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Life on the Deckle Edge

Poetry Friday - Recent 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 - Coupla More HSA Haiku :0)

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers! 

 

Whew.  It's been a wild ride in the Southeast the last couple of days.  Sending love & prayers for those whose lives have been forever altered by Hurricane Zeta. 

 

I couldn't believe that here on the Lowcountry coast, we were texting our kids early Thursday morning about the TROPICAL Storm that was shredding their corners of real estate in the Appalachian foothills.  Is this still 2020 or what?! [AND, at almost Halloween - past the peak, or so we all thought.]  Our crew is fine - but trees are down everywhere in their part of north Georgia. 

 

Our Cobb EMC/Gas South Literacy Week - all vitual this year - was going great... until everyone in the region (also north of Atlanta) lost power and we had to cancel/reschedule all the Zoom visits set up for Thursday and Friday.  

 

In the Lowcountry, a couple-three hundred-ish miles from the storm, we did get some wind Thursday morning. In fact, I had been putting off calling some tree folks to take care of the heavy live oak branch that was precariously balanced above our fence in the back yard... Mother Nature did not care about my excuses.  (Um, picture above.)

 

Well, to calm all our nerves, I'll share another recently published Frogpond poem, this one from the current issue. It has to do with rain but was inspired by quite a less intense afternoon of weather. 

 

 

gentle rain the wren sings through it

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

Frogpond Vol. 43:3, Fall 2020

 

 

And, speaking of the Haiku Society of America  (Frogpond is the HSA's journal), the Members' Anthololgy for 2020 just landed in our mailboxes.  

 

Here's my poem in it:

 

 

nothing

on the line

the fisherman wades back

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black

Bundled Wildflowers - Haiku Society of America 2020 Members' Anthology 

 

 

AND, speaking of all kinds of weather, I've been thinking of our host this week almost every time I've caught national weather news stories lately, as she hails from Colorado.  In fact, I'm not quite sure whether this week she's dealing with smoke from wildfires or a snow storm... but I sure am grateful she's such a vital part of our Poetry Friday community, helping to make welcome poetry friends old and new.  Wade on over to Teacher Dance, where the ever-lovely Linda has the Roundup.

 

(And hang on tight, everyone - whichever way the political winds blow next week, and beyond, we'll need to keep our balance!) Happy Halloweeeeen!

 

(Little Family Update... It's 8 p.m. on Saturday night, and my daugher and her hubby JUST got their power back on!  They were all in blankets - dogs, too.) ;0)

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Poetry Friday - A Haiku That Seems to Work for This (Voting) Season....

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

Just a short haiku this week.  As I'm posting this before the Thursday night debate starts, I'm thinking that a haiku of mine appearing in a recent issue of Frogpond might be timely.

 

 

decisions, decisions

the weight of ink

on paper

 

©Robyn Hood Black

Frogpond, Vol 43:2, Spring/Summer 2020

 

 

And, unrelated - wish me luck as I venture into my annual week of school visits north of Atlanta next week as part of Cobb EMC/Gas South Literacy Week, along with several other authors.  EXCEPT - this year, we are just venturing to our computer screens for virtual presentations!  I'm still a novice at all this (guessing many of us are?) so all good vibes appreciated - ha!  But I've been learning, and learning from mistakes... so hopefully good moments will outweigh the glitches.

 

Happy Weekending, and DO visit the ever-spirited & thoughtful Jama at her Alphabet Soup blog for the Roundup.  She and I have long shared a love of fall, and today she shares both the colorful moments and the somber shades. 

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Poetry Friday - A Haiku Shorter Than This Heading...

©Robyn Hood Black

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

I'm still treading water schedule-wise this year, and in case you are too, I just have a little teeny wee bite-sized poem today.  This is from the current Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.

 

 

 

high tide it comes and goes

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

 

 

And... you're done here!  Well, leave a howdy, and then row on over to Library Matters, where the lovely Cheriee is rounding up today.  She also has a special treat - a feature/interview with Avis Harley! 

~~(Final thought, especially with my water references today... prayers for all in Mississippi who are dealing with devastating flooding this week.)~~

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Poetry Friday - 'Coupla Recent HSA Haiku

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

This week I'm in with a couple of recent published haiku, both from the Haiku Society of America, The Members' Anthology for 2019 and the hot-off-the-press Autumn issue of Frogpond.  I thought both covers were particularly striking, so they are pictured above.  Frogpond features cover art by Gretchn Targee, and the Anthology cover features a photo by John L. Matthews.  (I like the Anthology's title this year, too - A Moment's Longing.)

 

Both are full of great poems!  I'm honored as always to have my haiku included. 

 

  

 

sorting darks and lights

my love note

in his pocket

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.  

Haiku Society of America's Membership Anthology, A Moment's Longing, 2019

 

 

 

hatchlings -

beyond orange tape

the sea

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.  

Frogpond, Vol. 42.3, Fall 2019

 

 

 

About those sea turtles, our area had a record number of nests this year - welcome news! Nests appeared early, and a Kemp's ridley sea turtle was spotted early in the season on Hilton Head Island. That species is the most endangered type of sea turtle, according to National Geographic. 

 

Right after we returned from evacuating for Hurricane Dorian last month, I was at Publix and saw a fellow shopper wearing a Hunting Island (State Park) volunteer tee shirt.  I asked her about any damage to the beach.  She had been out there that morning and said a few turtle nests had been lost.  While that is sad news, I'm glad there were so many hatchlings able to make their way before the storm grazed our coast. 

 

Here's a link to some videos of babies hatching on Hunting Island this season.  I'm grateful to all the volunteers who protect those nests! 

 

To swim around in more poetry, point your flippers over toward Reading to the Core, where the wonderful Catherine has our Roundup this week. 

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Poetry Friday - A Wandering Haiku

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

Just a wee haiku over here today.  This one appears in the current Frogpond,  Vol. 41:3 (Fall 2018), though somehow my name was left out of the index this time.  But the poem's in!

 

 

open gate

the way

my mind wanders

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

 

 

I remember when I was in my first job after graduating college and getting married.  I was an editorial assistant/publications secretary at the seminary where my husband was getting his first grad degree.  I wasn't the greatest secretary, that is FOR sure!  But I did love to write.  Sometime before I left to try newspaper writing (where I found out I was terrible at the news part, but good at features....) my boss said, "You're a bit of a dreamer, aren't you?" 

 

Well - yeah.  I'm more pragmatic at this stage of life, but still a bit of a dreamer!

 

Here's to dreams, and also to the belly-real comforts we all wish each other at Thanksgiving.  And wishes for healing for those in the midst of trauma right now, in California and anywhere.

 

On a ligher note, if you'll be doing any Cyber-shopping over the Thanksgiving holidays, Etsy is cooking up a sale for Cyber Week November 20-26.  I'll be offering 10 percent off shop-wide at artsyletters on Etsy, with reduced or free domestic shipping (depending on order amount). While you're on Etsy, check out the lovely offerings over at fellow Poetry Friday-er Michelle Kogan's shop, too!

 

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.  I'm so very thankful for our Poetry Friday community, newcomers and old friends alike. 

 

I'm especially thankful for our amazingly generous and talented Linda, who is hosting the Roundup today at TeacherDance.  She's even got a special giveaway today - told you she was generous! 

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