“Hana no Niwa” published at Chewers & Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry

I’m happy and humbled to announce that my poem “Hana no Niwa” has been published at Chewers & Masticadores. Much gratitude goes to Terveen Gill and her staff for their kindness and support in accepting my poem for publication. Terveen’s unwavering encouragement is a wonderful inspiration, and I’m honored to have my poetry included at Chewers & Masticadores. Many thanks, Terveen!

“Hana no Niwa”

In the restless nights
In the small flower garden
Spider lilies weep
Mournful beneath midnight moon
Dreaming higanbana dreams

They cry in silence
Do they know for whom they grieve
Do they remember
It was you who planted them
It was you who gave them life…”

I’d be grateful if you would check out the rest of my poem by following this link. Also, be sure to follow/subscribe to Chewers & Masticadores—it’s a wonderful place for those who love writing.


63 thoughts on ““Hana no Niwa” published at Chewers & Masticadores”

    1. Thanks, David. It’s actually a poem I wrote last fall and posted here on my blog. I’ve been submitting some of my poetry to MasticadoresIndia and Terveen Gill has been so wonderful and supportive. It’s such a thrill and it never gets old, that’s for sure! I’m not giving up. I’m still working towards finding the words again. They’ll come sooner or later (hopefully the former). Thanks for your constant support and encouragement, good sir. I appreciate it so much. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Grace. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I’ve been out of the loop too long and I know I’ve missed reading a lot of good writing and have some catching up to do. Thanks you so much for being here, my friend! 🙂

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    1. You always spoil me with your kindness, you know that? 🙂 I’m so grateful for your presence here. Your comments are always so uplifting and inspiring. I’m delighted to know this poem spoke to you. Thanks for your constant support and encouragement.. Much appreciated. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Saima! Thanks for such a thoughtful and kind comment. I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to visit and read my stuff, and your comments are always so positive and wonderful. I appreciate you so much. I’m doing all right. Going through some “stuff” at the moment, which I hope will abate soon so I can get back into the swing of things here on WordPress. I’ve missed interacting with the good people here such as yourself. Sharing my words here is something I need to do to feel alive, so hopefully those rascally words will return post-haste and I can write some new material. Thanks again for your kindness, Saima. I hope you’re doing well, too! 🙂

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      1. Hello, dear Mike. Good to know that you are doing well, i wish and pray that the stuff you are going through is resolved soon in the best possible way, amen. I’m doing well,thanks, just a little busy these days, that’s why i’m not active on wordpress yet, but your presence and beautiful poetry/words/expression/ wise deep insight were surely missed. You are remembered in my prayers, all the best wishes.. take good care of yourself 🙂 and we will wait for your “come back”.👍

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  11. Dear Mike,

    The following is what I have submitted to MasticadoresIndia.

    Hello! You have been away for quite a while. I first read this poem at your blog, where only the first two stanzas are revealed. It is a pleasant surprise to find that the actual poem is five times longer totalling ten stanzas.

    I would like to suggest that the five lines within each stanza not be spaced so widely.

    As usual, I shall need to savour your poem multiple times to let it mature in my mind to appreciate its imports and significance.

    Meanwhile, considering the subject matter of your poem and that September has just passed, I would like to resonate with your poem as follows:

    The image is also my way of bidding farewell to a most special September, the reasons of which are detailed in one of my most recent posts.

    It seems that we both have had many floral-linked matters and bloom-inspired themes on our minds!

    Happy October to you and welcome back to the land of poetry!

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

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    1. Many thanks for you kind compliments on this poem. The lines are spaced in groups of five for a reason–each stanza follows a tanka format. Whenever I write poetry, I like to have a structure in mind before beginning (unless it’s completely free-verse). It creates a foundation upon which I can build the poem and gives it a flow. For this one, I wanted a series of tanka-format stanzas, with each stanza representing a different flower and its symbolism in Japanese culture, with the end result being a sort of memory garden where the recollections of a past love still flourish. On the MasticadoresIndia site, I have no control over how the poem is formatted. On my own blog, the individual line spacing within each stanza is less pronounced, but still airy enough to allow the lines to “breathe,” if that makes sense. 🙂

      Yes, it’s good to post again. My hiatus is not planned or even desired; it’s a by-product of stress and anxiety over a great many issues I’m facing. I wish I were able to just power my way through these episodes of anxiety, but alas, after all these long years I understand that all I can do is let it run its course. I had my sights set on writing something new last night but after about an hour of focusing and meditating and trying to find the words, I relented and gave up for the night. It just wasn’t happening. But I’ll keep trying. Those words are out there somewhere and I’ll find them eventually.

      I have some catching up to do with regards to reading fellow bloggers’ posts, so I’ll be checking out your recent work to see what you’ve been up to. The image you’ve provided here is beautiful, as always (lots of orange–my favorite color). Here’s wishing you a happy October as well, filled with color and positive thoughts and lots of light! 🙂

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      1. Dear Mike,

        The following is what I have submitted to MasticadoresIndia.

        HaHa! I have had a lot of orange colours (being your favourites) lately in my latest posts that you have yet to savour. The previous image is featured in my post entitled “🌤️🌾 A September to Remember: Greeting Post-Pandemic and Post-Elizabethan Age 👑🏰 with Sapphires, Asters, Poems and Songs 💎🌼📜🎶“, where you will find one of my rhyming poems, plus two other rhyming poems (not mine).

        Here is another image full of orange tones:

        This image is featured in my post entitled “🔄📈📉 Change Rules and Moment Matters: How to Stay in the Moment 🔖🕰️🔂“, which may be a perfect remedy or antidote to some of the issues that you have been facing in life, whether lately or on an ongoing basis. I hope that you will find this post particularly helpful.

        All in all, I have published four new posts during your absence, and I intend to publish two more this week, if nothing intervenes.

        And should any of these newer posts inspire you to write one or more poems for us to collaborate as I have suggested to you, then so much the better.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

  12. captjkinak

    Hey Mike, Your work is so artistic. I have read your work for years. Your poetry and photography are impressive. As you know, I’m not much of a writer and to try to interpret someone’s thoughts when they write poetry is not my expertise to say the least. However I can always see some of me, my life, in your works. That says a lot. It says that you write in such a way that people can recognize a part of themselves in your work. Keep it up, my friend. Jeff

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    1. Thanks, man. I really appreciate the kind words. I’ve been tossing my poetry at you for a long time (all the way back to freshman year of college) and I’m grateful that you’ve always read it when virtually no one else did. I think good poetry acts as a mirror for everyone who reads it. We can see ourselves in the words and imagery and realize we’re not alone in this world. Thanks for the nice comment, buddy. I really appreciate it. 🙂

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    1. Thanks a bunch, Aaysid. I’m really glad to know you enjoyed this one. Your constant support and encouragement have really meant a lot to me. I’m so grateful for your presence here on WP, my friend! 🙂

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    1. Hey, Kirsten! Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad to know you found this one to your liking. I’m “enduring,” I suppose you could say. I’m trying to keep looking forward and generate some momentum to get out of my current morass. Having friends like you here on WP makes me want to keep trying, keep writing, keep moving forward. So, many thanks to you for your kindness, my friend. I truly appreciate you. 🙂

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    1. Thank you kindly, Diana. It’s been a while since I posted anything, that’s for sure. I suppose stuff has to run its course before the words return. I certainly miss the thrill of hitting that Publish button and seeing a new piece go live. I have a few folders on my PC with unfinished poetry and ideas. I guess you can say they’re in the pre-germination stage at the moment. I keep hoping for the hint of green as they begin to sprout. Suffice to say, I haven’t given up on writing. I’m just stuck at the moment. Anyway, I always enjoy reading your comments. Thanks so much for being such a wonderful friend here on WP. 🙂

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  16. Congratulations, again, Mike! I’m so happy you’re back and thrilled, with you, to have your work published. I always become immersed in the imagery and the emotion. But I also learn something new as well. The language of flowers. Thanks for an awesome post!

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    1. Many thanks, Peggy. It’s certainly a thrill when a piece is published, and it never gets old. I’m grateful for your support and encouragement. You’re always so enthusiastic, and it really means so much to me. For this poem, I wanted to portray the significance of various flowers in Japanese culture, and they lent themselves so well to describing grief and loss. I have such respect and fondness for Asian culture and I love how other cultures view things differently. It’s fascinating. Thanks for your kind comment, my friend. I appreciate you and look forward to reading your published work! 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, Terveen. You’ve been so supportive and encouraging. I can’t thank you enough for bringing my poetry to a wider audience at MasticadoresIndia. Honestly, I feel like a little kid jumping around with joy when I realize something I’ve written has been published. I have you to thank for that. 🙂 I’m grateful for your presence on WordPress, my friend. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Jeff. I’m glad this one spoke to you. I have to confess, I’m so thrilled to see my poetry published next to yours at MasticadoresIndia! Your work is so incredibly beautiful and profound. Just awe-inspiring. Thank you for your constant support, encouragement and friendship, Jeff. And continued success with your new book! 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Cindy. Your words mean a lot to me. You’re most definitely an inspiration to me and many others by how you face life head-0n and never stop moving forward. Thanks for being here, my friend. 🙂

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  23. What a lovely poem – it reminds me of Kipling’s Road Through the Woods. I watched the first short (was it the one about the fox wedding?) in Hana no Niwa. It was beautiful in a slightly off-key way. I can’t decide whether I’d like to see a fox-wedding or have one 🙂 Congratulations on another publication!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words as always. I did a search to find Kipling’s poem, but couldn’t locate one by that title. I found one titled “The Way Through the Woods,” and it’s a fine piece. As for fox weddings, I’d pay to see one of those! 😀 I love foxes. On the farm where I grew up, I’d occasionally see them darting across the road into the woods, that flash-flicker white-tipped tail disappearing into the dark shadows. They’re such mysterious, clever, playful creatures, and they hold a significant place in Japanese mythology. I love the Japanese term “kitsune.” Such a delightful name. Thanks again for your ever-present support and encouragement. 🙂

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