One fallout from the pandemic has been book reviews trickling in much much later than before. This week—five months after its release—THIS POEM IS A NEST received a starred review from Booklist! I'm delighted, of course. Anytime is a great time to get a starred review!
Earlier this week I wrote on the topic of "gratitude" at Smack Dab in the Middle.
In other news, I volunteered to help my women's group publish a cookbook. (!) And I (with some help from son Eric) put plants in the ground this week... a rhododendron, some drift roses, and a bunch of iris bulbs. Exciting!
And yet... it's still winter. So today I have another snow poem for you. It was inspired by one of my favorite haiku (below!), which sets you up for one thing in the first two lines, and then really surprises you in the last line... the "turn," for which traditional haiku is known (and what makes it so incredibly challenging to pull off)!
The snow is meltingand the village is flooded
with children
Those who know me or have heard me speak about writing poetry know that I adore surprises in poetry! So... I hope my haiku effort below surprises you. Let me know. Thanks for reading!
p.s. I tried so hard to use my 2021 OLW "bewilderment," which for me means "awe" and "wonder," but "wonder" seemed to work best. :)
Irene, it sounds like you're finding things with which to keep yourself busy as the winter months dwindle! Thank you for sharing both of these poems. They both bring a smile with the turn, and I agree that "wonder" is a perfect word to end your piece. I enjoy the graphic as well; years ago I had the opportunity to "summit" Mt. Fuji, and images like this always bring back memories.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the much-deserved starred review! And I love your haiku and its illustration.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the starred review -- and what a lovely winter haiku. "Wonder" is one of my favorite words. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting about the reviews. Congratulations for this one, well-deserved for sure! Except for the drastic endings of so much of that southern storm, it feels to me like children would look out to see snow, maybe for the first time, in 'wonder', Irene. I like it! And I love the word 'bundled', too!
ReplyDeleteOooh. Irene, I think you may have felt bewonderment!🙃 Congratulations on the starred review, which is so deserved - and exciting/affirming whenever it comes! xx
ReplyDeleteWonderful for this latest starred review, Irene, Congrats !!! Lovely haiku, I like the warmth that bundle wraps in wonder, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a wonderful post. It did indeed work in surprising me. Congratulations, too, on the starred review.
ReplyDeleteIrene, yay and congratulations on your third starred review! I love This I a Nest and it deserves all of those stars and more. I just wish I had a group of students to share it with. Maybe this summer. I love how you personified the village in your haiku and I love the surprise. When I read your haiku aloud, I enjoyed hearing the consonance and rhyme with bun and won. I learn so much from reading your poetry! I also like to write surprise endings for haiku. Thank you for including Issa's great haiku and the snowy painting.
ReplyDeleteWoo-hoo for your starred review, Irene! And props to you for achieving a 'wonder'-ful 'turn' in your haiku. Issa's mentor poem is one of my favs, too. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the bundled snow poem. Yes, it's still winter! The wind was sharp and cold on our sunny day yesterday. But, I see signs of spring at the ready. Hooray! A drift rose...sounds so pretty. I appreciate the post on gratitude. Reminders help me. I'm off to give it a read.
ReplyDeleteYou nailed the surprise perfectly! LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love both these haiku. Thanks, Irene, and congrats on the STAR!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your starred review! I love Issa's poem and your haiku has that surprised turn at the end, too. I think a lot about surprise in writing and how important it is to the reader and fun to think about as a writer.
ReplyDeleteYay for planting things in the ground! I do like the bundled in wonder that ends your haiku. Congratulations on the starred review!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the latest starred review!
ReplyDeleteI adored the surprises in both Issa's haiku and yours. The picture you paired yours with is beautiful.
Your latest review is well deserved! I loved the book and look forward to creating my own nest poems one of these days.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your haiku. I don't think there's anything finer to be bundled in than wonder!