarking, lots of brilliant poems by some of the best short-form writers in the world today. It reflects very well on the editors Dick Whyte & Laurence Stacey (Great work guys!)

I watch him skip
ahead of me
on the path
the little boy
I used to be

a jester
all these years
I've worn
so many smiles
I could not own

in my mind
her words rise
like fish
sending ripples
through another day

A Short Break!

Holiday time! I am taking a short break from blogging. Thank you for your support here at Paper Moon. Back soon!

I seek not
to understand poetry...
but to spin breathless
through its air
inside-out, upside-down

I walked through this day
a ghost
to those around me
there
not there

Followers!

I have noticed that the number of people following me here at Paper Moon has increased quite dramatically of late. So a BIG WELCOME to you all! I hope something of what you find here will move, challenge, comfort and inspire you.

Paul

sunflowers
colour the breeze
at the meadow's edge
as we walk
into our dream

Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine

this day
asked nothing
of me
but a willingness
to let go

it's not poetry
I seek to write
but page
after page
of the heart

I feel the weight of me
more and more
as swallows
weave their signature
through sky

as if it was
the only flower
that ever bloomed
she stoops to touch
a daisy

her words
have painted a meadow
in me
where countless flowers
bloom

inspired by Claire

I don't need
mountains or cliff-top walks ...
the edge
is only ever
a breath away

after the storm
each blossom
comes alive
dripping
with poetry

in the stairwell
of my mind
a little boy
sits waiting
for a friend

I drift
from joy
to weightlessness
in the ocean
of your eyes

Solo Renku - Four Seasons

grasses bow
before the wind -
autumn moon

from another world
fox tracks in snow

slicing the air
above their shadows
swallows return

the weight of summer
lined up along the beach

I was inspired to write a poem recently after viewing some of Nicole Hyde's art work at 'Noodle'. Nicole very kindly posted the poem with the painting 'Wind Song' and you may view it here... 'Wind Song'. Enjoy!

Mainichi Daily News Haiku

spring rain -
the cormorant pierces
its reflection


This poem was selected as today's haiku for Mainichi Daily News In Japan.

with no hint
of sadness
the silence
of this day
is blue

I have just encountered a wonderful blog by Nicole Hyde called 'Noodle' it's well worth a visit.

wind whispers
through the reeds at dusk -
crescent moon

offering back
my silence
the unimaginable
depths
of the peony

in the breeze
light shimmers
across the water
a future memory
in the making

Gogyohka

I have recently become aware of a new form of Japanese poetry called Gogyohka. Gogyohka means literally 'five line verse'. It is an evolution of other traditional Japanese short forms and bears a striking resemblance to Tanka. The form was given birth by Mr Enta Kusakabe and is gaining momentum around the world. It is probably fair to say that the differences between Gogyohka and Tanka are more clearly visible in Japanese than English. That said Gogyohka does offer a freedom as there are no formal requirements other than it be written on five lines. I have found Gogyohka to be the perfect outlet for poems I have written on five lines that I would not consider to be tanka. See below for a small selection.

You can learn more about this exciting new form by following the links below.

http://gogyohka.ning.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogyohka

The first link will take you to Gogyohka Junction a vibrant online community of Gogyohka poets and the second is an overview of the form on Wikipedia. Enjoy!


held up
against the mystery
of this life
words are no more
than empty shells


in my arms
the face
of our love
is looking up
and smiling


so many people
so many masks
through this life
we pass
invisible


sometimes light
sometimes dark
my mind
is a bridge
across time


they appear to be
floating
this young couple
hand in hand
through the park

watching my wife
a little girl again
playing in the snow
wondering where she's been
all this time

Blithe Spirit V17 No3 September 2007

butterfly -
the shape it left
in evening sky
I feel it again
& again...

Gusts No.11 Spring/Summer 2010

as if tomorrow
had yet to find us
we make love
beneath the stars
one last time

Gusts No.11 Spring/Summer 2010

a young man
smiling beside my mother
in the wedding photo -
the face of a father
I never really knew

Atlas Poetica No5 Spring 2010

a single blossom falls
and with it
the whole world

until next time...
the sound of geese
departing

right then
when I saw the child in you
at play
I determined not to be
just another of your toys

Modern English Tanka V3 N3 Spring 2009

some days
i just don't care -
this life
a drop of dew
about to fall

at the end
of another slow day
I lose the world
entirely
in a yawn

Modern English Tanka V2 No2 Winter 2007

a wisp of smoke
one moment rising
then gone -
so too this fleeting life
passing before our eyes

autumn dawn -
last night's sky dripping
from the eaves

MAGNAPOETS issue 5 January 2010

no need
to wave today dad
these words
from my five year old
I carry their weight all day

Modern English Tanka V3 No1 Autumn 2008

almost dusk -
a redwing
colours the snow

from one year
to another -
the same moon


Happy New Year To You All!