Publicized in Tanka Society of America: Mariko Kitakubo

Mariko Kitakubo Profile

Mariko Kitakubo

Born in Tokyo.
Living in Mitaka-city, Tokyo
Membership
Japan Writers' Association,
Japan PEN Club,
Association of Contemporary Tanka Poets,
Japan Tanka Poets' Society,
Kokoro-No-Hana,
Tan-Ku Co-Founder,
Tanka Society of America.

In commemoration of
15 years of tanka reading
The Latest Tanka Sequence
Original Tanka presented at
Spoken World Live

Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo. Tanka Society of America.

My Tanka publicized in Tanka Society of America.

I am pleased to report that my work has been published in TSA Ribbons Fall 2023 Vol19 No.3.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tanka Editor Ms. Susan Weaver for selecting my sequence from the many works of many members.

I would also like to thank Tanka Hangout Editor Mr. Ken Slaughter.
Thank you very much.

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The Past

Mariko Kitakubo, Tokyo, Japan

under
the bloody red sky
the agony
of hibakusha*
...still there

darker and darker
her shadow each summer
as August approaches
my friend was a spy
for the Allies

the hidden past
growing heavier
did her information
help a Fatman**
and a Little Boy?

at midnight
of Hiroshima Day
and Nagasaki Day
the secret box of feelings
opens by itself

* "Hibakusha, the survivors of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, suffered radiation sickness, the death of family and friends, and discrimination, as rumors spread that the effects of radiation exposure might be contagious.

** "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were Manhattan Project code-names for the two different types of atomic bombs.

Ribbons - Fall 2023 page 69

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Tanka Hangout: Tribute Poems

the blind poet
spoke in English or French,
played koto
I miss you, grandma...
her infinite field of view

Mariko Kitakubo, Tokyo, Japan

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...Some poets pay homage to family members. Mariko Kitakubo recalls her grandmother, who was a "blind poet." She played the koto, a traditional Japanese zither. ... by -Ken Slaughter

Ribbons - Fall 2023 page 13

 

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My English tanka poem was published in the Tanka Society of America 2022 Members' Anthropology, "One Moment at a Time."

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Jim Chessing, the editor of the magazine, and to Ms. Kathabela Wilson for sending a copy via airmail to me.

 

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you were
named after
Mother
unforgettable
blue Cosmos

 

Move to "Tanka Society of America"

Dear Susan Weaver, The Ribbons Editor, and Ken Slaughter, Tanka Hangout Editor.

Thank you very much for choosing my works from among many members' works.

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Tanka Hangout: Compassion

her row veering off
the peasant woman plants
tward her crying child

- Issa (1763-1828)

 

fortitude
against the power.
the skinny frog
must be you, Issa ...
rooting for you

 

Selected Tanka

forgotten
the name of that slope ...
shadow tag
with my mother
when her smile was young

 

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TSA Ribbons Winter 2023: Vol 19, Number 1, published my works in its sections - Selected Tanka and Tanka Hangout (Theme: Music).

Thank you very much for choosing my works from among many members' works.

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Selected Tanka

thinking about
death with dignity...
this night
the dark door
opens to me

Tanka Hangout: Music

silence
of despair
after
this movement
of Valkyrie

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Ms. Autumn Noelle Hall,
Thank you so much for picking up my tanka for the Tanka Studio, TSA Ribbons Fall 2022: Vol. 18, Number 3.

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Tanka Studio

77 years...
Birkenau, Auschwitz
the days in camp
her trace
covered with snow

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Thank you so much, Ms. Autumn Noelle Hall for using my tanka for "Tanka Studio'' about Ukraine.

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Tanka Studio: Ukraine

our smile
in the old frame
where are you?
empty beaches
in Ukraine

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life is life
including death...
a dead branch
is the main poet
at the tea house

 

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Waiting Here

Mariko Kitakubo, Tokyo, Japan
Kath Abela Wilson, Pasadena, CA

the sound
of "Someday"
makes me cry
vague rainbow...
can we meet again?
(M)

setting the table
of "Somewhere"
our favorite wine
remembered dishes
make me smile
(K)

your plate
was spring green
mine was white
from that Atlantic beach
in Portugal
(M)

across the Pacific
I see a hundred cups
waiting
to be filled to the brim
with our future
(K)

harvest moon
in Tokyo, Inokashira Park
without you
opening red wine
for moon-viewing
(M)

waiting here
on our balcony
with a glass of hope
finally
you arrive pure and round
(K)

Move to "Tanka Society of America"

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papyrus
tells us nothing...
pharaoh's ship
sails in the sky
behind the truth

Move to "Tanka Society of America"

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Tanka Sequences

Escape

riverside
unstoppable
spring wind
that day I escaped
from suicide

memory
of the violence
can survive
under water...
uncountable tough bubbles

don't try
to find me
I will be
nowhere...
somewhere in your memory

buds
are ready for
our future
sakura avenue
on our planet

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Tanka Cafe Theme: Spring Love.

how many
springs since
my love
passed away
cherry blossom rain

Move to "Tanka Society of America"

TSA Ribbons Winter 2021 printed my new works, a sequence entitled "A Bird's-Eye View", and a piece each in its selected Tanka and Tanka Cafe.

Given that the TSA has a large membership, it is generally not so easy to be chosen one, even if I submit several.

Honestly, I was very surprised that Ms. Christine L. Villa, the editor, was kind enough to select the full sequence of mine and another piece for Selected Tanka. I am so grateful for it.

I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Michael Mclintoc, editor-in-chief of Tanka Cafe.

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Tanka Cafe: Theme Escape

dropping
from the pocket
of God
where can I go ...
hopeless ark

 

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Selected Tanka

before
my birth
after my death
I will be there
banyan shade

 

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Sequence

A Bird's-Eye View

Mt. Hakuba
it needs
no name . . .
density of sunlight
snowy folds

paragliding
a bird's-eye view
relaxing in the blue
I'm also
a tiny fluff

this moment
glows
and disappears
snowflakes have
their own endings

Hakuba village,
I will return again —
homemade
rose potato butter
and skies without clouds

Move to "Tanka Society of America"