Well, April, the cruelest month, is upon us! Thank God we have poetry to help us survive it. Poetry, Poetry, Poetry, Poetry!
The Haiku Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, Poets.org, brim with wonderful poetry to feed the soul – and the senses! Visit them and forget about April; or at least enjoy it! There is also Per Diem, the Daily haiku offered by The Haiku Foundation on their home page (bottom right-hand corner); Couplets, the multi-author poetry blog, coordinated by Joanne Merriam of Upper Rubber Boot Books, the Facebook pages of NaHaiWriMo, and numerous other projects, workshops, readings, and poetry-related events.
On this first day of Poetry Month, I am very happy to host Margaret Dornaus, ‘writer, a teacher, wife, traveler . . . as well as a haiku-doodler.’ Margaret says about herself, ‘I live in a beautiful woodland setting, surrounded by native oak forests, that inspires me to record haiku snapshots of luna moths and our resident roadrunner, and even an occasional black bear as it hightails it across the top of my road, my mongrel dog barking at its heels as I watch with wonder’.
In her post hosted here, Margaret kindly states, ‘I’m thrilled to exchange places with Stella for the day in observance of National Poetry Month and to have her wonderful work featured on my blog, Haiku-doodle (http://www.haikudoodle.wordpress.com).
Margaret herself chose to offer three poems (see below). This is how she reflects on her offering:
‘After we decided to share three of our poems on each other’s site, I contemplated whether I should contribute haiku or tanka. I began writing both about a year and a half ago, and, although I was already familiar with haiku, I knew nothing about tanka until I accidentally stumbled upon a call for submissions to Pamela A. Babusci’s journal Moonbathing. When I started studying this ancient lyrical form and reading the work of other tanka poets, I knew I’d found a home . . . . And so I’ve chosen three tanka to feature here today.’
you remind me
how it felt that night we met . . .
our universe
filled with possibilities
and the soft hum of tree frogs
.
Simply Haiku, vol. 9, no. 1, Spring 2011
.
years from now
I promise to remember
how you looked that night
alone on the verandah
holding moonlight in your hands
.
First place, Tanka Society of America
2011 International Tanka Contest
.
in darkness
we forget our anger . . .
suddenly
the sound of wild geese
piercing the starless night
.
Ribbons: Tanka Society of America Journal,
vol. 7, no. 1, Spring 2011
.
This blog post exchange is part of the Couplets project, a multi-author poetry blog tour coordinated by Joanne Merriam of Upper Rubber Boot Books “to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month“.
Stella Pierides 
Thanks for featuring Margaret, mi hermana de mi alma (my soul sister). We met through our blogs and still have to meet face-to-face. Yet through our writings, we recognized each other’s spirits and fused our thoughts since. Her lines are deeply sensitive yet rich and full. In her hands, emotions find refinement through the spirit. While her images are grounded, they rise and turn into a mist, leaving imprints on the spirit. I love all three tanka she chose to showcase here. It is definitely her art form.
Thank you, Stella, for yet another generous project you have here. Your love for poetry obviously fires you. And i, as most other aspiring poets, revel in it. Thanks again!
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Alegria,
Many thanks for your kind and generous words. I am very happy that you appreciate Margaret’s work so much. I do too, love it. There is so much warmth and wisdom in it. As is in yours!
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Alegria, you humble me . . . Mil gracias, mi hermana, for your too kind words.
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Margaret, I second Alegria! :-)) And thank you very much for featuring my own work in your blog!
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Thank you, Stella, for your kind words! And thank you, too, for helping kick-start this month of celebration with your wonderful haiku. Oh, and by the way, congratulations on the Snapshot Calendar contest. Can’t wait to read your entry. Best, M.
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