Tag: Haibun

Haibun Paint Chip Poetry Prompt

I’ve been crazy busy this week, on top of having my power and internet out for two days because of an ice storm here in Oregon. I was tempted to go with haiku from the H section of the poetry dictionary. But then I pulled...

So It Ends, and So It Begins

It began in the Westin Hotel pool on Maui. Well, truth be told, it began with a prayer four months earlier, the day I decided it was time to end 40 years of intense aquaphobia. I asked God to help me overcome this fear born...

The Big Seven-O

As he drove his big pick-up truck around the circle at Friends Landing, the furrowed brow and tilted head said he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. We actually fooled him. You’d think at 70 there wouldn’t be much that could get past my...

Inspiration

Perched precariously atop the canyon wall, the tiny striped chipmunk — I’ll call her Lenna, which means brave — nibbles a pink thistle flower. Undeterred by the sharp thistle leaves, she darts back to the lone source of lunch and plucks another flowery morsel. In...

My English Garden

Is it really a walk if the farthest you get is your own backyard? I say yes, yes it is. And a beautiful walk indeed when lavender and candytuft, bleeding hearts and lilac trees, are in bloom, iris are promising color soon. Besides, my little...

Wolf Moon

The wolf moon hung high in the clear winter sky as we drove home after a long New Year’s Day of visiting family. I glanced at it several times, but its brightness, coupled with the glare of headlights of oncoming cars and streetlights overhead, were...

To Cross the Finish Line

Finish it! Polish the 58,000 words I’ve written into a complete, coherent, and compelling story. Not be distracted by blog posts or new poetry books that threaten procrastination of the goal. Not be paralyzed by doubt. Capitalize on the feedback I receive from critique partners,...

My Award-Winning Vacation

Some might call it work, but I used five of my vacation days to prepare for and attend this conference. It didn’t feel like work at all, even though I spent most of it inside on my favorite type of bright, sunny summer days. Normally...

My Sweet Pea

I named her Bette, after Bette Davis, as a complement to Bogart. She was the best Christmas present I’ve ever received. Sometimes I called her Sweet Pea or Peeper. You’ve never met a more adorable, sweet, and perfect blond Cocker Spaniel puppy in all your...

Traeger Season

Traeger season. My favorite time of year. An entire meal cooked out on the deck either directly on the grill or in aluminum packets makes for quick easy clean-up. The scent of mesquite pellets wafts about the deck. I peel russet potatoes and cube them, spray...