prayer plant
awakening
so quiet
I listen
by Ellen Grace Olinger (USA)
Hummingbird, 2001
prayer plant
awakening
so quiet
I listen
by Ellen Grace Olinger (USA)
Hummingbird, 2001
bedridden–
the route of swallows
above my roof
by Daniela Misso (Italy)
Modern Haiku, Vol. 51.3, 2020
A delightful book of micro-poems and illustrations by Cara Armstrong, “A Trick of Living,” has just been published by Big Table Publishing. https://www.bigtablepublishing.com
(Big Table Publishing has very creative books, and it’s based in Boston and San Francisco.)
Micro-poetry comes in many forms, not just haiku. Cara Armstrong gives us another taste of three-line micro-poetry. Armstrong is not just a prolific poet, but is also a terrific artist.
If you like micro-poetry about creatures, you’ll like this endearing collection. It’s evident that Armstrong finds joy in being a poet and observing the natural world. Stunningly beautiful, yet simple illustrations accompany these short poems.
These are three sample micro-poems by Armstrong:
April snow morning
the simple two-note whistle
of the chickadee.
Surface reflections,
a person dressed in scarlet
on a cloudy day.
Brittle paper strips
hold the place in her reading,
green wings unfolding.
Cara Armstrong is also the author and illustrator of two children’s books, Moxie: The Dachshund of Fallingwater and the tri-lingual, Counting with Cats who Dream/Compte avec les Chats qui Revent/Contando con Gatos que Suenan. She is the co-author of Frank Lloyd Wright in Panorama and A Guide to Cleveland’s Sacred Landmarks. Her poems have been published in print and online, including in Sinister Wisdom, Organs of Vision and Speech: An Art and Poetry Journal (OVS), Boston Literary Magazine, Digging Through the Fat, Minerva Rising, Dogwood Review, Watershed Review, The Stillwater Review, and Adanna.
Armstrong’s artwork has been shown at many locations, including the Boston Architectural College, Boston, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, and Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA. She is Director of the School of Architecture + Art at Norwich University in Northfield, VT.
drifting snow
shattering the silence
a wren sings
by Clive Bennett (U.K.)
Wales Haiku Journal, Summer 2019
Valentine
My love in words is hard to say
Warm thoughts and cheer shall rule the day
Such beauty, wit, and grace divine
I covet you my valentine.
To put in words so very hard
I bought this clever greeting card
It says the things that I am fraught
She loves me, —not she loves me naught.
My heart desires that you be mine.
Forever yours shall I be thine
Our love shall grow so intertwined
So it says in this store-bought Valentine.
Please know these printed words are mine,
Took many years this card to find
In hopes our love forever bind
I pray you are of the same mind.
Please know I speak from my true heart,
When I put this card into my cart,
The words were all mine from the start
Star-crossed lovers never part.
The card is but a paper token
My thoughts are wild, my speech is broken
I look around for the smallest sign
That you will be my valentine.
Wait no longer I confess
The pain I suffer please address
Tis hell to have to wait and guess
Praise the Lord, she said “Yes”!
by Robert Mucci