dogwood fragrance
a cool spring breeze flutters trees
dogwood dizzy
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Tag Archives: haiku
Cherry Blossoms
roses of springtime
wide ball skirts for fairies
who dance on clouds
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: Happy Mother’s Day! I hope your day was full of warmth and love. 🙂
Lune a Lark
butterfly spreads wings
a lark sings
oh, the joy spring brings
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This is my first attempt at a lune, and I was in a rhyming mood. A lune is a haiku variant with syllable count of 5-3-5 instead of the usual 7-5-7. Morgan wrote a magical one. I know I saw one a few weeks ago on Poetry Friday, but then I lost track of who’d written it. If it was you, let me know, and I’d be happy to link up.
Thanks to Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, a prolific poet and champion of poetry, at Today’s Little Ditty for hosting Poetry Friday.
The butterfly is a Tiger-Striped Longwing (Heliconius ismehius). The photo was taken at the Boston Museum of Science’s Butterfly Garden.
Peace Crane Mantra
cares folded
their power is transformed
peace grows
Note: A mantra is a word, phrase or sound used to focus the mind during meditation or prayer. I wrote the first draft of this mantra when I read a poem by Advocatemmmohan. My family loves origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. We folded the cranes after enjoying leftover birthday cake. Happy International Women’s Day! I’m celebrating by meditating on peace, an important women’s issue.
Spring Dreaming
close dreaming eyes
fragrance of cherry blossoms
intoxicates, breathe
Note: Dreams are magic. I dreamed spring into being today as I soaked up the lemon winter sun. The park may have been wet with snowmelt and smelling of mud but I was remembering cherry blossoms.
Spun Sugar Trees
spun sugar trees
limbs bent to the knees,
white with delight
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes:
This is a rhyming haiku.
It’s something to do.
Want to try one, too?
Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted thanks to Kimberley Moran at Written Reflections.
Purple Sage
fragrant leaves
rough with musky spice
song of summer
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This is a good-bye to my herb garden, which spiced my soups and stews this summer and fall. Pictured are two varieties of purple sage, which are not culinary. I also grow lavender, green sage, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, tarragon, mint, chives and rosemary. When my herb garden goes dormant for winter, I’ll be waiting for spring. Only the basil and rosemary won’t come back.
Red Maple Tanka
flight
one perfect moment
remembered
fingers curled in longing
to relive one’s height
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Do you have one time in your life you would relive if you could?
Leaves Rain
leaves rain
tree tears spiral and tumble
mourning summer
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Sisters Sing Madrigals
young sisters, grow
sing madrigals to summer
dance all the day
turn toward the starlight
chins tucked into dreaming
wayward thistledown
spirals one way then the next
chased by bluejays
more voices join madrigals
sisters betwixt and between
too close, bash heads
dreams shaken by storm wind
madrigals fade
one summer lasts a lifetime
starlight lasts even longer
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is arranged into three tankas. A madrigal is a either a medieval poem or a song without instruments in two or more parts. I like to think madrigals sung by flowers would be both poem and song. May your week be lightened by flower song.
Open Door Haibun
When one door closes, another opens;
but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door
that we do not see the one which has opened for us.
I’m attending a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference in a few days. I’ve written three children’s books, and SCBWI is an invaluable resource for improving craft and making connections.
molding words like clay
making characters breathe,
dream
When I say I’m writing books, the first question anyone asks me is have I been published. Yes, I’ve been published in the past and recently in on-line zines and on my blog, but their questions really mean has any publishing company paid money to publish my work. Not yet. I’m looking for an agent. Most editors want agented submissions. Agents have become the first gatekeepers. To get through that gate is my immediate goal.
hands on the gate
splintery wood is rough
words can smooth
I wrote “Author” for the first time as my occupation recently. I learned the poet Emily Dickinson was rejected for publication during her lifetime. She was never published until after her death. Was she an author? I would say yes. If she was an author during her life, then I am, too.
To quote Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” I am already successful because I love writing novels.
This is a new career for me, and publication will take time. I’m on the path, I have passed through the first door — I believe in myself. Next, I hope to pass through the gate.
words soar like birds
song echoes over lake water
feathers fall, they float
I know many bloggers are on the path with me, and I want to thank all of you for your feedback and your support. My shoulder surgery is a few days after the conference. This may be my last post for a while, as I won’t be able to lift my laptop until my arm is useful again. I will miss all of you in the meantime. Keep writing! XOXO, Brenda
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Wildflower Heart
wildflower heart
roots hidden in darkness
trembles toward the sun
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Friendly Fairy Tales 