total eclipse

 

I'm very pleased to get this haiku out into the world! Thank you to Randy and Shirley Brooks for including it in the summer issue of Mayfly! 

total eclipse 

shining around me 

these upturned faces

We're not that far from eclipse totality, but the skies were supposed to be cloudy and not knowing what the traffic would be like or what my energy would be like, we didn't make any plans. But on April 8 I was feeling okay and the skies were clear, at least for the time being, so we just got in the car and drove to our favorite little restaurant in Baltic for lunch and then meandered through Amish country to a town called Wooster that's about an hour away. We thought we might go to the library but we saw people gathering on the street corners in town where they have little "parklets" and there were empty chairs, so we just parked our car and shared a table with "Ed and Pat from Strasburg." LoL. It was fun. The kind of shared experience where strangers become friends. I've included pictures of the courthouse before and during. The darkness was crazy! The sight of the diamond ring portion of the eclipse was absolutely amazing and sent up cheers from the crowd. Afterwards we all lingered for a bit, not wanting it to end. It was a beautiful day to be out and about in this wonderful world with my fellow humans, especially my darling person.

Facing Goodbye

 

I am very happy that one of my poems was included in this brand new anthology called Facing Goodbye. This collection of poems brings together over 90 international voices, each with their unique take on the multifaceted theme of ‘goodbye.’ 💙✋🏼🌐✍🏼💙

My poem, a haiku sequence, is about saying goodbye to Mary Oliver. When she died, I pulled out several volumes of her poetry and let them fall open where they would. I found much comfort and solace in her words and images. Each haiku in my poem references at least one, sometimes two of her poems. It's just me following her bread crumbs. She is just up ahead on the path, wearing her old boots and her torn coat, rejoicing about one thing and another, teaching me how to love the world, and telling me how it is that we live forever. 🥾💛🦋🌻✨

Sticks For the Nest

(after Mary Oliver)

swan moon

the black and white

of her death poem

night river 

drifting in and out

of metaphors

waking

in the forest

my trillium nature

the journey

to save my life

her old boots

poet's notebook

a songbird gathers sticks

for the nest

this body home

between earth and heaven

red bird's ease

between

angels and egrets 

the gray area

her long devotion

the back-breaking work

of sprouting wings

✨✨✨

Many thanks to Jane Hanson @pets_love_art1 and Mirjam Mahler @mirhamwrites for editing and curating this volume for The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press . The front cover features gorgeous artwork by Jane Hanson. The anthology´s beautiful foreword is by Ellen Rowland @rowland.ellen. It contains original illustrations by Scottish artist, Colin Thom. ✍🏼🎨🐦

All proceeds from sales of this anthology are donated to the International Rescue Committee a charity dedicated to people displaced as result of conflict, persecution and crisis. 🕊️🌍🕊️🌎🕊️🌏🕊️

Founded by Claire Thom, The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press is an indie publisher which creates poetry anthologies and digital zines. 

100% of the proceeds from sales of all their anthologies is donated to charity. ✨🐦🌱

Get your copy today! ✨✋🏼🪶https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Goodbye-Sparrow-Poetry-Press/dp/8409625369

The Midwest Haiku Traveling Rock Garden

 I'm very pleased to have one of my haiku included in The Midwest Haiku Traveling Rock Garden. The brainchild of fellow Ohio haiku poet, Matthew Markworth, The Midwest Haiku Traveling Rock Garden is a growing literary exhibit of previously-published haiku that celebrates English-language haiku. Thematically, it portrays images one may encounter in the Midwest.

Forty haiku were chosen for this first installation of the rock garden. I think forty more will be chosen next year. It's such a a cool idea. The rocks are small enough to fit in your hands, but hefty enough to give weight to these ephemeral poems. A poem in hand. A poem in the landscape. Poems that can be picked up or arranged on a table or on the floor and walked around or tucked under a hosta leaf or stacked like a cairn. The possibilities are endless! 

And stay tuned because The Haiku Traveling Rock Garden is coming to the Johnson- Humrickhouse Museum in 2025!