Debbie Strange

Canada

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as if I were

this ash-filled burl,

black veins

of decay winding through

my body like a river

 

Commended

Climate Change: The Burning Issue Tanka Contest, 2020

 

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between the spokes

of your spinning wheel

a dusty web . . .

I never thought our lives

would so quickly unwind

 

1st Place

The British Haiku Society Tanka Awards, 2019

 

 

 

 

the ocean

was in a rage last night

but today,

these peace offerings

of blue mussels and kelp

 

1st Place

Sanford Goldstein Int'l Tanka Competition, 2018

 

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the growth rings

of otoliths and trees . . .

when did she

become smaller

than her daughters

 

2nd Place

Fleeting Words Tanka Competition, 2017

 

 

 

 

dried curls

of gray reindeer moss

crunch softly

underneath our boots . . .

no other sound, but breath

 

1st Place

San Francisco Int'l Tanka Competition, 2016

 

 

 

 

two deep valleys

in a mountain's shadow

village children

pleading at day's end

for one more shaft of light

 

Certificate of Merit

Japan Tanka Poets' Society Int'l Tanka Festival Competition, 2016

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