Elizabeth Spencer Spragins is a writer, poet, and editor who taught in American community colleges for more than a decade. Her tanka and bardic verse in the Celtic style have been published in England, Scotland, Canada, Indonesia, Mauritius, and the United States. An avid swimmer and an enthusiastic fiber artist, she lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Publication updates are available on her website:
Stealth
twin moons rise slowly
in the golden eyes of owls
silently waiting
I will my breath to stillness
but cannot hold my heartbeat
~Caledon State Park, King George, Virginia, USA
Compline
bare branches cradle
the spent sun on crimson clouds
while twilight lingers
my collie and I
amble home in single file
~The River Tay, West of Dunkeld, Scotland
Hunted
shadows chase sunlight
through dimpled hills of heather
while a red stag roars
ghosts of Highland Tigers slink
into silence of the mist
~Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Acrobatics
a tree swallow swings
through the sultry afternoon—
unhanded trapeze
slowly arcs through open air
a breath beyond the unfledged
~Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA
