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Robyn Hood Black - children's author, poet, artist

Life on the Deckle Edge

Poetry Friday - Haiku for the Birds

November 9, 2023
Tags: - poetry, -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Haiku Society of America, bird haiku, bird poems, kukai, Antoinette Libro, Michael Henry Lee, Robyn Hood Black, Stanford M. Forrester, bottle rockets press, Johnette Downing, Nick Virgilio

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  This past Saturday, I enjoyed attending the "Almost Winter" Open Mic Zoom Event of the Southeast Region of the Haiku Society of America, organized by our fearless leader & poet extraordinaire, Michael Henry Lee.

 

Our featured speaker was the generous and gifted Antionette ("Toni") Libro, who shared her experiences with internationally known haiku poet Nick Virgilio (1928-1989), considered "a founder of haiku written in the American idiom." (More here.)   Libro invited Virgilio to speak to her classes at Rowan University when she taught there, and she published some of his haiku in Asphodel, the literary journal she founded and edited.

 

Stanford M. Forrester also shared a short presentation about Jerry Kilbride, including one of his haibun about Virgilio. Forrester founded bottle rockets press 25 years ago and is a former president of the HSA.  

 

Also at the virtual meeting, winners of our kukai were announced.  A kukai is a contest in which participants submit a poem on a theme, and then all of them judge the submissions (presented anonymously). For our contest, the three haiku receiving the most votes were the winners, with their authors receiving a copy of Nick Virgilio:  A Life in Haiku, edited by Raffael de Gruttola (Turtle Light Press, 2012).

 

Happy to report that my haiku was one of these three!  The other winners were Terri L. French and Cody Huddleston. Fine company.  The aforementioned theme was "almost winter," and my contribution was a spare one:

 

 

almost winter as the crow flies

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

 

Thank you, HSA SE!

 

Speaking of birds (and there will likely be a raven post coming soon, after our seeing them on our Blue Ridge Parkway trip), I'm happy to highlight the latest anthology from bottle rockets press, Bird Whistle - A Contemporary Anthology of Bird Haiku, Senryu, & Short Poems, edited by Stanford M Forrester/sekiro and Johnette Downing.  The collection features bird-themed poems by more than 100 poets, including terrific haiku by the two wonderful editors.

 

The poems in the collection are by turns wistful, profound, surprising and humorous.

 

One of my favorites was penned by the above-mentioned Michael Henry Lee:

 

 

swallow tail kites

making more of the wind

than there is

 

 

©Michael Henry Lee

 

 

I have some previously published poems included as well:

 

 

one blue feather

then another

then the pile

 

 

our different truths

the rusty underside

of a bluebird

 

 

robin's egg blue

how my father would have loved

my son

 

©Robyn Hood Black

 

 

I have already bought an extra copy of Bird Whistle for someone special on my Christmas list. Maybe you have bird-lovers on your holiday list as well? Here's the link.

 

If you have a lot of them, I have some bird-y items in my Etsy shop, too! ;0) (Click  here to peruse.)

 

By the way, I wasn't able to stay for the open mic part of our get-together on Saturday, because we had to get back on the road with our new Keeshond puppy we had just picked up in Georgia that morning (pictured above).  His name is Rookie, but that's another story… ;0)

 

Flap your way on over to see Karen Edmisten, who is kindly rounding up Poetry Friday this week.  Thanks, Karen!

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Poetry Friday - A One-Line Haiku

October 25, 2023
Tags: -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Robyn Hood Black, bottle rockets haiku, bottle rockets press, all saints day haiku

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I'm finishing up my annual crazy week north of Atlanta doing school author visits, as part of Cobb EMC & Gas South's Literacy Week.  More than a dozen authors and illustrators fan out across the region reaching around 20,000 kids.  My personal tally this week is more than 2500 students, in 24 presentations.  Whew! (It's been fun sharing the new book of Fables I wrote for Core Essential Values with all these young readers & writers.)

 

So a very short post today, with an even shorter poem. Next week brings us All Saints Day on Wednesday. 

 

This haiku appears in the most recent issue of bottle rockets.

 

 

all saints day a trickle of wax

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

bottle rockets, #49.  Vol. 25.1, August 2023.

 

Enjoy all the wonderful poems over at The Apples in My Orchard, where Carol is kindly hosting the Roundup today. Wishing you and yours a fun Halloween, and also comfort as we remember our own "saints" especially missed this time of year. 

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Poetry Friday - (September Part 2) - We Did It!

September 28, 2023
Tags: - poetry, -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Robyn Hood Black, September poems, mountain poem

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

In last week's post, I featured Edgar Guest's "It's September" (which had a fun addendum added later, after my mother saw the post and shared with me her own experience with that poem). I also mentioned that Jeff and I were going to celebrate our engagement on Sunday, exactly 40 years later, by revisiting the place where he proposed.  As Furman students in the South Carolina Upstate, we had hiked up Table Rock, not far from campus and not far from where we moved this year. BIG thanks to everyone who left encouraging words last week for our hike!

 

Sunday morning, we donned our boots and grabbed our new hiking poles, and off we went! We were hopeful to make it to the top, but the trail is designated as "very strenuous," and I wasn't sure that some past injuries of mine would be keen on such an adventure.  But (drumroll...) - we did it! 

 

It was a gorgeous day with a bright blue sky and heaps of wildflowers.  We got there early in the morning.  They say to allow three hours up and two down; it's a 7.2 mile round trip.  We took our time and got to the top in four hours, stayed up there an hour enjoying the views (and a bald eagle fly-by), and then took three hours to make our way down. 

 

Did I mention, "very strenuous"? No way I would have made it without the poles. At the beginning, and at a couple-few points along the way, the trail teases you with regular ground at a gentle slope.  This never lasts long.  Most of the trail is literally huge rock stair steps that have been put on the trail, or carved out of existing rock.  Or, in more than one place, little indentations carved into a rock face, barely larger than an adult-sized foot (sideways).  Then, in other spots, there are just scatterings of rocks and boulders stacked up - and the red painted trail blaze close by on a tree. 

 

There were a few folks our age and older, with most younger, and, faster.  Most.  A few young ones did struggle in spots! It wasn't as crowded as I thought it might be on the first fall weekend, especially as reviews had mentioned crowds.  Reviews I'd read on the All Trails app ranged from accurate to aspirational to very funny.  One hiker said she experienced all five stages of grief on that hike.  Another said it was just several hours on a stair-climbing machine. 

 

Anyway, we made it up and down alive and enjoyed the challenge!  Jeff said, "Maybe we should do it every year."  I'm thinking every 40 years sounds good... so, I'll write about it again when we're 100.

 

 

            Summit

 

     Me: 

     Decades of wear,

     decades of tear,

     but with more than a skip and a hop -

     we dug deep and dug in,

     put in all of our skin,

     and made it somehow to the top.

 

     Table Rock:

     You want wear and tear?

     Pull up a chair.

     (Though around me, I only saw stone.)

     The Rockies have nothing

     on what I once was.

     Her voice had a wistful tone.

     You talk about years?

     I shed waterfall tears.

     And yet, I still hold my own.

 

©Robyn Hood Black

 

---------------

 

We didn't see any bears or rattlesnakes, as had been mentioned in reviews, but one hiker ahead of us had seen a Mama bear and her two cubs, and some other young hikers had seen a rattlesnake. Shortly after we arrived at the top, however, we did see a couple of bald eagles, one flying very close to the few of us gazing at it from the rock outcropping. 

 

 

summit

out of the blue

a bald eagle

 

©Robyn Hood Black

 

Please visit the one-and-only, creatively adventurous Jama at her Alphabet Soup for this week's Roundup. 

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Poetry Friday - Haiku in Remembrance of a Dog

September 14, 2023
Tags: - poetry, -haiku, </br>Poetry Friday, Robyn Hood Black, dog poem, Grief, dog haiku
Victorian Trading Card, The Graphics Fairy. thegraphicsfairy.com

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  Missed you last week as I was visiting my folks in Florida.  It was strange taking walks around their neighborhood without my tiny walking buddy of the past 10 years.  As I write this post on the 14th, it's six months since I had to have our precious 3 1/2-pound rescued Chihuahua, Rita, put down the afternoon before I moved from coastal Beaufort, SC, to join my husband here at our new address in the Upstate. It was a shock to spend much of my last week there in the emergency vet hospital instead of just packing boxes.

 

We still miss her naps in our laps, her tail-chasing spins of excitment, and the teeny tapping of the tiniest toenails across the floor.  Three friends of mine lost long-time dog companions this summer, and another lost a favored alpaca.  I've seen online that a Poetry Friday friend just lost a treasured family pup, too.  It never gets easier for any of us, does it?

 

Haiku always offers me a safe and sometimes surprising place to park my grief, explore our connection with the world, and spark memory or wonder.  Here's a haiku I wrote after Rita died, and which was chosen by this year's Haiku Society of America's Members Anthology editor Allyson Whipple for the upcoming 2023 edition.

 

 

first day of spring
my dog's ashes
in the mailbox 

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved. 

 

 

The lovely and talented Rose has our Roundup this week at Imagine the Possibilities.  Thanks for hosting, Rose!

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Poetry Friday - My New Book of Fables for Core Essentials Values!

August 17, 2023
Tags: -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Core Essentials, Core Essentials Values, character education, Fables, Fables Book, Out on a Limb
©Core Essentials Values

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I hope you don't mind a little sidestepping from poetry into another genre.  I'll try not to keep you long!

 

A decade ago, I wrote the following haiku which appeared in Acorn.

 

 

telling it slant
a ghost crab slips into
a hole

 

©Robyn Hood Black

Acorn, No. 31, Fall 2013

 

 

This poem was a grateful nod to our dear Emily's poem:

 

Tell all the truth but tell it slant — (1263)


By Emily Dickinson


Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —

 

 

"Explanation kind" and slightly slanted truth can come in other forms, too.  Fiction.  Parables.  And... Fables. 

 

For well more than a decade, I've written several monthly components for Core Essentials Values, a character education program in more than two thousand schools across the country, and based in my old former stomping grounds in Georgia.  (Here's a link to their website.)  Programs are available for students from pre-K through high school, and my work is for the elementary school components.

 

For each month's value (say, kindness, or patience, or initiative), I choose an animal to represent it and compose a short nonfiction piece about that animal; a color, with a brief explanation of how it relates to the value; and quotations (usually quite old - 1. there's a lot of wisdom in generations past, and 2. I respect copyright!). It's a LOT of research and a good bit of writing, but I love doing it. Other writer/educators write the direct curriculum, and most of them have been around since the early days, too.

 

In years past, Core Essentials teamed up with a publisher and offered "book bundles" with trade titles as supplemental classroom materials, a fun way to reinforce that year's values. With changes at that publisher, this option was not really feasible moving forward.  The talented folks I answer to (Elizabeth Higgins and Leslie Bolser) wanted to come up with another books-related offering, if I would do the writing! After bouncing around varioius ideas via email and Zoom, we had a meeting last November that took a fun turn.  Producing a book for each month was not a very realistic goal, but I grabbed a thought from Leslie and then tossed out the idea of doing a book of fables - just one book, but with 10 chapters corresponding to each value for the year.  And, I'd make whatever animal I had previously chosen "star" in that month's fable. During this meeting, I happened to have within arm's reach several antique Aesop's Fables books, because that's how much of a nerd I am. I've always enjoyed sharing fables in author school visits. 

 

They were excited and asked if I could come up with a sample in a few weeks.  "Of course," I heard myself say, though with my online artsyletters business, November and December are downright crazy months.  I turned in a prototype, they liked it, and we were off and running.  After the holidays, I wrote the rest of the fables, in the chaos of a temporary apartment-more-like-storage-unit, as we were selling our house at the coast and getting ready to move here to the hills.

 

Those were a 'wild' few weeks, but I had a blast writing the stories (after purchasing and reading even more old books of fables, of course...). I enjoyed the challenge of some of the animals I had to work with; I always try to mix in a variety (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, the occasional fish, insects etc.), and I try to highlight North American animals familiar to US kids as well as animals in unusual habitats on other continents.  So that's how I ended up having to figure out how to make a decorator crab the central figure in a fable, among other wonderful creatures. 

 

At the end of each fable are discussion questions, thoughtfully written by Lois Brown and Leslie Bolser. Super classroom-friendly!

 

Jonathan Maloney, our curriculum illustrator, was eager to have a go with the book.  He makes amazing graphics each year, including the poster featuring all of the animals. His work is bright, accessible, clear, and kid-friendly.  I wondered how he was going to translate that simple graphic style into actual characters for the book.  Magically, evidently!  His compositions, character expressions, and fun small touches here and there make the animals visually endearing and add another layer of subtle humor. A youngster in my extended family saw the book recently and appreciated the "shoes on the alligator" in The Manatee & the Alligator. (That was one of my favorite stories to write, too.)

 

Here's a peek at the book's page on the Core Essentials website [ https://coreessentials.org/collections/all-resources/products/new-august-2023-may-2024-values-book?variant=40256881328174 ] , with a link to that first fable I mentioned writing, The Pika and the Bear.

 

This softcover/paperback book is tailored to be used with Core Essentials Values curriculum, but it's also offered separately. 

 

I hope teachers find this bonus book fun and helpful; I'm ready to tackle the next menagerie!  I also look forward to sharing OUT ON A LIMB with students this fall and discussing how reading and writing poetry helps us write across all genres, including fables. 

 

Our wonderful Molly is tackling the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Nix the Comfort Zone.

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Poetry Friday Roundup is HERE! Happy Mother's Day...

May 11, 2023
Tags: - poetry, -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Mother's Day poetry
Black-and-white photos by Sommer Daniel.

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I'm honored to be hosting Poetry Friday this week.  Please leave your links & descriptions in the comments below, and I'll round them up old-school-style throughout the day.

 

Happy Mother's Day weekend!  Let's acknowledge right out of the gate that this is a tough time for many.  If you are missing your mother, or you have lost a child, or you've had a less-than-ideal relationship as a mother or a child, or if you are longing to be a mother and it hasn't worked out, you are wished comfort and peace this weekend.

 

I'm feeling beyond grateful that our daughter, Morgan, is experiencing her first Mother's Day this year. (She only missed it by a couple-few weeks last year, as our wee Sawyer is 11 months old.)  This precious boy was wanted for a long time, after a few hard years of empty arms and fertility treatments.  Hats off to any woman willing to go through all those long needles for months and months and months or more.

 

I'm also beyond grateful that my spunky 84-year-old mother, Nita, a cancer survivor among other challenges, is doing well and has been able to love on Sawyer herself - most recently in the snapshot above from April.  (The black and white photos were taken last fall.) While Jeff & I are closer to our kiddos after our recent move, I'm afraid Florida, where my folks live, is down a longer stretch of road now.  But kudos to Mom who, despite vision problems, has learned how to text and enjoy (almost daily) pictures and videos of baby antics. 

 

Here's my poem for today, a haiku written not long after Sawyer was born:

 

 

new mother's whisper

the strength

of spider silk 

 


Frogpond, Vol. 45, No. 3 Autumn 2022

 

©Robyn Hood Black

 

 

In other poetry news, I'm enjoying The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry by Charles Ghigna and illustrated by Sara Brezzi (Schiffer Kids, just out).  Gorgeous!  And that's a feat worth celebrating, having a body of work large enough to comb through to make a treasury, am I right?  This is a great volume to share among generations. In case you missed it, our lovely Jama posted a fulsome interview with Charles and peeks inside the book over at Jama's Alphabet Soup here. 

 

May is a super-busy month, I know.  Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all you educators! Also, take care of yourself and appreciate National Mental Health Month, and thanks to folks like my hubby who devote their professional lives to improving mental health for others. 

 

So, what's going on in your realm this week? (Yes, I did wake up at 5 a.m. to watch the coronation last Saturday!) I can't wait to read what you've got to share. 

 

(Unrelated PS - For those who follow artsyletters, I posted some in-progress new studio pics over at artsyletters.com here. I'll do a 'tour' when I get a little more together!)

 

* * * * * * * * THE ROUNDUP * * * * * * * * 

 

Janice Scully starts us off with a haiku and an appreciation for the timing of blooming things - her lilacs are in full purple glory here at Salt City Verse. Happy Spring!

 

Over at Chicken Spaghetti, Susan has a beautiful cento created from the poetry of Gabriela Mistral, presented in Spanish and English with her original translations.

 

At Small Reads for Brighter Days, Laura has a day-brightening and sigh-worthy poetryaction (say that out loud & learn more at her site!) to the picture book Milo Imagines the World. 

 

Linda has two bright and springy original haiku and a padlet link to her charming triolet (all writers will relate!) at A Word Edgewise today.  One of these days, Linda and I are going to collage together in person....

 

You will leave anything BUT blue if you wing it on over to Jama's Alphabet Soup for a serving of Sidney Wade's poem, "Blue."  (I am loving all these poetic encounters with birds this morning.  Though I had my alarm set a little early because I was hosting PF, it was really a Carolina Wren on the fence outside my bedroom window which got me up today....)

 

No one can accuse our Tabatha of not branching out into many magical (and sometimes wild) directions. At The Opposite of Indifference , she's celebrating originality with lyrics from "Crooked Tree" with a video of Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway.  (She also has a snippet from the brand new Poetry Out Loud winner as a bonus!)

 

Our multi-talented Michelle Kogan chimes in with a gorgeous original oil painting detail and some more poetic bird-love (an original 4X4 poem) celebrating Mother's Day.

 

Three cheers for Catherine at Reading to the Core for forging ahead toward the finish line of her April/Poetry Month project with poems of hope featuring the letters "v" and "w"!  That's my kind of timeline, btw... I particularly love her golden shovel today, inspired by lines from GMH I have hanging up in my house.

 

At Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme, Matt stumbled upon some buried treasure in his files - an original five-year-old poem that packs some Springtime punch in just four lines and 12 words! Bravo.

 

Rose has a tribute to dogs over at Imagine the Possibilities, with some lines from the incomparable Mary Oliver and a thoughtful original poem. (Warning - have a tissue handy; I am still grieving the sudden loss of our wee Rita and did not make it through the post dry-eyed.  Thank you for putting so much of what we love about dogs in these words, Rose.)

 

Keep the tissue handy.  Linda at Teacher Dance has collected and shared responses of kindnesses noted by many of you recently at her blog (and new folks are always welcome to the Poetry Friday table - and folks who have had to be dipping in and out, like yours truly this Spring!). Kindness itself is poetry, isn't it?  Go fill your cup!

 

Why do you write?  Dave tackles this question by responding with an original poem over at Leap of Dave and shares a bit about a local poetry workshop he participates in. 

 

Give a nod to Edward Lear and then head over to see Sally for a quick celebration of Limerick Day!  Sally's post might be concise, but she's been long on sharing poetry goodness with young writers and readers this week.

 

Cue the CONFETTI - lots of it!  Marcie Flinchum Atkins has not one, but TWO amazing-sounding book publication announcements this week!  One is for a nonfiction nature picture book, and the other is for a historical verse novel about an activist in the women's suffrage movement. Way to go, Marcie!  She also shares a Spring haiku and some lovely pictures of blooms... I'd like to gather up all of this week's PF flower pictures in a garden, and all of this week's PF birds to flitter around them. 

 

Speaking of birds, you know Amy is always finding amazing things at The Poem Farm, and she carries that spirit of noticing when she travels, too, as she did while traveling to visit a school this week. "We can each be a beauty detective," she says.  Enjoy her fetching feathered foto and original poem - dare you not to smile. 

 

At Bookseed Studio, enjoy Jan's latest post wrapping up Poetry Month.  I'm always inspired by the wonder that is Jan. 

 

Over at My Juicy Little Universe, you'll encounter Heidi exploring what it is like to be a bat, with a nod to one of my fave recent books about the animal realm, Ed Yong's An Immense World. You'll also encounter the word 'azimuth' in her original poem, which I had to look up. ;0) Don't ask me to tell you what it means, though, K?

 

Margaret has a touching tribute to mothers and mothering at Reflections on the Teche.  She is also honoring generations of mothers in her family.  (There's also a bluebonnet-beautiful photo of Baby June and an original poem by Margaret celebrating her name.)

 

At Live Your Poem, Irene delights us with a free-wheeling and lovely Gees Bend-inspired quilt, and with two versions of a "yellow parasol" haiku as part of her ARTSPEAK adventures.  And, dear reader, she's asked you to weigh in on which one is more effective!  

 

Mary Lee at A(Nother) Year of Reading has pure joy for a post today.  Well, I mean, she has a new book by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido with illustrations by Melissa Sweet: How to Write a Poem.  Released in April, it looks/sounds amazing and I might have just ordered it. My favorite parts of Mary Lee's post, however, are the poetic comments from young readers and writers.  (Mary Lee couldn't quite stay away from teaching reading after retiring from the classroom and is involved in after-school programs, still inspiring lucky kids.)

 

It's time to dance.  No matter your current life situation, whether bathed in grief or joy, join Patricia at Reading, Writing, Wondering for meaningful movement, as well as a snowy poetic evening contemplation with a dog. 

 

And we're back to pure joy with Karen Edmisten's post sharing Ross Gay's poem, "Throwing Children," about the ubiquitious delight children crave by being tossed into the air (and safely caught) by a loving grown-up.  

 

At The Apples in my Orchard, Carol shares a very personal bit of her family's experience navigating her mother's dementia, and the extra miles they go because of the miles between them.  Thank you for your beautiful poem and honest post, Carol.  Many will understand and identify with these bittersweet moments. 

 

Oh, Friends - you'd never believe from the calm and peaceful post and pretty, blooming images Carol has at Beyond Literacy Link that they've had quite the week so far in the Mother-Daughter-new-baby-to-be department, according to her comment below.  Happy Mother's Day to all, and love from all of us Poetry Friday peeps to greet the new little one soon! I'm impressed that in the midst of all the excitement, Carol made time to sit and be and compose haiku and a lovely post. 

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Poetry Friday - Seth & Holy Chaos

March 23, 2023
Tags: -Poetry Friday, -haiku, -poetry, Seth Black, Haywood Street Congregation
Seth blessing the animals at Haywood Street Congregation, October 2022.

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers - I've missed you! The past several weeks have found me criss-crossing South Carolina as we've just moved from Beaufort on the coast to Travelers Rest in the mountains. My husband Jeff moved on ahead to start a new job, while I stayed on in a temporary apartment getting our house there sold and waiting for a basement renovation here to finish up.  To the usual moving stresses, and my sadness at saying goodbye to a place I dearly loved, we had an awful shock last week.  Our wee doggie Rita fell suddenly and critically ill, and she spent a week in and out of the emergency vet near Beaufort. On last Tuesday afternoon, the day before I moved on Wednesday, I had to have her put down in my arms.  My heart is still shattered. 

 

But life brings us joys as well as sorrows.  Now we are closer to our kids and are celebrating Seth's birthday this weekend. Since today (Friday) is his actual birthday, I'm offering up something a little different.  Seth is one of the pastors at Haywood Street Congregation, a church ministry in downtown Asheville, NC.  He was their first intern in 2017-18.  After graduating from seminary at Candler (Emory), he joined the Haywood Street staff in the fall of 2021.  It's unique place - self-described as "holy chaos." With a heart for those experiencing homelessness and anyone who feels they have no place at the table, Haywood offers a place at the table.  Literally.  Whether it's a dining table with nice linens and homecooked meals, or the Communion table during a service, everyone is welcome.  

 

Since Jeff and I are now less than an hour away from Asheville, we'll be able to visit Seth and girlfriend Ginnie more often.  [And we're just two hours away from Morgan and Matt and Baby Sawyer in North Georgia. ] A few weeks ago we got to hear Seth preach - always special for us - and I felt compelled to write about the service, for no particular reason.  No two services are ever the same at Haywood Street! I'm sharing that reflection below, if you are interested.  If you're just here for poetry, that's fine too!

 

Here are two haiku I wrote when visiting Seth during his internship year years ago, followed by my recent thoughts.

 

 

 

bus stop
the hard places
where she sleeps

 

 

bottle rockets, No. 38, Feb. 2018

 

-------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

empty street -
she stoops to pocket
a half-cigarette


Acorn, No. 39, Fall 2017

 

 

poems ©Robyn Hood Black

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

To Holy Chaos

 

by Robyn Hood Black – reflections on Feb. 26, 2023

 

It's a crisp February Sunday morning, no rain, in downtown Asheville.

 

Outside the sanctuary of Haywood Street Congregation, people do congregate. Many have come for Sunday's Welcome Table breakfast downstairs, delicious food prepared with love and served on real plates, on real tablecloths, with real meal-time conversations.  Fresh flowers, too.

 

Around the grounds and in the garden, small groups huddle. Some people have bedrolls and backpacks; most have lines in their faces belying their age. There is quiet talk, and colorful language, and the jolt of a glass jar breaking on concrete. Always, a few folks sleep here and there and everywhere.

 

This morning, a table is set up offering immunizations for pets.  Dogs are regulars at Haywood Street, and today they receive some extra TLC.

 

Inside, a few dozen people await the start of the service. The magnificent fresco is a call to worship, its colors echoed in tall stained glass windows - and in the diversity of the congregation. The space is not overly large but big enough, simple but with handcrafted touches whispering, All Are Welcome Here.

 

Jody invites anyone interested to come up to be "the choir" and help lead the opening songs.  A few people join without hesitation.  At the piano is a beautiful young trans woman, playing with heart and flourish and abundant talent.

 

Later in the service, that piano will feel the touch of a diminutive fair-skinned, white-haired 85-year-old woman, as she shares one of her favorite traditional hymns. That music, too, moves everyone hearing it.

 

Today's announcements include one about the award-winning 2021 documentary on the fresco, Theirs is the Kingdom, and about a new group to meet weekly in support of anyone at any stage in their addiction journey.

 

To say that Haywood Street's services are interactive would be an understatement.  In the "Blessings and Testimonials" time, anyone is invited to share – a spontaneous song, a personal story, some quiet yearning in a heart that needs expression. Today a young woman sings a contemporary Christian song, followed by a man who often shares his vocal talents. Microphones aren't needed here.

 

Speakers are open and vulnerable, sharing raw hardships as well as sublime blessings.  There are health concerns mentioned in addition to gratitude that a trailer has become available for one of the singers. A lively discussion bubbles up as well, with a few women sharing how they personally hear God.  Differing views are respected in an invisible web of trust. 

 

Sermons are dialogical, too, and are called "conversational homilies." Today, after our older piano player volunteers to read verses from Matthew following the church calendar, Seth preaches about Jesus's need to be by himself.  For starters, his baptism was followed by 40 days in the wilderness.  Quiet time alone is not always easy, as the temptation narratives illustrate.

 

Jesus sought out solitude amidst the demands of his unfolding calling, his heavy understanding of who he was and was becoming.  Seth preaches about the necessity of self-care, which can take many forms. His words resonate with many in the pews in the form of nods and words of agreement. 

 

True to Haywood Street's motto of "Holy Chaos," the service is peppered with an occasional surprise.  A couple of times, a smiling young man with flapping clothes walks at a fast clip up the center aisle, and out the back of the sanctuary toward the offices.  He is high on something, and waves to a few folks each time, and even to the fresco.

 

At another moment, Jody opens the door to the narthex for someone.  This happens to occur at the exact time that a cat from the animal table, brought inside because it kept trying to get away, receives its shot – and a hearty, screechy yowl permeates the service.

 

After the sermon, needs are shared and updates given on situations calling for prayer.  Anyone who wants to speak is heard and affirmed by the lovely and spunky woman guiding this response time.  After every contribution, folks shake a little ring of bells left on the pews or their car keys or otherwise join in to support each need.

 

The offering comes in the form of music and a volunteer holding a basket up front.  Attendees are welcome to give but also appreciated if they would like to give but aren't in a position to. Communion follows, with one volunteer holding a bowl of pieces of homemade bread, and another holding a cup of juice to dip it in.  Anyone may partake.

 

Today the service closes with a song, "Blessed Quietness," reflecting the morning's theme. During this last hymn, a man who was stretched out on a pew wakes up and looks around.  Even though the elements of this service and the homily will be repeated on Wednesday, it will not be the same.  This is Haywood Street, and no two days are ever alike.

 

This holy chaos might not be for everyone, but it's absolutely for anyone.

 

###

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Seth!

 

If you've made it this far in my post and need to find the Poetry Friday Roundup, go "Imagine the Possibilities" with our lovely Rose. And to learn more about Haywood Street Congregation, click here. 

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Poetry Friday - Haiku in bottle rockets and a big birthday...

February 1, 2023
Tags: - poetry, -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Robyn Hood Black, bottle rockets haiku

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers! Happy February...

 

Last Friday I was on the road back and forth (again!) to our Upstate SC house, where we are moving permanently in coming weeks. Though life has been chaos for many weeks (Okay, months...) somehow my hubby pulled off a surprise party on Saturday for my 60th birthday (on Monday).  I knew my kids would be visiting, but I didn't know that several dear friends who live in that general region - plus our contactors who are making our basement into a magical living/working space there - would be showing up for lunch & cake! What a treat, and getting to share the surprise and celebration with the  Baby Grand - who enjoyed my gift of a wonderful old Remington typewriter - made it even more special. 

 

Another fun surprise was the new issue of bottle rockets which came a little early, ahead of upcoming postal rate hikes.  Honored to have a poem in it, which kinda relates to this whole getting older thing.  [I'm grateful for every birthday, and I loved what one friend commented on Facebook:  "Welcome to the next level." Ha!]  

 

Also, I suppose this haiku relates to moving as well, as I remember composing it during a gentle rain here in the Lowcountry.  I will miss this place.

 

just beyond

memory's reach

soft rain in the woods

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

bottle rockets, #48, February 2023

 

 

Many thanks to the oh-so-talented Laura for hosting us all this week, and for filling February with poetry all month long....

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Poetry Friday - Recent Haiku

November 3, 2022
Tags: - poetry, -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Frogpond, bottle rockets haiku, Mother and child haiku, mother and baby poem, mother and baby haiku

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I've missed everyone the last week or two as I was traveling for my annual (completely crazy) week of author school visits as part of Cobb EMC and Gas South Literacy Week north of Atlanta.  Always great to catch up with folks there, and the dozen or more of us authors end up seeing between 20,000 and 30,000 kids in those five days.  I had 22 presentations between Monday and Friday.  Whew! But thrilled to share the poetry love. 

 

Today I'm sharing a couple of recently published haiku.  I couldn't help featuring the adorable picture of my daughter, Morgan, and their precious little one, Sawyer. He made an awfully cute pumpkin for Halloween. The first poem was written when I was with them this summer, helping out during his first month.

 

 

 

new mother's whisper

the strength

of spidersilk

 

Frogpond, Vol. 45:3, Autumn 2022

 

 

 

And this one, well - I guess it speaks for itself. 

 

 

resurrection fern

my long list

of shortcomings

 

bottle rockets #47, Vol. 20, No. 1 (August 2022)

 

 

Poems ©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

 

 

I hope your November is off to a good start.  The ever-amazing Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe is hosting Poetry Friday this week. Thank you, Heidi!

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Poetry Friday - Haiku Stones in an Alabama Japanese Garden

October 13, 2022
Tags: -Poetry Friday, -haiku, Robyn Hood Black, Terri L. French, North Alabama Japanese Garden, haiku path, haiku stones, Peggy Bilbro
(Top) My haiku on a garden stone; (Bottom) Peggy Bilbro and Terri French speak at the Haiku Path dedication.

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers! A fun way to enjoy haiku today....

 

Over at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama, visitors to the Japanese Garden can now meander down a haiku path consisting of 24 haiku stones.  These feature poems mostly by contemporary haiku poets, with a couple of Basho stones and an Issa offering in the collection. The new path was launched at the Autumn Japan celebration at the beginning of this month.

 

The creative force behind the Haiku Path is Terri L. French, award-winning haiku poet extraordinaire who has also shared her leadership skills in the Haiku Society of America and The Haiku Foundation, as well as editorially in journals and in her own varied publishing endeavors.  (Learn more about Terri here.)  Also sharing time and talents for this beautiful adventure has been fellow fine poet Peggy Bilbro. (Click here for a lovely haibun of Peggy's and a brief bio.)

 

"The haiku were chosen to fit the aesthetics of the garden and the area," explains Terri. "They were placed in the ground on a path that goes behind and around the tea house."

 

Terri and Peggy chose the haiku.

 

"Redstone Federal Credit Union sponsored us and paid for all of the stones to be made by local artist, Zan Edmonds,"  Terri says.  "If we get more money, we may add more stones later."

 

You can click the photo above to see the Facebook post Terri shared, with more pictures of the festival and a few more of the stones.  

 

I'm thrilled that one of my poems was accepted for the path.

 

 

open gate

the way

my mind wanders

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

First published in Frogpond, Vol. 41:3, Fall 2018

 

If your mind wants to wander myriad poetry paths today, head on over to see Matt Forrest Essenwine, who always has lots going on and has our Roundup this week!  Also, remember to check in on Bridget's "10.10 Poetry Anthology First Anniversary Poet Palooza" at Wee Words for Wee Ones, where you can enjoy daily bite-size introductions to many of the poets!  I'm honored to be included next week.  [NOTE: My blog will be taking a mini-Fall-break as I soon travel to North Georgia for my annual week of school author visits as part of Cobb County EMC-Gas South's Literacy Week, and as I get artsyletters geared up for the holiday craziness that usually ensues right after October!  See you back here in a couple of weeks.)

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