Spring is just a few weeks away here in the northern hemisphere and TINYWORDS 19.2 has ended with Marrietta McGregor’s haiku “spring breeze” waving a goodbye to winter. It’s time to begin anew. The submission window for TINYWORDS 20.1 opened on February 1st.
The entire month of February is the time to send us your small poems, haiga, or brief haibun for the new issue of TINYWORDS 20.1. We have already received quite a few submissions. Thank you.
Sending work to TINYWORDS is a simple two-step process. Just check out our?Guidelines?and click on the?Submissions Page?from Feb. 1 through Feb. 29, 2020. One month window, as usual.
To keep things interesting while we work on the new issue, we present a new writing prompt. This image of a starling murmuration near the ruined West Pier in Brighton, England, taken by James Offer, is the current challenge. Why not pen a tiny original poem or two in response to this glimpse of the fading past or is it the coming future? ?Leave your best efforts in the comment box below and the TINYWORDS editorial team will share the best of the best in TINYWORDS 20.1, due out in late March 2020.
Thanks again for dropping by. We look forward to reading what you?have?to say.
before
the stars
starlings
starlings
the first murmuration
of spring
Sunset Waltzes in
the empty ballroom –
flock of starlings
gone to sea
for nesting birds
the old pier
your brown eyes nearly blue
that day we couldn't help
ourselves to enough
below cold black clouds starlings flock, soar, spiral
there were penny slot
machines on the pier
teens' flight of fancy
a thousand starlings
above the stark pier
their boardwalk gone
burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
Alan Summers
I've been to Brighton U.K. several times, home of many famous activities and the book and film(s) of Brighton Rock.
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Note: Brighton Rock is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. The novel is a murder thriller set in 1930s Brighton.
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It's a great place, but I do remember one day…
Hope it wasn't you who was covering his tracks, Alan. That's one heck of a burn up :)
Now that would be something to remember.
No, all very legal, and to do with educational conferences usually. The conference and the people I used to meet were a relief compared to the stress of dealing with family and business. So arrive there burnt out, and leave feeling much better.
I even got trained by an American who trains US military in security measures. As this particular time we still had the risk of another IRA attack on Brighton.
So nothing exciting, but the excitement of the conference and meeting up with old friends, and the bracing sea air revived me. :-)
Alan
Just as the Japanese people imply but don't voice their personal pronouns in conversation or in writing, even though the black text says:
burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
The white text if revealed from the white space makes this:
[I'm] burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
Or as a duostich:
[I'm] burnt-out in Brighton
the starlings murmur on the wing
So it's all down to Japanese practice, as well as good old white space! :-)
Alan
Haywired again
Haphazard night formation
Dawn — drones on and on
derelict pier gulls settle where people once flocked
starlings take
the sunny spots
wabi sabi
ever so slowly
the drift of my daydream
murmuration
end of summer
how long has it been
since we danced?
starlings circling
the bones
of the pier
the ruins take flight
the flock transforming
a big sky bowl
First day of spring
starling’s song
completed
alive in the now starlings swirl over what was
from the bones
of a pier
a breath of starlings
starlings
in the sky
sunset
murmuration the rhythms of sunset
sunset?
gulls wait
for fishermen
***
steel and lumber again
but this time both
supporting birds
***
drifting snow?
a flock of gulls
change direction
seaside resort
the crowd ebbs and flows
around my solitude
They flew from the wreckage
in uniformed frenzy
a hundred or more,
one dark fingerprint on the sky.
a murmur
of spring's approach
starlings
I just realized this is very close to a poem by Cody Huddleston.
Totally a coincidence. Sorry about that. Should have read through these first.
appointment –
migrating north
cranes in flight
Coney Island creek
barge rats follow the floating grebe
. .
https://youtu.be/TjkRfm4ha4I
now silent pier
the shrieks of the starlings
unchanged
sunset
in the murmur
of starling wings
star
ling
ering
clouds
after
sun
set
mid March
my starlings late
for two weeks
.
where eyes meet the sky exploding starlings' breadth
.
.
between past and future my breath rides on starlings' extravaganza
.
the birds?
mesmeric ellipticals
entered my peripheral
thanks to you
migratory birds
the fisherman shades
his eyes
daybreak
the clamor overhead
increasing
spring
the caged birds
fly free
murmuration
what passes
between sea and sky
their community
twists
in unison
I wish I could
join their dance
swarming
as if nothing has changed
starlings honor your memory
starlings
shape-shifting
dusk
This would work well as a concrete haiku–
starlings
shape-shifting
dusk
however the format doesn't allow it apparently.
from the embers of my childhood starlingsong
at the caucus
I change my mind
others follow
starlings
breaking the silence
between us
Ash Wednesday
the shape of a murmuration
against the sun
hoisted high
upon Brighton's bare shoulder
crowds still gather
migrants headed from sunset to sunset
Victorian pier
the bones
of its loosened corset
or better:
Victorian pier
the bones
of a loosened corset
my early days lost in a cloud
toasted barnacles
each murmur lost
in a wave
heyday-
a pinch in the pocket
for the puppeteer
no bones about her
a rejected offer
from the rag man
everything in a constant state of flux, soon the moon easing from girder to girder
above the blackened pier starlings move their shadow
end of pier starlings blinking at sunset
sunset over
hell's kitchen
with closed eyes
dark blue sound
of murmuration
the flock
some of us are more
than lonely
aerial ballet we don't move
a starling's feather
all that remains
of migratory birds
watercolor clouds
the spring sky ripe
with starlings
old pier
a blush of wing-sound
at the close of day
Drones miss formation
In early morning call up
— good intentions lost
scattered ashes
I shall never forget
that day in Brighton
mother said
we were walking in Brighton
when the blackouts started
hints of spring…
heavy winter days start
to grow wings
no bones worth picking
the sound of birds
letting go
of flickering thoughts—
evening meditation
the balloon
dives and drifts
starlings
loneliness fades
with the light
of friendship
the twists and turns
of cat's cradle
murmuration
the tick tick ticking towards dawn
ocean dusk
waves of starlings
revisit the past
a symphony in motion…
the dog and I
watch the day’s finale
a gutless cry from the matchmaker
end of day dream in nacre
An Ozemandias of a pier
mocked by nature's
winged changlings
ocean dusk
waves of starlings
revisit the past
Gary Hittmeyer
starlings and sunlight
breath life
into the ruined pier
flipping the lid
the pie dish
loses its sauce
beholdthemagicallymysticalforcethatbindsus
(intentionally no space between words)
old school photo
"smallest in front"
coolest take flight
refugees the flight of a ruined summer
flight
what
remains
skeletal silhouette
a whoosh
of rising wings
past loves
birds still perch
on the pier
What was once for people
Now for birds
Soon for fish
so much laughter lost to the sea breeze
slack tide
bones of a broken ship
its cargo of gold
Congratulations to the winners.
Well done everyone else.
A very enjoyable challenge and read.
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Thanks to the editors and judges for the platform.