THF June 2022 Kukai, first prize

This poem I wrote, won first prize in the Haiku Foundation's June contest:

canning day

mason jars filled

with sunshine 

Thank you very much to all who voted for my haiku, and to Dee Evetts for his commentary. 

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

THF May 2022 Kukai, first prize

This monoku I wrote, won first prize in the Haiku Foundation's May haiku contest:

spent blossoms falling softly out of love 

Thank you very much to all who voted for my poem, and to Dee Evetts for his commentary. 

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Touchstone Award, Commentary from the Panel

Very grateful to The Haiku Foundation panel for choosing my poem, and taking the time to write this wonderful thoughtful commentary. 

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

"beneath the blossoms..."

beneath the blossoms

she counts her years

on one hand

Happy and grateful that this haiku, which originally won second place in the inaugural Japan Fair international haiku contest, is one of the six winners of The Haiku Foundation Touchstone awards for individual poems 2021.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Publication: Collaborative Photo-Haiku

On behalf of photographer Nikolai Abramov and myself, author of haiku, I express gratitude to the Akita International Haiku Network for including our collaborative work (three photo-haiku) into the Network's official journal:

Serow, Volume 5

Thank you.

Brief Haiku Publication Updates

March 8th:

My haiku appears in The Mainichi  

March 16th: 

My haiga and haiku (in English, and translated into Japanese by Hidenori Hiruta) are published on the website of Akita International Haiku Network

Thank you

old poem

FALLEN

Lay them down in the fields 

of sweet barley and rye,

let them pause for a bit 

till they're ready to fly,

do not bend over them, 

do not mourn, do not weep,

do not trouble their rest,

let them sleep, let them sleep.

They will gather their strength

and together they'll rise,

all like one they'll take flight

to the still paradise,

where the children await,

where the wives of their own

they'll embrace at the gate,

where the fields lie unmown.

© 2012 Sasha A. Palmer

Searching for Tussilago Farfara

 

Like me, you're alien to this land.

You must be scarce, for I have not 

Spotted you once, my long-lost friend,

in all these years...and I forgot 

your heart-shaped leaves (that now I hear

look like colts' feet  – no! hearts,) the gold

of yellow flowers that appear

before the leaves—out with the old

in with the new—heralds of spring,

anxious to bloom...I did forget

the suns I used to pick and bring

home, though they did not keep; and yet

I do recall the way it felt –

your touch. My little fingers traced

your leaves' soft lining as I knelt

on warm earth, sunshine on my face.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

image: Pixabay

Almost-Christmas Quatrain

No room, they were told, and away

They went as the cold night fell

To find a dark stable, wherein

All—true Light within—was well.

Prompted by WD Seadna poetic form challenge. 

image: The Evening before the birth of Christ, by Michael Rieser (1869)

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

2021 Korean Literature Review Contest

The 2021 Korean Literature Review Contest hosted by Literature Translation Institute of Korea, is accepting applications. Reviews of literary works by Korean authors may be submitted in a variety of formats. 

See my review of Kim Soom's "One Left"

on Instagram

and on Facebook.

Learn more and enter the contest. 

Black & White Haiga

This black & white haiga was published today on Lavana Kray's blog. If you're into haiku, and photography or drawing, consider trying your hand at haiga. 

And if you're into black & white art, consider submitting your haiga to Lavana Kray at lavana13@gmail.com for a chance to be featured on her blog.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

In Response to Traditionis Custodes, a sonnet

The Society of Classical Poets has published my sonnet On the Traditional Latin Mass.

The sonnet's written in response to Traditionis custodes ("Guardians of the tradition") - the new motu proprio issued by Pope Francis on July 16, 2021.

Happy Dance: My Haiku Wins 2nd Place in an International Contest

 Happy to share the news: my haiku won 2nd place in the Japan Fair 2021 International Haiku Contest.

Grateful to Michael Dylan Welch for selecting my haiku, and to the Japan Fair for the opportunity.

Thank you.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

CONNECTED, my sonnet for Falun Gong, wins 1st place in FoFG poetry contest

On the World Falun Dafa Day, I'm honored that my sonnet "Connected" has won 1st place in the annual Friends of Falun Gong poetry contest. 

Thank you, FoFG and Society of Classical Poets for choosing my poem. 

Ever so grateful to Samantha Hopkins for giving "Connected" a powerful voice. Watch Samantha recite "Connected" tonight at 9 pm EST.

Congrats to the winners and honorable mentions!

The Ekphrastic Review: Poetry of Roman Khe in English Translation

Today in The Ekphrastic Review:

Roman Khe's original poem "At the Exhibition of Japanese Ceramics" and its English translation.

Grateful to the journal, and grateful to Roman Khe for the honor to translate his poetry.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Publication: "Memento Mori," a sonnet

Happy Easter!

Excited to have my sonnet published on The Society of Classical Poets site: 

"Memento Mori."

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer

Bewildering Stories' First Quarterly Review

 Excited to be published in Bewildering Stories’ First Quarterly Review, 2021.

The Editors have chosen both my poem Medusa (issue 885) and my short story Canis Familiaris (issue 892). Thank you!

Live for the love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Publication: Canis Familiaris (short story)

 

As Perseverance lands on Mars, remember the unsung heroes of space exploration.

Check out my short story Canis Familiaris published on Bewildering Stories webzine.

Thank you

Image: Pixabay

My two cents

The Slope We Slide Down

It's not enough to quote Micah 4:4.

It takes more than a phrase 

We seek harm to none

to erase the harm that is done— 

being done—in the name of justice.

Words don't cut it. It's a fact. It just is.

How can we hope for the Light

when we delight in staring at our own reflection

thinking, "It might not be perfection, but it's close,

and those—the others—if only they could be

like us – righteous..."? How can we see

we are about to fall

when all we care for is mirrors?

Careful – humans make errors.

When you set forth ill-equipped with pride,

watch your step – it's slippery outside.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

prompted by the inaugural poem

image: Pixabay

Ekphrastic Poetry: Old Trees

The Ekphrastic Review logo

Happy dance: a publication! 

Head over to The Ekphrastic Review to read my poem Old Trees

and see the beautiful photo that inspired it. Thank you, Mark Windham!

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)