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!

2009 World Tanka Contest

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you know that I have been awarded first and second place in the 2009 World Tanka Competition. It is an absolute joy for me and also very humbling. This comes at the end of a year in which I was awarded a Tanka Spendor Award for a sequence that Pamela A. Babusci and I wrote together and during which I also received a Certificate Of Merit from the Nihon Kajin Club (Japanese Tanka Poets Society).

Also, I want to thank you all for the support and companionship you have offered throughout 2009 and to wish you all a peace-filled Christmas and a very happy New Year.

I am taking a break for a week or so but will be back in early January.

You can see the winning poems by clicking on the title above.

With very best wishes

Paul

fearing
the truth in my heart
may be seen
I turn
from your gaze