Seven of my tanka are featured in the Spring 2009 issue of simply haiku--check it out!
Very cool!

simply haiku/tanka by Annette Mineo

on my knees
wiping muddy paw prints
from the kitchen tiles
sun spots hinting spring
my parents another day older

Change. Life is just whizzing along; it waits for no one, no thing, and no plan of mine. I love seeing the changing light, the sun moving closer to the earth, the days growing longer, the golden tones returning--but, at the same time, there is a sadness. As time moves on ahead things are left behind--I still don't have a job or a sense of where I belong, my days are never productive enough, my parents seem older and more frail with each passing day, my kids are struggling with jobs and bills and school loans, and there seems nothing certain, nothing for me to wrap my heart around, except the black mud on the cool white tiles, the dog's big happy waggle, the way I feel in the afternoon winter light. Nothing but the moment. Nothing but the words. This is all there is to keep me from unraveling.

restitching
and hemming up
the old resume
this balmy ground hog day
of reprieve, hope and possibility

Isn't it amazing how just a little sunshine, temps soaring into the 40's, the absence of wind along the tide line and the glorious dripping from everywhere can get under the skin, wiggle into the soul and make you believe in yourself again?

I consider myself a weather person; I guess you'd know that if you've read my blog. I don't mind the snow, or the cold, or the wind or even rain! But it was so refreshing today to have just this little taste of spring (before the snow again tomorrow . . .)! And I've just been so stuck-in-a-rut without working, I decided I'd just re-do the resume and at least take a shot at something! So I thought why not the bookstore? After all, what do I love more than books?

So that's all--just a little melting today, and a little idea about a little direction. That's all.