Taigu Ryokan was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and poet of the Edo period, known for his unconventional lifestyle and unadorned, deeply personal poetry. https://allpoetry.com/Taigu-Ryokan Haiku’s more visual cousin, the haiga, unites a haiku poem, written in calligraphy, with a simple painting. https://poets.org/text/haiga-haiku-calligraphy-and-painting In our new world of shared grief and absurd wonder..
An update on Anne’s suffering from radiation treatments and chemotherapy Like life itself A world of beauty, Ikebana floral art: Fleeting poetry. My wife Anne is afflicted with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma – Wikipedia https://www.braintumour.ca/fr/types_de_tumeurs_cerebrales/glioblastome/ Anne is currently suffering from severe nausea stemming from the intensive radiation treatments..
The Art of Love: A song for Anne The short poem which appears at the end of this posting is a villanelle I wrote based on Elizabeth Bishop’s sublime work “One Art.” It is dedicated to my wife Anne, who has recently been diagnosed with and operated for sudden-onset brain cancer. The..
Caribou The Quebec artist and poet Anne-Marie Labreque dedicated this marvelous poem to my wife Anne, who has brain cancer. L’artiste et poète québécoise Anne-Marie Labreque a dédié ce merveilleux poème à mon épouse Anne, atteinte d’un cancer du cerveau. My English translation follows the original French. À Anne McBryde, avec amitié et affection…
Haiku for a beloved friend on her birthday The fog of a dream: Desolation yields a shrine, Your steadfast friendship. A haiku is a type of Japanese poem that always uses the same number of syllables in a three-line format: the first line is five syllables the second line is seven syllables the..
Otter/Loutre Anne-Marie Labrecque is a Quebec artist and poet. Here is my English translation of her poem entitled “Otter” followed by the original French. Anne-Marie Labrecque est une artiste et poète québécoise. Voici ma traduction en anglais de son poème intitulé ” Loutre “, suivie de l’original en français. Otter You spin and twirl,..
Great Grey Owl Frowning: A Haiku poem for a dark night of the soul Stark, not debonair, This owl, a stern taskmaster, A conscience with wings. Great Grey Owl/ Chouette lapone photo credit Leigh Bateman Great Gray Owl Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology When the owl sings, the night..
Pussy Willows by Silver Creek in Spring, Georgetown, Ontario, 1955-1964: A Tanka Poem Across from my home, A vast abandoned field: Pussy willow bliss. Sensual buds stir the blood: The long winter over at last. Note: My childhood home on Elizabeth Street in Georgetown, Ontario, was located directly across from a scrubby abandoned field intersected..
Cat mother with two newborn kittens: A Tanka poem That look on her face! Startled surprise…maternity Anthropomorphized? Offspring are forever nurtured; Motherhood is a life long trust. Tanka poetry Tanka poems follow a set of rules. They all have five lines and each line follows a pattern: the first line has five syllables, the second..
Goldfinch in stark winter: a Tanka poem Photo credit Lorne Coughlin Goldfinch, puffed out… Protection or foolish pride? Too recognizable… We are so far from golden, But seem compelled to puff. Tanka poetry Tanka poems follow a set of rules. They all have five lines and each line follows a pattern: the first line has..