Beautiful Tanka by Rika Inami

I love Rika Inami’s tanka/photo pairings! She is such a wonderful poet and photographer, and I wanted to share her recent post. Blessings and peace, my friends. Click the photo below

2023年3月 短歌 March 2023, Tanka All rights reserved ©Rika Inami 稲美 里佳  < This winter is over. 今冬が終わり> 1 春きたり雪のあがたの天開き重き調べの冬越えしかも spring arrives… sky in …

稲美里佳の短歌:Tanka by Rika Inami (67)

Facing the Sun

It is only February and yet it feels like spring here in south Louisiana! The smell of early blooming flowers and greening trees lifts my spirit with hope for a good year ahead. I think about the snow and ice just about a days drive north and wonder: Is climate change real and is this the new normal? Whatever the case, I know we cannot control it and thank God for His many blessings, trusting Him to lead me on. Blessings and peace, my friends.

blooming azaleas…
birds at the feeder oblivious
to lawnmower noise

Al Gallia

Just Us Two

quivering sawgrass
focused on the same spot
we wait, the hawk and i

Al W Gallia
Sunrise

How gorgeous the red-shouldered hawk looks in the morning sun, so intent and alert to its environment! Yet it allows me to stare and marvel at its uniqueness and beauty without any apprehension. I am so thankful whenever Serendipity chooses to expose her hidden secrets to me as she did at this moment.

“A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors”

Henry David Thoreau

No Squirrels Out

Winter Interlude
bare cypress quivering…
tireless wavelets scurry
before the icy wind
Al W Gallia 12-31-2022

Lake Martin, Louisiana in the winter! Not an egret, heron, or alligator in sight. Sunsets, cypress trees, blowing moss, shadows… all provide such beautiful settings and colors for poetry and photos. Love it!

A Glimpse of Heaven

Sitting on a pier at Perdido Bay, Florida on a still winter evening, i feel so blessed as the sunset kaleidoscope slowly turns.

‘raw sienna’ drips
from the artist’s brush…
winter blaze

Al W Gallia

I sense God’s peace and comfort settle in my soul, and I hear His whisper, “Be still and know I am your God. I love you!”

a seagull settles nearby
unimaginable colors
beckon my soul

Al W Gallia

Look Behind the Veil

a withering leaf…/ remnants of nature’s beauty/ litter the forest

Al W Gallia

Some things are timeless… not related to human manipulation and degradation. The beauty of unspoiled Nature in her virgin glory, a gift from our loving God, is at the top of my list:

A golden leaf swirling in a stream’s eddy; mottled sunlight on a blossom; a cardinal sitting on a limb; a sand-fall down a canyon wall; even a new dandelion rising through a cracked rock. Whether a fading leaf or a wizened old woman, innate beauty never changes and remains locked in time, unblemished forever.

a circling butterfly
touches down on her finger tip
breeze blown wildflowers

Al W Gallia

True beauty has no need of mankind’s touch, but only to be left alone to radiate and be appreciated.