Smorgasbord Poetry – Colleen Chesebro’s Tuesday Weekly Challenge #TankaProse – Bear Witness by Sally Cronin

This week for Colleen Chesebro’s Tuesday Poetry Challenge 241 it is to create in a specific form which is Tanka Prose…

Here is my Tanka Prose –

Bear Witness

Images seared on the mind. Men, women and children fleeing a future they have experienced before. Faith lost in those who swore to protect. Fear that borders crossed only hold more danger. Spectators from afar can only look on powerlessly, grateful for the safety and peace they often take for granted.

Do not look away
bear witness to tragedy
give deepest respect
to those who flee tyranny
do not become complacent

©Sally Cronin 2021

There is still time to participate in this week’s challenge: Colleen Chesebro’s Tuesday Poetry Challenge 241 it is to create in a specific form

My latest book is a collection of poetry and was published in July 2021 and here is a recent review.

One of the recent reviews for the collection

Aug 29, 2021 Alex Craigie rated it five stars

Many people are familiar with Haiku, but there are many other forms of poetry where the writer is restricted to a strict pattern of syllables. One of my favourites of these is the Butterfly Cinquain. It has nine lines and the number of syllables allocated to each line gives the finished poem the shape of a butterfly. Just as an expert ballet dancer or gymnast can make what they do seem effortless, so, too, does Sally Cronin –weaving her words into syllabic poetry with a mastery that makes it easy to forget the constraints behind the magic she creates. There are beautiful butterfly cinquains in this book, plus delightful examples of other forms.

The poems in this volume are varied. The tone behind each can be angry, despairing, reflective, brimming with fun or life-affirming and hopeful. This makes it an ideal volume for dipping into when the mood takes you. These are poems to savour. They’re rich, like a box of expensive chocolates, and I enjoyed spending time sampling them in turn. This is another part of the charm for me – you never know what to expect when you turn the page.

Despite the strict syllable count, these poems manage to capture the essence of an idea in a way that doesn’t seem at all forced. In Washed Up and Silver Lining to Isolation, we are shown the positives in a situation. Other examples such as Persecution in the Garden and Is it Time? reveal an anger aimed at people and their disregard for the planet and the creatures we share it with.

Whatever the topic, the images conjured here are vivid and powerful. In Friendship she writes:

Those who hold onto their power/by creating distrust/ fear and hatred/ are weak.

In Cascade: Memories cascade/ tumbling down the precipice of time.

The topics are wide-ranging and include an eloquent attack on fake news and a heartfelt longing for human contact after the barriers created by Covid.

I loved the point made in Hope that Hope is no better than a wish/ needing effort to make come true

The final section of the book is called Slices of Life and concerns events in Sally Cronin’s life. Most of this poetry is in a longer, narrative style with neatly executed rhymes. Again, there’s humour here but also much that I found moving.

Another gratifying aspect of Life is Like a Mosaic is the careful selection of images to accompany each poem. This is a feast for the eyes as well as the ear.

Above all, it’s the closely observed understanding of people and the world in which they live that makes these poems strike a chord in all of us.

You can find all my books and buy links: Sally’s Books and Reviews 2021

 

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you have enjoyed the poem.. thanks Sally.