On Tuesday evening I participated in a free webinar from Highlights with Lesléa Newman called “Poetry to Soothe the Soul”. During the presentation, I realized I had picked up one of her books at NCTE last fall, October Mourning. I went on a search for it and found it and have been reading. It’s a verse novel about the killing of Matthew Shephard. Her use of short form and repetition is affective in that book.
The Patrol Officer’s Report
two thin white tear tracks
Lesléa Newman, October Mourning
one red swollen blood-caked face
this is someone’s child
With us, she shared her own Pandemic Haiku. Her homework assignment was to write our own. I had written a haiku a few weeks ago and sent in a soundbite of me reading it to Alan Nakagawa’s sound collage commissioned by OCMA, Social Distance, Haiku, and You! This week I received a link to all the creative sound recordings. They had more than 500 entries. My haiku is included in Part B. Posted here if you choose to listen.
Loss of who we were before
Waiting for new life
-Margaret Simon
On Wednesday, I collected moments throughout my day in haiku. Here is my collection:
Pandemic Haiku
In a viral time,
let us be grateful for this:
Breath. Green. Life.Early morning sun
slant of light through cypress shades
welcoming hummersWalks with Leo
are a wander, meander
See dat, dat, and dat?Chalk art on sidewalks
greet passersby with colors
“This too shall pass!”A new duck tenant
three eggs today lay
in the wood duck house.Seven green-gold charms
chrysalis-haven for wings
to magically form.Watching my screen
I see Chloe, Rylee, you
in your own kitchen.Don’t know what will be
Margaret Simon, draft 4/22/20
when the viral storm calms down
I hope for a hug.
Reflections on the Teche 