Spring 2023 Showcase

The last three or four days of March have been unexpectedly hectic. As I start to type this, April 1^st and 2^nd are filling up. The 3^rd is beginning to look a bit ominous too. The 4^th? Oh God give me strength!

But at least Spring is making itself known here in Scotland, and at least I have found a spare ten minutes to start typesetting. No easy task when you are also painting your nails.

News: A web site called Duotrope, a resource for writers and artists, has listed the zen space in its pages, and indeed has published an interview with me. As you can imagine, I didn’t waste any words in the interview! Short and sweet. The Duotrope page can be found at this url:
https://duotrope.com/listing/34723/the-zen-space
[apologies – WordPress won’t let me link the text].

My next task towards getting this showcase to you is to search my files for some work I promised to hold over – if it’s yours and I don’t manage to find it, please accept my apologies [Update: I found two so far – they will appear in the Summer Showcase – but I still have a nagging feeling I’ve forgotten someone!]. I recently received an email from someone in the English village of Bradford-on-Avon, offering some visual work. I suddenly remembered that this village has a (unique?) Anglo-Saxon church, so I asked if my correspondent would kindly take some photos of it for me. They will appear in the Summer Showcase. This time we have some lovely artwork by Kerfe Roig interspersed with the poetry.

So, on with the show…

Marie Marshall

editor

the zen space

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Neena Singh

spring noon 
homegrown mint 
floats in the mojito 

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kumquat marmalade 
the sweet fragrance 
of old friendship 

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orange bar
the taste of childhood
on my tongue

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this Valentine’s 
we both kiss
the senior dog

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game of chess
the hourglass moves
my moves

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K.G. Munro

Pink hue in the sky
Saturating each cloud
Like strawberry milk

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Plucking the white moon
From the tapestry of night
To hang on your wall 

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Coffee hangover
Papers covered in jam stains
Deadline is today

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The blue wildflowers 
Growing in the field of dreams
Behind my warm smile

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I swim the ocean
Finding rare seashells each day
Doing a census 

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Lorelyn Arevalo

old pond
kissing princes
i turn into a frog

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still cold
a puppy sleeps near
the crackling woods

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spring rain
chamomile tea soothing
an empty nester

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Randy Brooks

open hand
over her own heart.
oh honey

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back float . . .
high above the lake
an eagle circle

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cat tail
can’t help but twitch
not it

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floating quietly
in the lake
peek-a-boo turtle

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November snow
squirrels take
the tree top way

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rock garden
lining up favorites
to wet down

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Jerome Berglund

Monoku Haiga:

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Barbara Anna Gaiardoni

delicious dates
it’s impossible to leave
the city

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bells are ringing
flowers blooming
angels singing

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the hand-carved cuckoo
with the moving wings
some rays of sunshine

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throw a snowball
at a snowman’s hat
surreal artwork

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the eternal hunger
of humanity for love
just let it rain

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Steve Van Allen

Tattered web
billowed by wind
sparkles

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setting Sun lengthens
shadows and filters through leaves
my long shadow, broken 

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Water drips off the world 
a day of grey
fades into black

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Afterword:

As always, I am looking out for new “names” who can write haiku, senryu, and/or any short-burst in-the-moment poetry. Also original artwork. Please get in touch.

Gabriel Rosenstock has an audio/visual haiku channel on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbzJcCt6e5vjRx8gAWCqNr1zAmRGRYJB3
– check it out!

MM

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The next Showcase at the zen space will be Summer 2023 which will be released, subject to karma, on 1st July 2023.

Please note that the copyright of all written work and images used in this Showcase and elsewhere in the zen space is held by the creating author/artist, even when not explicitly stated, and may not be used elsewhere without permission.

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[Any advertisements etc. below this line, or inserted elsewhere in the zen space, are an unfortunate feature of the hosting platform, and are not the responsibility of the editor of the zen space. They should not be considered to have been endorsed by the zen space or by the editor personally.]

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