Wednesday, December 19, 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY!


my fervent wish
for Christmas and beyond -
lasting world peace

Monday, December 17, 2012


For your holiday gift-giving or for yourself, here are the links to my 3 books.

1) Rustle of bamboo leaves © 2005 (HIGHLY DISCOUNTED from Lulu, copy and paste URL)
http://www.lulu.com/shop/victor-p-gendrano/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/paperback/product-246155.html

2) Haiku and Tanka Harvest © Dec. 2011
https://www.createspace.com/3737478

3) ABC to Enlightenment © 2012

The preceding 2 books are also available from Amazon.

Thank you and Merry Christmas to everybody!

Friday, December 14, 2012

countless candles lit
for countless children -
violence victims

Friday, December 7, 2012



TATLONG WIKA, ISANG KAHULUGAN
(Three tongues, One meaning)
 

KALUNGKUTAN (Tagalog)

gabing walang bituin
hinihintay kita sinta
kahit sa panaginip


SOLEDAD (Español)

la noche sin estrellas
esperaré por te amor
aun en mi sueño


LONELINESS (English)

starless night
I'll wait for you my love
even in my dream


In my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Thursday, December 6, 2012


after this holiday
I'll never join again
women shopping

In my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest


Wednesday, November 21, 2012


THANKSGIVING PRAYER 

Thank you
my Lord and God
for gift of life and health
remembering our lost loved ones
once more.

Heed not
our weaknesses,
teach us how to forgive
and live in harmony with all
others.

So that
once more this world
of hate will be again
a place of love and peacefulness,
Amen.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Black Friday -
a not so subtle ploy
to empty your purse

Sunday, November 11, 2012

parade watching
he fingers his Purple Heart
over his feeble heart

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

handicapped parking
he pretends to walk
with a limp

from my book,
Rustle of bamboo leaves

Thursday, November 1, 2012

their room
fills with silence
this All Souls day
even her unrocking
rocking chair

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Sunday, October 28, 2012

after facing
six eliminations
the San Francisco Giants won
the World Series games
against Detroit Lions

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants who just won the baseball's World Series games tonight sweeping the Detroit Lions in four games clinging to never say die, never give up attitude.
from my spam folder -
"my husband
is out of town"

Monday, October 22, 2012


From my 3rd book, ABC to enlightenment © 2012

THE ABC TO ENLIGHTENMENT, 10
    
      by Victor P. Gendrano 
© 23 March 2011

This the tenth in the series of alphabetical guidelines. In my posts, I try to limit myself to just one page so as not to overwhelm you. 

J - JUDGEMENT

Often we tend to judge people according to our own societal standards, for instance, skin color, speech accent, the way one looks, ethnicity, and so on, which are different from the norm we are in and grew up with. Another aspect is pre-judging people’s actions without privy to their personal motivations and carefully-arrived reasons, which, at times, are hard to do.
With regards to physical attributes, for example, it’s worth remembering the common saying, don’t judge a book by its cover, since we have to read what’s inside first to correctly ascertain its worthiness. But, most important of all, God created man in His likeness and loved and continually to love us unconditionally, so we ought to love one another, rather than being unnecessarily judgmental.



Tuesday, October 16, 2012

in the news -
lack of sleep adds inches
to your waist

Saturday, October 13, 2012


she shrieks
at the mirror
and cries she's heavy
I reassure her
she's just healthy

In my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Friday, October 5, 2012



autumn dusk
grandpa gazes at the bird
flying alone

In my book, 
Haiku and Tanka Harvest © 2012
but first published in
World Haiku Review
Vol. 5, Issue 2, January 2007

Monday, October 1, 2012

hospice visit
for the third time
she asks the name
of her daughter
holding her hand

In my book, 
Haiku and Tanka Harvest © 2011
but first published in
Sketchbook, Vol. 5, No. 2
March/April 2010

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

the silent sound
of her absence
fills their room
only the echoes
of yesterday remain

Tagalog version

napuno ang kanilang silid
ng tahimik na ugong
nang kanyang pagkawala
gunita ng kahapon
siya lang naiwan

Published in my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest
© December 2001

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

end of summer
our daughter's vacation
gets shorter each year

The Heron's Nest
Vol. XIII, No. 1, March 2011

Thursday, September 13, 2012


football fever
she hugs his pillow 
for company
their bed grows colder
each passing game

Ribbons, Vol. 2, No. 2
Summer 2006

Tuesday, September 4, 2012


Good news. My article, Xenophobia, an excerpt from my 3rd book, ABC to Enlightenment, 


was just published in the Romanian magazine, Contemporary Horizons, July/August 2012 issue in both its original English version with Romanian translation. Many thanks to editor Daniel Dragomirescu for always including my works in the magazine.

Friday, August 31, 2012

From the latest issue of World Haiku Review, August 2012, here's my Moving out haiku sequence.




MOVING OUT 
(A haiku sequence)

by Victor P. Gendrano, USA

                    twilight advent
 
                eyeing the remnants
                of my past life

                my daughter says
 
                it's alright to feel sad
                moving out

                moving in alone
 
                in my new retirement house
                chilly Santa Ana wind

                half awake
 
                I thought I smell
                her fresh brewed coffee

                unfamiliar room
 
                I bumped my head
                on the bedroom's door

                only a cut
 
                the paramedic says
                no stitches needed

                from the window
 
                a distant shaft
                of the dawn's light 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

barbecue scent mingles
with children's laughter
inside their fence
outside, two homeless kids
share a burnt burger

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 2009

Saturday, August 18, 2012


my neighbor mows
the grassy edges
of my unkempt lawn
in the shade I try to write
this friendship poem

Sketchbook, Vol. 4, No. 4, 
July/August 2009 

Monday, August 13, 2012

widower's garden
her roses bloom
side by side with weeds

World Haiku Review, August 2011
Honorably Mention, Neo-Classical Haiku

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I brush mom's gray hair
as she chats with unseen friends
in her hospice home
I wonder if she knows
I'm her least-liked daughter

Notes from the Gean
Vol. 2, Issue , March 2011

Saturday, August 4, 2012


sidewalk frenzy
the homeless boys fight
for a tossed quarter
World Haiku Review
 Vol. 8, Issue 1, Jan. 2010

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Just a note that there is a brief review of my second book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest, in the latest issue of FROGPOND, The Journal of the Haiku Society of America, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2012. 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012


rain forecast
even the crickets
refuse to sing
World Haiku Review,
 April 2012

Thursday, July 19, 2012

widower"s garden
her roses bloom
side by side with weeds

In my 2nd book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest
but first published in World Haiku Review
August 2011

Friday, July 13, 2012

More good news. An article on XENOPHOBIA in my 3rd book, ABC to Enlightenment, will be translated to Romanian and published in a future issue of Contemporary Literary Horizon.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012


I am recently honored as an invited poet in the latest issue of HAIGAONLINE with my haiku poems turned into haiga complete with art works and music. Please see this link (copy and paste the URL to your browser or search engine):

http://www.haigaonline.com/

Monday, June 25, 2012

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to tell you that I have just published my 3rd book, ABC to Enlightenment. It's not a book of poems but weekly words of advice sent to my children and grandchildren through the magic of email. I wrote them for consecutive 26 weeks, January to July 2011 starting with letter A for Action, B for Beauty, C for Courage to the last letter Z for Zeal. More information on these sites (Copy and paste the URL to your browser or search engine):


https://www.createspace.com/3900289


http://www.amazon.com/ABC-Enlightenment-Guideposts-lifes-journey/dp/1477607439


Thursday, June 21, 2012


summer advent
she watches the hummingbirds
with unopened book

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

With the warm weather fast approaching, smile, no laugh once in a while!

uncontrolled laughter
grandpa's denture falls
in his bowl of soup 

Saturday, June 9, 2012



Just discovered a review of my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest, in Lynx, a Journal for Linking Poets in its June 2012 issue. Here's the link:

http://www.ahapoetry.com/ahalynx/272bookreviews.html

the flower’s essence
lingers long after
its bloom wilts
remembering the lives
she touched on earth

Modern English Tanka
Vol. 2, No. 1, Autumn 2007

Tuesday, May 29, 2012


parade watching
from his wheelchair
he fingers 
the Purple Heart
over his feeble heart

Wednesday, May 23, 2012


eclipse
in haikuland
Hortensia is gone


In memory of Hortensia Anderson of New York, a fellow poet who just passed away, from a silent admirer not only of her poetry but her tenacity to cling to life dealt to her... May you rest in peace!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Search for inner peace


he roams
the rocky hills
in search of inner peace
which his world
cannot give

Sketchbook, Vol. 6, No. 1
January/February 2011

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Fleeting life


I know now
why our embrace
was so tight
your last farewell
to fleeting life
Sketchbook, Vol. 6, No. 1

Jan/Feb. 2011

Monday, May 7, 2012


moving in 
alone in my new 
retirement house
the chilly welcome
of Santa Ana wind

Thursday, May 3, 2012

rain forecast
even the crickets
refuse to sing

World Haiku Review

April 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Spring cleanup

spring cleanup
she rips her dad’s photo
with his new young wife

Sketchbook, Vol. 6, No. 3 
May/June 2011

Monday, April 16, 2012

Moving in day

moving in day
the chilly welcome
of Santa Ana wind

Friday, April 13, 2012

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th
I shoo a black cat
from the driveway

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Three eleven

ghosts of three eleven 

beneath sakura blooms

flooded paper cranes

World Haiku Review
April 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

Lenten Thoughts

© Victor P. Gendrano

Embrace each day with joy
give thanks for gift of life
living in borrowed time
in simple joy, delight.

Beauty is everywhere
if we but dare to look
within ourselves, others
or sound of nature’s brook.

Blooming flowers, bird’s songs
in warmth of sun-filled day,
kind words and warm smile
laughter in children’s play.

We are all sojourners
and life is but fleeting,
long after we are gone
bad or good deeds remain.

For we are truly dust
to dust we shall return,
power, riches, and fame
we leave after sojourn.

So resurrected Lord
in Your divine wisdom,
guide us simple mortals
right path to Your kingdom.


Reprinted from: Heritage magazine,
Vol. XII, No. 1, Spring 1998

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

First day of spring

her sweet smile
ushers in the
first day of spring

To Candace whose newly bought book I just autographed. Thanks a mil...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Remember Japan

remembering
three eleven
when the world, as one,
mourned and helped
a ravaged nation


In loving remembrance of Japan and its people for last year's natural disaster. May you have continued progress and healing, our prayers are still with you.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Hospice

hospice visit
for the third time
she asks the name
of her daughter
holding her hand

Sketchbook Vol. 5, No. 2
March/April 2010

Friday, March 2, 2012

Stalled traffic

stalled traffic
he picks up his dog
crying

World Haiku Review
December 2011

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Your Absence

I chase
the remnants
of my broken dream
chilling the night
of your absence

Friday, February 24, 2012

Ash Wenesday

dust we are
to dust we shall return
Lenten's lesson

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MORE READERS' BOOK COMMENTS

Haiku and Tanka Harvest, published last December 23, 2011 is available at Amazon and its publisher's site: https://www.createspace.com/3737478

MORE READERS’ COMMENTS

“I received my copy of Haiku and Tanka Harvest today in the mail. I am enjoying all your work very much. A special thanks for including “For Darrell” in this book. I appreciate very much you including this poem in memory of my wife, Alice. We have both lost our life mates in the normal course of living. Poetry such as yours eases the pain. It reminds us that we will all be together again. On the other side.”

- Darrell Byrd, poet member of the Southern California Haiku Study Group

“Haiku and Tanka Harvest is simply wonderful! It is beautiful, inside and out. The cover is extraordinarily striking. I've been trying to make the first reading last, to savor each poem the first time through, but it's very hard to do that, because as soon as I read one poem I can't wait to get to the next. So, I'll read every one, and absorb and savor them more slowly with subsequent readings. I'm enjoying your prose very much, too. Your work has heart; reading it is such a joy. Susumu's and Marjorie's introductions are marvelous, warm and enlightening. What a significant and satisfying literary gift you have created!"

- Ferris Gilli, Associate Editor, The Heron's Nest

“Victor is probably more of a settler than a traveller. His job as a librarian must have given him intellectual detachment and the power of keen observation. His humility and honesty have opened a shortest route to truths. They also seem to have made him able to accept “the unknowable” and “the undoable” calmly. With this detachment and calmness he enjoys what life can offer him. All this, without being armed with Zen, Oriental mysticism, or cumbersome Western haiku theory and rules.

year end
thinking of what ifs
and what might have beens

Luckily for him, Victor is a natural for haiku. However, that is only half the story. The other half tells us that he makes tremendous efforts to be better, listens attentively, observes like a scientist and opens his heart to what is there for everybody to see.

In answer to my question he says, “Haiku enable me to see the world as it is, warts and all, and embrace any and all happenings both in nature itself and human nature, with me remaining non-judgmental yet involved. It requires discipline yet makes me aware of macro and micro happenings around me.”

And whatever happens around him, Victor’s heart remains with his late wife.

dining alone
the pipe-in music plays
our love song"

- Susumu Takiguchi, Chairman of The World Haiku Club and editor of its World Haiku Review. Excerpts from Susumu’s Introduction to Haiku in the book Haiku and Tanka Harvest.

Monday, January 16, 2012

BACK COVER of Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Haiku and Tanka Havest is available from Amazon and its publisher's site:
https://www.createspace.com/3737478

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Victor P. Gendrano
Victor is a member of the Haiku Society of America, World Haiku Club, Tanka Society of America and the Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society. This is his second book. His first one, Rustle of bamboo leaves, selected haiku and other poems,was published in 2005. It is highly discounted in the publisher’s site:
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/246155

WHAT THEY SAY:
“Victor is a natural for haiku. But his tanka is something special. Tanka form seems to be a most suitable one for his sensibility, self-expression and sentiment. Tanka would be a better form for most of the haiku poets who have not grasped the essence of haiku like he had. In short, he is good at haiku as well as at tanka.”
- Susumu Takiguchi, Chairman, The World Haiku Club and Editor,
World Haiku Review

“Gendrano is a multitalented poet who is not afraid of expressing himself in various forms; he is not limited to nor defined only as a tanka or haiku poet; this freedom of definition gives his poetry a richness and depth. This collection of haiku and tanka is heartfelt and honest. Victor P. Gendrano’s voice is sincere,rich and authentic. It is a voice that needs to be heard.”
- Marjorie Buettner, poet, book reviewer, and author of
Seeing it now, a haiku and tanka book.

Victor P. Gendrano's second book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest, is a journey into the heart and soul of the poet. His poetic works are honest, sincere and, above all, will leave permanent footprints in the reader's heart. From loneliness, heartache, joy, and happiness, this book weaves a tapestry of his life's winding road. Haiku and Tanka Harvest is a must addition to any poet's library.
- Pamela A. Babusci, Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women's tanka

Monday, January 2, 2012

COMMENTS ON NEW BOOK


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victor is a member of the Haiku Society of America, World Haiku Club, Tanka Society of America and the Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society. This is his second book. His first one, Rustle of bamboo leaves, selected haiku and other poems,was published in 2005. It is highly discounted in the publisher’s site {copy and paste URL):
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/246155

WHAT THEY SAY:
“Victor is a natural for haiku. But his tanka is something special. Tanka form seems to be a most suitable one for his sensibility, self-expression and sentiment. Tanka would be a better form for most of the haiku poets who have not grasped the essence of haiku like he had. In short, he is good at haiku as well as at tanka.”
- Susumu Takiguchi, Chairman, The World Haiku Club and Editor, World Haiku Review

“Gendrano is a multitalented poet who is not afraid of expressing himself in various forms; he is not limited to nor defined only as a tanka or haiku poet; this freedom of definition gives his poetry a richness and depth. This collection of haiku and tanka is heartfelt and honest. Victor P. Gendrano’s voice is sincere,rich and authentic. It is a voice that needs to be heard.”
- Marjorie Buettner, poet, book reviewer, and author of Seeing it now, a haiku
and tanka book.


Victor P. Gendrano's second book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest, is a journey into the heart and soul of the poet. His poetic works are honest, sincere and, above all, will leave permanent footprints in the reader's heart. From loneliness, heartache, joy, and happiness, this book weaves a tapestry of his life's winding road. Haiku and Tanka Harvest is a must addition to any poet's library.
- Pamela A. Babusci, Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women's tanka