Monday, April 4, 2011

February haiku and a Poet/Printmaker's Journey To The Interior

For the month of February 2011, I wrote a haiku each day. I was inspired to do so by a Facebook group called NaHaiWriMo - http://sites.google.com/site/nahaiwrimo/home. It was organized by Michael Dylan Welch - http://sites.google.com/site/graceguts/bio. Each day Michael gave the members of NaHaiWriMo prompts to write by.

Now at the age of 53, being a stay-at-home mom, and not working outside the home for over 15 years, I am currently not doing any printmaking or creating art, but rather, taking a personal journey to the interior to review my life passions and how I can inspire others 'more deeply and effectively' through my printmaking art, haiku, and personal beliefs. In the meantime please enjoy this compilation of my February haiku writing.

Please be respectful and do not repost, print, or use my haiku in any way without my permission. Thank you.


February ice
slicing slivers of ginger
for my soup
(Feb. 1st, 2011)


blustery dawn
only lawn chair shadows
on Ground Hog Day
(Feb. 2, 2011)


slowly carving
my jack rabbit woodblock
Chinese New Year
(Feb. 3, 2011)


a burst of red
lifts this heavy heart
spring cardinal
(Feb. 4, 2011)


haiku writing
housework and the news
winter soup
(Feb. 4, 2011)


icy branches
melt with a melody
little song bird
(Feb. 5, 2011)


sipping Maxwell House
International Coffee
in Kentucky
(Feb. 6, 2011)


February field
as a hawk touches down
the cows go wild
(Feb. 6, 2011 - for the Super Bowl :)


winter studio
my focus lost within
the bamboo plant
(Feb. 7, 2011)


only to feel
cool tingles on my face
snowy night
(Feb. 8, 2011)


frozen peanuts
by the garage door
wake up chipmunk!
(Feb. 9, 2011)


ink painting
on soft white washi
winter day dream
(Feb. 10, 2011)


winter clementine
the scent of sunset
on my hands
(Feb. 11, 2011)


not much to chat about
except the weather
winter sparrow
(Feb. 12, 2011)


winter blue sky
a cloud on its journey
with my prayer
(Feb. 13, 2011)


male cardinal
swooping across the path
my heart aflutter
(Feb. 14, 2011)


Valentine's Day
the urge to decorate
an old shoebox
(Feb. 14, 2011 Bonus haiku #2 :)


black tea bag
between my fingers
February thaw
(Feb. 15, 2011)


each passing day
the bare plum that leans
over the road
(Feb. 16, 2011)


countdown to spring
the digits of her feet
in flip flops
(Feb. 17, 2011)


windswept
the silent fullness
of the moon
(Feb. 18, 2011)


late winter party
a few more wrinkles beneath
her old strand of pearls
(Feb. 19, 2011)


between sleet
the childhood memory
of broken pearls
(Feb. 20, 2011)


early spring rain
hand-printing washi
on the woodblock
(Feb. 21, 2011)


the rose garden
handmade by grandma
cedar hope chest
(Feb. 22, 2011)


one by one
they come for supper
more cowbell
(Feb. 23, 2011)


morning mist
settles with a song
mother ironing
(Feb. 24, 2011)


long winter
a creaky gate opens
to the garden
(Feb. 25, 2011)


early-spring pond
the rhythm of a beaver
tail-slapping
(Feb. 26, 2011)


hoot after hoot
mindfully I count
to mindlessness
(Feb. 27, 2011)


grocery store
I stop to kiss the baby
tulip buds
(Feb. 28 2011)

4 comments:

Annie B said...

These are wonderful. Warm wishes for your brave journey.

Bette Norcross Wappner -- said...

Thanks, Annie. I'm sure that when I return from my little journey with my haiku knapsack it will be a breath of fresh air to return to the block and baren :)

Sharri said...

Wonderful, wonderful haiku! I love the Feb. 2 entry -- inspired, to say the least. Enjoy this time in your life.

Bette Norcross Wappner -- said...

Thanks, Sharri. I always enjoy learning new things and every now and then stepping back a bit to see it from a distance and different angles :)