Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

Blue Sky

Bare trees rising high.
Where did all those white clouds go?
Deep blue fills the sky.
Red lips, how their smiles flow.
Blue eyes sparkling, brighten so.

Text:  I’m using a modified form that William N. Porter used in his translation of Japanese tanka into English, “A Hundred Verses from Old Japan“.  This is part of my study of the Manyoshu, finding English forms similar to the tanka.

Photo: “Sun, Tree and Blue Sky”, above, and “Trees and Blue Sky”, below, by the author and linked to K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge and Trablogger’s Mundane Monday.

News: The National Federation of State Poetry Societies in the United States (of which I’m a member through the Illinois State Poetry Society) announced its 2018 contests. There are fifty contests in all. Entries must be postmarked between January 1, 2018, and March 15, 2018. Some of the winners may be published in an anthology later in 2018. Check the details if you are interested in participating.

Also, yesterday Ancient Paths Literary Magazine published my poem “Advent Darkness“.

Trees and Blue Sky

Moon — #writephoto

Some would say they know the Moon.
They’ve data they can show,
But when they look
And close the book,
What is it that they know?

Text: Linked to Sue Vincent’s #writephoto prompt and dVerse Open Link Night.

Photo: Sue Vincent provided the photo as the #writephoto prompt.

Sue Vincent's #writephoto icon

News: The new dVerse Anthology Chiaroscuro: Darkness and Light is now available.

dVerse Anthology Chiaroscuro: Darkness and Light

 

Pleasantly Surprised

Conspiracy theories come in pairs. There’s the nutty theory I won’t believe in, because–well–it’s nutty, and there’s the opposite theory that, for some possibly nutty reason, I do. Motivated enough I could likely prove anything is true, which doesn’t imply that nothing is true.

Every time I take a stand I lock the front door, but I keep the back door open to offer protection to those good folk polarized in the same direction that I am. If there are monsters coming at me, this is a reasonable thing to do. Often I am pleasantly surprised by who comes through the back door seeking and offering protection. Sometimes it is the very people I thought would be storming the front door. Sometimes I look out the window on the front door after a major storm and see blue skies, pleasantly surprised at the absence of monsters.

FRESH SNOW BRIGHTENS PATHS
EVEN WINTER GRAYNESS SHINES
DOORS REMAIN UNLOCKED

Text: Linked to dVerse Haibun Monday with the theme “pleasantly surprised”. I am hosting today. The bar opens at 3 PM EST.

Photo: “Puzzle Pieces Prior to Polarization” by the author.

Seagulls in the Sun

Seagulls with their points of view
Sometimes don’t agree.
The Sun that warms them loves them, too,
Chanting by the sea.

Text: Linked to dVerse Meeting the Bar. Victoria is hosting with the theme symbolism. Hopefully these seagulls symbolize something besides seagulls which may not always be pleasant.  I see them as enchanters of earth, sea and sunny sky.

Photo: “Seagulls in the Sun” by the author.