It’s another new year and with it another writing prompt from your friends here at tinywords. This photo is courtesy of writer, blogger, photographer Dave Bonta. We invite you to submit your poems in the comment section below. We look forward to reading what you come up with. The best of the best will kick off our new tinywords issue 15.1 due out in early February.
Happy New Year one and all.
About the photographer:
Dave Bonta lives in the woods of central Pennsylvania, where he posts brief daily updates about what he sees in his yard at The Morning Porch, maintains the poetry-film website Moving Poems, and blogs poetry at Via Negativa.
Who will go first
on the path
of newly fallen snow
footprints in the snow
following power lines
possibly lost
between the trees
the cold creeps forward
snowprints
.
wind-spun flakes…
a child’s world escapes
the snow globe
.
Laura,
I love your own haiku, with its scent of woodsmoke, and voted for it as soon as I read it:
season's greetings
the scent of woodsmoke
first to arrive
warm regards,
Alan
Love this one Alan!
Thanks Terri,
I'm delighted, especially as I love Christmas, and work very hard to make it special for families too.
warm regards,
Alan
I like any thing that mentions snow globe but if the poem's image works, i love it. love your haiku; love it!
Thanks Roberta,
There is something really special about snow globes, and I'm so pleased this one works for you. Thank you! :-)
warmest regards,
Alan
Thanks Laura! That's very much appreciated.
warm regards,
Alan
I'm with Roberta on this one, Alan – if there's a snow globe in it, it gets my vote! :)
I love the movement in yours. It's magical.
marion
Thank you Marion, you are also a good supporter of my work! :-)
warmest regards,
Alan
Bitter cold and slushy
My boots can't anymore…>
Meet you back home, brrr!
Sorry, I forgot "go" in 2nd line
overhead
the hum of power lines
the crunch of crusted snow
Winter arrives
Cold and grey…
Alive with purpose
the world between
worlds, seraphim
trail
line in the snow
the beginning
of a hummingbird?
despite cold feet
I still proposed–
merry Christmas
Dead tree stands in the back yard,
limbs long since broken and burned
laughter of children who once scaled its heights,
only an echo, a faded memory
shadows on the snow
sharp
as the frost
me barefoot forward
his heavy boots right angles off
this heavy snow
A riddle playing with the land
Cryptic glamour game of angels touching in a dance
Here they bow, there they kiss and fly.
Over glittering oceans
So barely touched by traces of mystical beasts
Demons just reflected on snow
I walk through new snow
turning right toward home
my muse moves on
tree shadows
divide the snow-path
we part ways
Winter's deep sigh –
snowflakes trickling
down my cheeks
miles to go—
the snowy echo
of wolf song
Simply magical. Amazing two line phrase with tension given with 'miles to go'.
warm regards,
Alan
Alan your comment means a lot! thanks :)
nice haiku Roberta – very succinct
Ah, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. :) By alluding to Frost's poem you create an entire scene in just three words here, Roberta. Also love the sound the wolf's song.
marion
Which way to journey?
Crystal paths are no true guide —
I follow my heart
I follow them
they follow me
unknown tracks in the snow
unable to follow
my grandfather draws
a face in the snow
I find those last two lines incredibly moving.
Alan
So do I – brought a tear to my eye.
marion
I really like this one!
crack of dawn listen to snow angel past
cursive tracks
in the snow
winter’s signature
I'm not perfect
I know —
Was it something I said?
night visitors
traveling the same trail
through silence
black and white
choices . . .
the less traveled path
Woody plant life
half-buried in snow–
I keep walking
snow: a magnum mysterium to me.
Footprints in the sand I understand.
The deep south is my home.
I understand
Snow-covered–
The branch tips are frozen
in mid-reach
snow drifts
he colours outside
the lines
Intriguing last two lines, really like them.
Alan
Thank you Alan. Much appreciated.
winter solstice
the parting
of our ways
Beautiful. I never tire of reading this haiku.
warm regards,
Alan
Alan, Thank you so much. That means a great deal to me. Greg
Thanks Gregory, it's a deserved winner!
warm regards,
Alan
Simply beautiful.
marion
It's certainly something I never tire of reading, and I've read this perhaps two or three times every day. :-)
warm regards,
Alan
deep snow
your footprints lead
until moon turns me
snowy junction you never could make up your mind
halfway
between here and there
snowdrift
cold shadows your brief return
tracks in snow –
a world full of
shadows and light
lone footprints
on magic first snow
the wood's silent whisper
Dappled and shadowed
Crunched by footfalls, there, there
White cold snow endures
New Year's Eve–
A pair of shadows on the snow
create a sidewalk
a life
with snow's witness
takes a turn
in my mentor’s snowbreak
I follow…
sunlight splits the shadows
I emerge
forge my footprints
fresh snow…
a treasure hunt
for everything
which way to follow ::::::
the snow queen
disappears again
snow: a magnum mysterium to me.
one for fun…
this urge
to leave traces…
new snow
So often we want to leave traces, and new snow is so enticing.
warm regards,
Alan
the intersection
of late afternoon
shadows and you
a tall dead tree,
the sun blending and feathering
shadows in the snow
crossroads~
some footprints
full of shadows
snow-blind, too tall
to catch the scent,
I missed,
right turn taken only
by the dog
darkness at noon . . .
the path of light
I did not take
snowprints~
full of shadows
full of light
changing my mind
changing your mind~
snowprints
I wanted proof
that we stood here
and touched in the middle
of the wood.
snowy path…
the distance between
here and there
awakening
to the silence of snow light
to unknown paths
Dr. Who–
i trace my steps back
to nowhere
Well, I did catch the first ever episode. :-)
Alan
sparkling silence
disturbed by tracks
indigo shadows
——————–
double tracks converge
one remains—
winter mystery
sparkling silence
disturbed by tracks
indigo shadows
double tracks converge
one remains—
winter mystery
your step lighter
as you walk away from me…
here i am still
carrying you all the way
but only in my heart now
just beautiful….
Thanks Indu
love this – 'carrying you all the way'
shadows
line the sparkling snow …
I carry on alone
twigs marking
where we parted ways
permafrost
Sad last line.
marion
tracks
veer off
only shadows
touch
trudging
up a mountain . . .
hearing deer laugh
inside my
self heat
body
real coals
burn on
taking
away
fresh hope
turned a
corner
footless
walking on fresh snow
every direction
a perfect choice
Yes! I'm a big snow buff, so could relate to this strongly.
warm regards,
Alan
centered: three twigs
one for each sibling
before the scatter
Lengths we go
to mark our way
the depth of shadows
winter walk
the deepening silence
leads me
Claudette, I like this haiku very much. I love your phrase "the deepening silence" for this photo prompt and I love the idea of deepening silence leading one onwards. It speaks to me.
Heather, thanks so much for your kind words.
Claudette
Such an atmospheric last two lines.
warm regards,
Alan
Alan, thanks so much for commenting.
I appreciate it.
Claudette
A pleasure. Have you thought of a monoku aka monostich? If so, all it needs is to lose 'me' at the end, and submit to Frogpond magazine (Haiku Society of America journal). :-)
traces
moments come and gone
almost
linking my house
to yours
deer tracks
Dear Joy,
linking my house
to yours
deer tracks
I really have appreciated your haiku.
warm regards,
Alan
shivers down my back
the long distance to
bare feet in warm sand
What words you wrote
on that sheet of paper, I
am still trying to decipher.
Economy is equal
parts clarity
and obfuscation.
Isn't it easier
to say nothing
that the trees
could refute?
breaking new paths
we choose to go
our separate ways
Nothing more to say;
we take separate paths, me
and my child-self.
My feet deny their own prints
and who can say
I was here
Preservation Measures
There are no 3
way stops with-
out turns, heel-
and-toe shifts
like marches re-
cover territory
or wild-
life re-traces
tracks to mis-
lead assailants
snow crossing
which was first — the footprints
or the shadow?
for the tracker
a faint hope rising
a full day moon before sunset
New Year's afternoon
a left turn
away from the woods
Like men,
small dogs are drawn
to bark out challenges–
an Ahab-race pursuing their
white whales.
snowbound –
marking the first slice
of xmas cake
when I was big
I walked on top
of trees
our years together
how seamless were I and you
never said goodbye
Near silent morning
Footprints pressed upon the snow
Even ghosts leave trails
Cartwheels in snow
Hand Hand Foot Foot
Spring's spinning ghosts
white noise only echoes of our argument
light and shadow
praying that her scan
will reveal good news
this cold blue marble of earth
– next year will be better
shadows
of light and despair
my heavy tread.
winter walk—
against the wind and with it
both at once
year's end
the tracks we made
in snow
journey home . . .
fading footprints
in the snow
deep winter —
footfalls in snow
return to silence
deep winter —
footfalls in snow return
to silence
concise tracks sculpted in snow crust–
no clues of what lies below
winter deepens –
the prints of his boots
frozen in the snow
tiny stars tossed
on fresh fallen snow –
chickadee footprints
Pretty,
although aimless,
flashing koi dart about
and we who stare at them pretend
we're not.
deep shadow
steals the foot marks …
uneven snow
a change of heart
after his long career
winter into spring
his bootprints
stitching the shadows
to the shadows
lose "the" in both lines just might strengthen this entry.
Thank you! I like it!
agree – brilliant
Beautiful imagery. I love the possibilities this opens up. To omit 'his' in the first line would add even more I think.
Thank you for your comments!
my son
follows in my footsteps
until he doesn't
train up a child
in the way he should go
and when he is old . . .
Frick's house,
a candy box
and he, Le Grande Bon-Bon;
his workers thought don't get the crèmes,
just "Nuts!"
week after solstice…
there will be more dark days
but the warmth of change is upon us
Revised:
his bootprints
stitching shadows
to shadows
I love this revised one, but I voted for both of your entries.
Thank you for your support Lolly! Not sure if I should have put the revision in a reply under the initial poem.
Beautiful imagery. I love the possibilities this opens up. To omit 'his' in first line might open up even more I think . . .? Perhaps it may then become a one-liner? It's so lovely, Barbara!
Thank you for your kind comment Jan. Yes I think that would make sense as a one liner without the 'his'
The revised version is certainly more direct
Thank you, vandergrau. Even in haiku, it helps to cut, cut, cut!
winter shadows measuring stillness between blizzards
last turn
of the kaleidoscope-
man friday
Awestruck
by such riches,
sparrow contemplates–Ahh!–
a cookie bigger than itself…
"All mine!"
doctor turning pale
‘I ate an apple a day for –
turning paler still
everything in this image
does not exist
today
So many wonderful poems. Like an extra issue, Thanks especially to luisaigloriald,A. Burgard, kiwiskan, Julie Warther, John McManus, seaviewwarrenpoint, and Nola Borrell.
fault lines
her shoulders straighten
at the digs
Keeep on writing, great job!
lengthening shadows
his footprints begin
to fill with night
tree rings
i count myself
in winter again
doppelganger
the paths i leave
untrodden
snow moon…
a chance meeting
that comes to naught
the year’s last snow –
so many things
I still don’t understand
the snow drifts
I search for more twigs
a canoe to build.
snow drifts
I meet myself
coming and going
December romance —
our whole lives waiting
for crossing paths
hard winter
the snow angel's
frozen wings
two
trails
one story
chop, chop, chop
fingers fly
blood red snow
lost in the woods
finding my footprints
in the snow
fresh snow –
our tracks fade
to shadow
two bylines
one story
silence returns
ice-blue haze
shadows
in pristine snow
the childhood game
of fox and geese–
how quickly we learn
both hunter and hunted
Clocks running backwards.
Moon and stars swallow the sun.
Words falling like leaves
A fingernail moon
in a deep blue evening sky.
Night is the gateway.
Though my bones bind me
in the years, still I shall rise.
Time’s an illusion.
Look, two stars appear
shining brighter than the rest.
You and I, sky high.
Oort Cloud…
spinning off the other
snowballs
our paths cross
where there is no path
winter solitude
Snow blinded
he walks in circles
silently
funeral done,
settling down–
new footprints in snow
last snowfall –
so many things
I still don’t understand
(edit of #133)
Fickle
wind pins balloon
against a building's wall–
trapped 'til wind sends it again
flying.
"Laughter of the Gods."
rutting moon-
she poaches
all the eggs
it is very interesting, all seasons are for us the feeling hard to describe and even winter too.
empty afternoon
filtered sun invites raven
to dance this shoreline
flooded riverbank
small rocks from this sandy ledge
lost for the moment
I'm such a Christmas buff, that I became a professional Santa meeting and greeting hundreds of families every day over the season.
Wonderful haiku.
warm regards,
Alan
I've Facebooked and tweeted a few times for people to go through ALL the haiku and support with likes, and comments if they can. :-)
Living
in my village–
everything so pleasant–
who cares it's by Potemkin, still
it's mine!
patchwork snow
holding shadows of the past
until spring
chiaroscuro –
the walk back home
fills with snow
Running,
no prize in sight,
bug knows this table well
and still it can not stop itself
seeking.
Through fresh morning snow
the tracks
of a beast.
Alexis Roella
New Year’s snow ?
we write our name
quickly
wood smoke ?
now my footsteps
follow me
on my way
to meet you, I sink
now and then
Love this one – the idea that woodsmoke is the first guest to arrive for a festive party is very clever!
marion
twenty years
after the divorce . . .
the wait for spring
mourning
morning and my heart yearns to find you lying next to me as I awake
my arms find it not so
Be still
the Lisbon plane
you dreamt that you were on
was just a cardboard cut-out–dreams
deceive.
Nicely put!
Tracks in the snow
memories melting away
Like tears in my heart
beneath the snow
bulbs lay sleeping
waiting for Spring
morning mist
crow's caw
breaking the silence
This article seems to be overlooking the fact that information is a saleable commodity and altruism comes a poor second to commerce
I carried you
for so long – but now
we have parted
Oh Nice