| CARVIEW |
For Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge No. 48 Marianne Moore – Melissa has invited us to write a syllabic poem in one of the styles invented by Marianne Moore.
Photo: taken today, 24.1.26, in the garden. A peppermint pelargonium (useful in cooking, great to line the base of a cake tin especially for a choc cake – becomes a choc mint cake!) with wind blown rose petals sitting on top.
The syllabic form I have chosen is a rhyming aa-bb-c with syllabic count of 1-3-9-6-8
Garden Drama
Fire
crackle pyre,
but where then is the red dancing flame
no flicker I declaim,
nothing is moving everything is
still,
no smoke rill
not a wisp to be seen anywhere,
investigate I dare
closer I see the truth and I
smile,
o what guile
our plain humble pelargonium
pure pandemonium,
scattered red petals second bloom.
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
The Five O’clock Ducks
Looking out the window
losing myself in the
effect of breeze on shrubs,
on the distant waves all
galloping in, we call these
wind riven waves white horses,
feeling the deep summer warmth
listening to small birds
sipping wine, talking the day
waiting for the five o'clock ducks
who will ascend from the river
and barely clear the roof,
why leave the river at night
and where is the grass greener
at night?
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
Every so often, well, more often than not, there are those in the writing community who support us by enabling, boosting, referencing and promoting us by various means. One such person is Robbie Cheadle of Robbie Cheadle and Roberta Writes and Robbies Inspiration who is tireless in her support of the writing community.
Recently Robbie kindly invited me to be interviewed which was a generous offer and the outcome so affirming and positive. If you want to know a bit more about me follow the link below to where the interview is posted in full (which is run by another supportive writer Kaye Lynne Booth). The Interview is part of a series, so there are other writers you can get to know.
Interview Link
Interview with Paul Cannon by Robbie Cheadle – “Treasuring Poetry“
Many thanks Robbie
Best wishes, Paul
]]>January 2026 Japanese Micro Seasons
| January 1–4 | 雪下出麦 Yuki watarite mugi nobiru | Wheat sprouts under snow |
| 小寒 Shōkan (Lesser cold) | ||
|---|---|---|
| January 5–9 | 芹乃栄 Seri sunawachi sakau | Parsley flourishes |
| January 10–14 | 水泉動 Shimizu atataka o fukumu | Springs thaw |
| January 15–19 | 雉始雊 Kiji hajimete naku | Pheasants start to call |
| 大寒 Daikan (Greater cold) | ||
| January 20–24 | 款冬華 Fuki no hana saku | Butterburs bud |
| January 25–29 | 水沢腹堅 Sawamizu kōri tsumeru | Ice thickens on streams |
| January 30–February 3 | 鶏始乳 Niwatori hajimete toya ni tsuku | Hens start laying eggs |
Daikan – Greater Cold
Form: Haiku, Kigo phrases – Butterburs bud, Long Great Cold
when butterburs bud
her love heals my aching heart
through the long great cold
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
At dVerse Kim is hosting Poetics with an invitation to write a poem about snow.
dVerse Poets – Poetics – New Year Snow
Photo: taken inJanuary 2013, snow on Kasprovy Wierch, Poland.
Perfect
Styrene scene pristine
wedding cake top,
virginal
untouched,
as far as I can see
smooth as silk
a wedding dress
perfect to the eye,
a sound transports me
to a summer beach
where salted sandy crust
crunches under foot,
fine sand squeaks as
trod for the first time,
veiled feelings uncovered.
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
At dVerse Li is hosting Prosery with an invitation to write a piece of prose (144 words) which must include the line “Bury me with the lies I told” from ‘Bury Me’ by Alejandro Escovedo from his album Echoes (2024) for more detail follow the link below:
dVerse Poets – Prosery – Bury Me
Image: from wkyc.com
Subjectivity
Lies sit subjectively. As decades pass we discover that what was once true then is no longer true now, even in science, especially in religion. I’m convinced we’ve all lied at some point, for me it matters as to motive, was it for selfish gain or for the good of the community in some way? Some lies are necessary for self-preservation. Even when we are unaware we lie, as attested by the saying – “no one lies like an eyewitness,” meaning no one remembers the complete truth of an event. We are also casualties of paradox, shifts in orthodoxy, changes in knowledge, of our perception. I believe we lie to ourselves more, such lies have the potential to bury me. With the lies I told I have learned to accept that they will always be on my conscience no matter the motive or the outcome.
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
Photo: found at ar.inspiredpencil.com
Sweet Tooth
The sly hip
your tender caress
ecstasy
elation
two pin pricks oh my so pale
drained as I am gorged.
Copyrights 2025 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️
Originally posted on @pvcannon.bsky.social
]]>
Photo: Two of the worst people to ever steal oxygen fawned over by sycophants who have their own agendas. from aol.com
Form: Tanka (5-7-5-7-7)
single stick drum beat
like dark descant raven's caw
funereal call
to those welcoming ill winds
as if receiving angels
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️
Originally posted on @pvcannon.bsky.social Tanka Thursday
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Image by Raphael Stäger from Pixabay
It Undoes Me
Scales need counterbalancing
like so many things,
recipes come to mind
everything finely tuned
like an amplifier,
but when cars come around
our corner on a day
at a time
in that gear
the sound puts my balance out,
I can't locate the
historical moment,
but it undoes me
for no apparent reason
and my mood becomes flat.
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️
At dVerse Lillian is hosting Open Link Night – the night we choose a poem to post.
Image: an artist’s impression of an asteroid, from abc7chicago.com
Mere Puff
Rumours of asteroids
migrating the galaxy
looming large,
speculative dangers
imagined endings
come to nought as
carbon catches fire,
tail trailing orange
across the sky
deconstructing
scattering everywhere
flamboyant, gauche
but of little consequence,
nowhere the anticipated
lasting impact
mere puff, pig in a poke
burning, self-consuming.
Copyright 2026 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon]]>
All Rights Reserved ®️