a river of stones

Take a look through recent posts at this blog and you will see a pattern developing. Maybe more than one; the most obvious being the daily appearance of at least one piece of haiku or similar short poetry.

Writing and posting these poems, what I call Haikuish, has been in preparation for the month long writing project, a river of stones, which begins January 1, 2011. What I call haikuish, Fiona Robyn, calls "small stones". I have had the honor and pleasure of seeing my short poetry featured in Fiona's on-line journal, a handful of stones and am honored and happy to participate in a river of stones, which will include writers from all over the world. If you are interested in details, like how to join the project, click here:

a river of stones

Of course, I have been writing Haiku, Tanka, and similar short forms for some time now. See my book, The Jewel in the Moment for some examples of my work.

Here are two pieces recently written that I would normally not consider for publication even here on my blog. Each piece succesfully expresses a moment, but they lack spark. I offer them here, then, not as examples of what I consider good haiku or short poetry, but good examples of why I write these things in the first place.

Home of a reader:
books of poetry piled high
in the bathroom.

***

Haunted by dreams,
something half forgotten…
Who? What? Why?


The writing of Haiku for me is a meditation more than a literary pursuit. Dedicating oneself to the daily writing of a short poem requires, for me at least, an opening of the senses, an opening of mind. It is the realization, perhaps literary after all, that everything is poetry.