multiverses

I am pleased to announce the launch of a new online journal for haiku and related forms. multiverses will kick off with the Spring edition in March 2012.

Submissions are now being sought for this exciting new venture.
Please click on the link above to find out more.

dancing with dragonflies
across the pond
I leave the fiction
of this life
behind

'tanka cafe' - Ribbons V7 N3 Fall 2011

she slips
through my mind
again and again
no more now
than a ghost of memory

a white gate
blown open by the wind...
I wonder
what dreams await me
on the other side

Gusts No.14 Fall/Winter 2011

clouded moon -
I'm not the man I was
even a moment ago

singing the song
of forever
ten billion suns
appeared
like daisies

that innocent glint
in your eyes
reminds me what I lost
so long ago
too soon

Modern English Tanka V2 No3 Spring 2008

I imagine you leaving...
a blossom in the breeze
silent
weightless
free

red lights V7 N2 June 2011

I hear the song
of your heart
gently beating...
a white butterfly
on the breeze

For the inspirational R.D.Bailey

deliberating
over morning coffee
I choose not
to let yesterday's fallout
colour my day

Tanka Reading!

I've uploaded a short reading of my tanka poetry to Youtube. Click on the title above to view it. I hope you enjoy it.

'First Winter Rain' by Denis M. Garrison

I'd like to recommend 'First Winter Rain' by Denis M. Garrison as a must have collection for any serious reader/writer of tanka.

Denis is an excellent poet whose words are full of depth and creativity.
Through this collection he invites us to walk beside him for a while and with clarity and a light touch opens windows on new worlds, as page after page, his poems capture the pain and joy of life, just as it is.

As a writer, editor and publisher of tanka, Denis has given so much to this fast growing poetic form.

Through my early years as a fledgling writer, Denis published, supported and nurtured me and for that I am deeply grateful.

2011 Haiku Pen Contest

I am very happy to announce that I have just been awarded 'Grand Prize' in the 2011 Haiku Pen Contest. You can read my poem alongside the other winners, including the very talented Claire Everett by clicking on the title above.

A BIG thank you to Raquel D. Bailey of Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine for all that she brings/gives to the world of poetry.

Also humble thanks to Lee Gurga, editor of Modern Haiku Press, who adjudicated this contest.

Enjoy!

The Quiet of My Heart

Last week Claire Everett and I wrote an impromptu 'Responsive Tanka Set' on Facebook. Claire is an amazing, international award winning poet, who inspires me no end. You may view the set and more of Claire's wonderful work by clicking here

everything
in the world
is beautiful
running my fingers
through my son's hair

100 Followers!!!

I couldn't resist a little post to celebrate the arrival of follower No 100.
Welcome to Paper Moon Roseangela James, Poetess.

It is nearly three years since I ventured (with some trepidation) into the world of 'blogging' and what a great three years they have been.

It can be a lonely world for a poet, (even when widely published in print) with little feedback or comment. All that has changed these past three years and what a blessing it has been.

Above and beyond the comments you have left, I have had the pleasure of encountering some of the finest poets in the world. (oh yes you are!)

The way that our words reach out and touch the lives of others is and must remain for the most part a mystery. However to receive a few words or a response poem, from time to time can lift the veil on that mystery just briefly, and for me at least give such a boost, very often just when I need it.

Above all though just knowing you are here, whether you comment or not, is enough.

So I'd like to thank you ALL (1-100) for walking beside me on this poetic road. Long may it continue...


butterflies
whispering to the wind -
who knows
where our words
will lead?

scent of lilac -
one final breath
after another

longest day -
everything I'd hoped
it wouldn't be

struggling to hear
what the wind has to say -
pink clematis

Poetography In London!

Ron L. Zheng's Poetography Exhibition 'Leaving My Found Eden' will be showing at the Lewisham Arthouse from July 18th to August 7th 2011.

Over the past four years Ron has had gallery shows around the world, including, New York, Los Angeles, Osaka, Vancouver, Toronto and San Francisco.

I know that Ron would love to have as many visitors as possible and would encourage you (if you are able) to drop by.


If you would like to find out more about Ron's wonderful work click here.

2011 Spirit of Japan Tanka Contest

avoiding the cracks
like I did back then
a little boy
willing his mum
to get well




I am pleased to announce that this poem received an 'Honourable Mention' in the '2011 Spirit of Japan tanka Contest.' You can read all of the winning poems by clicking on the title above. Enjoy.

of all the shapes
the wind could be -
purple irises

I have breath
for your wings
and a mind full of sky
so don't tell me
it's too late for love

one last look
across the fields
before leaving -
a poet
full of dreams

Blogger Issue!

There was an issue with 'Blogger' last Thursday / Friday that meant any comments left on those two days were wiped from the system.

It only affected my last post, so if I have missed your comment I apologise, however it was beyond my control.

Feel free to re-post your comments if you wish to.

Best wishes

Paul

spring dusk -
the river pauses
for a moment
to take the weight
of a swan

the lake unfolds...
a ripple
for each breath

I step out
among the first blue notes
of dawn
to read
what's left of the moon

'GUSTS' No13 Spring/Summer 2011

New Followers!

I have noticed the presence of new followers here recently and would just like to say welcome to you all.

Feel free to comment as and when (or even if) you wish.

Your presence is greatly valued and I hope my words will in some small way touch your lives.

With best wishes

Paul

forget-me-nots -
learning to love again
is never easy

just outside my dream a blackbird singing...

for each word
I couldn't find
somewhere
in the world
a flower is blooming

invisible
to those around me
I watch blossoms
fall
a thousand years from now

the poetry
of this quiet place
is a broken reed
gently twisting
the breeze

these blossoms
have so much to teach...
inside
outside
gone

it has no colour
this grief
no weight
but the sound
of your name


For Dad
23-12-1941 - 26-2-2011

crocus breeze -
my dying mother's words
come back to me

as if tomorrow
would never come -
snowdrops

sudden downpour -
the memory of a butterfly
washed away

Presence #43 January 2011

my son asks
what my father was like...
the weight
of telling him
I never really knew

'red lights' V7 No1 January 2011

winter dawn -
this day's sad song
is a gull
crying out above
a shrinking world

a dot-to-dot
written across time
only now
do I see my life
for what it is

red lights V7 N1 January 2011

an old love
remembered -
beneath the snow
does the meadow dream
of spring

there's no pretence
out here
where the river
runs dark...
everything just is

Happy New Year!