Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo. Media coverage.
"Right Hand Pointing" in its issue 151 posted 4 Tan-Ku sets which Ms. Deborah P Kolodji and I created together.
Motherless
a lavender
bubble bath makes me
remember
the shades of
mum’s yukata (M)
combing out my hair
I close my eyes
and see her face (D)
Footsteps
autumn forest
deepens and deepens
in color
who knows
when I will disappear (M)
chilled by the wind
each step closer
to winter (D)
Mariko Kitakubo and Deborah P Kolodji
Sirius Rising
dog days
my maltipoo and I
stay inside and sleep (D)
the joy
of getting lost . . .
am I in
the sky or ocean?
lapis lazuli (M)
9th Inning
losing streak
the crack as his bat
hits a foul ball (D)
every motion
stops and restarts
slowly . . .
we catch our breath
Gyakuten Sayonara!! (M)
Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
Thursday, April 13, 2023
On February 21, PST, (2023.2.22, JST), The Tan-Ku Set, "Resolve" by us (Deborah P Kolodji and me) appeared!
Thank you so much, the Scarlet Dragonfly editor, Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/resolve/
Resolve
the purpose
of my life has changed
again . . .
focus on the lady
in the full-length mirror (M)
morning sun comes
through the window
I stand taller (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Red Lights Vol.19 No.1 posted my English tanka.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Marilyn Hazelton. Thank you very much.
Sweden
in a pure white
and deep blue sky
I doze in the air
of the arctic route
where am I?
forgetting
the stress of jet lag
in front of
an audience of 100 I give
my reading performance
Monday, February 20, 2023
Shot Glass Journal, an internet magazine, posted 3 Tank sets.
* Click the images below to view the pages in Shot Glass Journal.
About Tan-Ku
Tan-ku is a collaborative form we developed where one poet writes a tanka and the other poet answers with a haiku, or vice versa.
Beach in Malaysia
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
grey skies
the blues inside
me (D)
running
through rainforest
to the cove
accompanied by lightning
and a rainbow (M)
Forecast
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
early twilight
the angry voices
next door (D)
darkness is hiding
under children's brims
tomorrow
will be a sunny day. . .
after the war (M)
Wings
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
milkweed in bloom
a caterpillar hidden
under a leaf (D)
who can
recognize me
the joy
or loss—
metamorphosis (M)
Monday, February 6, 2023
On December 25 PST, (2022.12.26, JST), an online poetry journal "Scarlet Dragonfly Journal" published "The Color Red."
It is a set of English tanka & haiku (Tan-Ku) I created together with Ms. Debora P. Kolodji, my best friend haiku poet.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2022/12/25/the-color-red/
The Color Red
a fir tree
in the maple forest
forever
green . . .
melancholy (M)
dressing up drab clothes
with Christmas bling
I feel like singing (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Monday, December 26, 2022
Tan-Ku Sequence, The Queen Mary, a collaboration with Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji, will be published on page 40 of California Quarterly Vol. 48 No. 4 Winter 2022.
My sincere thanks to her, the editor of this poetry magazine, and my good friend with whom I have worked together to create Tan-Ku.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the California State Poetry Society for the courtesy of sending me a copy by airmail, even though I am not a member of the society.
Thank you very much.
THE QUEEN MARY
seagulls
a little girl watches
the ship sail in (D)
father's hand
was big and warm
before
my story begins
scent of the beach (M)
live band on board
dancing cheek to cheek
at the high school prom (D)
toasting
the fruit punch
our poetry
is still in the wind
string quartet (M)
horn blast
a hundred fifty poets
on deck (D)
That
antique smell...
I meet
an elegant ghost
at the end of the corridor (M)
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
Mariko Kitakubo
Tokyo, Japan
Thursday, December 15, 2022
#FemkuMag published a Tan-Ku set, "Coming of Age", a collaboration with Ms. Deborah P Kolodji.
Coming of Age
angel hair pasta
her baby tooth
beneath a pillow (D)
first kiss
under the olive tree,
garden party
on this mellow
summer solstice (M)
Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
Monday, November 21, 2022
On September 10, an online poetry journal "Scarlet Dragonfly Journal" published "Beach House." It is a set of English tanka & haiku I created together with Ms. Debora P. Kolodji, my best friend haiku poet.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/.../beach-house/
Beach House
the iridescent
splash still there
after your dive...
eternal summer
eternal ocean (M)
the sea pounding
even in my dreams
dolphins (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Saturday, September 10, 2022
Two sequences that Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji and I composed have been published in the online poetry magazine "Dashboard Horus: A Bird's Eye View of the Universe".
My sincere thanks to the editor, Marie C Lecrivain.
Click here to view our sequences on "Dashboard Horus: A Bird's Eye View of the Universe" website.
Asakusa
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
tourists pose
by the thunder gate
jinrika-sha (D)
cherry petals
were dancing
at Senso-ji
together in the photo
us with incense smoke (M)
red-faced in the wind
of a spring day
paper lantern (D)
a couple
of Nioh watches us
since we visited
sweet rain
of Asakusa (M)
my last package
of Matcha sweet treats
empty suit cases (D)
am I
mishearing?
happy liveliness
from that April
pale blue sky (M)
© 2022 Deborah P Kolodji & Mariko Kitakubo
Meiji Jingu
by Deborah P Kolodji & Mariko Kitakubo
sun on the water
an egret meditates
in the shrine garden (D)
making
shining circles
around us
like waterfowl,
our thankful prayer (M)
I write my heart
too soon for irises
in the inner garden (D)
the leaf
looks like a sword ...
SYOUBU iris
please don't bring us
another war (M)
crossing the bridge
I am lost
in the forest (D)
how many Torii
did I go thorough?
hopefully
the next gate
will be welcoming (M)
© 2022 Deborah P Kolodji & Mariko Kitakubo
Friday, July 22, 2022
On July 12, an online poetry journal "Scarlet Dragonfly Journal" published "Forest Bathing." It is a set of English tanka & haiku I created together with Ms. Debora P. Kolodji, my best friend haiku poet.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/.../forest-bathing/
Forest Bathing
uphill path
I slow down to breathe
the pine scent (D)
she perches
at the edge of
my straw hat
a butterfly’s siesta
in emerald breeze (M)
— Deborah P Kolodji / Mariko Kitakubo
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
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