Friday, December 5, 2014

Moonshadow--By Maureen Sudlow--New Zealand

Moonshadow
(tanka prose)

No moon tonight, just a few pale stars between the dark shadows of the trees.  A Morepork calls monotonously across the paddocks, and there’s a thump on the veranda as the neighbour’s cat does his rounds.  In the lounge, the dog snores on, oblivious.  I can’t sleep, and there are words scrambling through my brain, urging me to somehow write them down.  I take a torch through to my study, tripping over the dog’s ball in the hallway as I go.  Before I get back to bed a rooster is crowing from down in the valley.

harsh cry
of a Morepork
soft feathers
floating
between the trees

(The Morepork is the New Zealand native owl.  Legend has it that it comes to warn of a death in the family.)

Maureen Sudlow is a member of the New Zealand Poetry Society, and lives in the Kaipara, in the North of New Zealand.  She loves poetry, photography and writing for children.  She has published a children’s picture book Fearless Fred and the Dragon and has written for various on-line journals and magazines.

17 comments:

  1. Maureen,
    This poem gave me goosebumps. Although a bit on the sad side, it is moving and touching as well. I liked it!
    Your new friend,
    David Fox

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maureen I really liked this well written tanka prose as well as the explanation of the Morepork and it's legend. That made me question, was the Morepork's calls warn of a death in the family, this time, before it happened? Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
    Charlene

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for taking the time to comment David and Charlene.
    Maureen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you, Robert Dufresne, for the following--

    I am not familiar with the term Tanka Prose, but if this poem of yours is what it is called ... them I like it. Very enjoyable in the feelings and pictures it gives rise to. Thank you for the lessons in poetry and nature, Maureen.

    Bob D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for your comment Bob

      Delete
  5. Hi Maureen! Lovely prose where imagery plays a leading role. The tanka itself is very expressive....like the contrast between the harsh cry and soft feathers. // paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Paul. I really value your comment

      Delete
  6. Hi Maureen. I am not familiar with this style, but I like it. Thank you for sharing and continued blessings!

    -MJ (www.tgbtgpubliction.com)

    ReplyDelete
  7. very nicely done
    however better to avoid using Morepork both in the text and the tanka
    best wishes
    angelee from India

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Angelee - a very good point
      Maureen

      Delete
  8. Oh, thanks for the nature lesson. Of course, I have never heard of this Morepork and how you introduce your Tanka in its very delicate thought expressed is hauntingly beautiful! Sheri

    ReplyDelete
  9. Maureen, The really talented poets like you, are hard to forget. I will continue to look for your work to enjoy. This is Excellent! Blessings for the holidays, Connie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Connie - I have just found these replies. I hope you had a happy holiday also.
      Maureen

      Delete
  10. Thank you, John Williams, for the following--

    When I was a child, living with my Grandmother, I'd go to sleep listening their echoes drift from the woods. Sometimes, they sounded like ghostly voices gathered to celebrate the shadows of night and maybe smile.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you, Eleanor Michael, for the following--

    Another night writer. Good use of sound. I enjoyed this. it gives me a glimpse of life in New Zealand. A Morepork is an owl, interesting. With a name like that, I'd expect it to sqeal or oink. :)

    ReplyDelete