Frederick

quiet Frederick

others work, scurry, and fret ---

I know your spirit

KJ

A favorite children's story, Frederick by Leo Lionni, is about a mouse who is not like the others in his family. His family members have difficulty truly understanding his uniqueness and role. Eventually, they do have an opportunity to accept his contributions and identify him as a poet.

A Time for Everything

White plum blossoms

return to the withered trees ---

moonlit night

Buson

The progression of seasons in nature are necessary illustrations of relationships. What I mean is, is that the concrete changes show cause and effect. People also change and we frequently use the phrases like "during this season of my life." Ecclesiastes 3 (Old Testament of Judaic Christian Bible) expresses that there is a time for everything. So, there is a time for the tree to wither so that there can be a time for blossoms to return. A rhythm exists. An understanding of cause and effect is expressed. Human relationships are like this. Human relationships are challenged to be like this plum tree --- to find energy to produce goodness after difficult events and changes in the environment. This goodness, though, may be difficult to see.

Yellow Butterfly

the solo artist

wisping in the distant trees

yellow butterfly

KJ

I have always been fascinated by butterflies. My daughter's name is Vanessa, which in a name wordsmith references Vanessa to mean butterfly. A complex idea of the metamorphosis is so beautifully expressed through this creation.  

Irish Blessing 2

May you always walk in sunshine.

May you never want for more.

May Irish angels rest their wings

right beside your door.

Tangible Sweetness

not seeing

the room is white

until that red apple

Anita Virgil

I believe contrast is needed sometimes to gain clarity. The white scene brings to my mind the message of purity. However, the red apple is what brings the sweetness of the purity. The tangible apple experience complements the scene as we need a sensual experience in our brain to connect the abstract ideas.

Winter Light

Full winter moon:

the icicle

the icicle's shadow

Geraldine Clinton Little

The light of the moon on a cold dark night --- sometimes life is like that. It is quiet outside and the moon is a light source but only because it reflects the source of the sun, it doesn't give the heat. This is actually a fascinating science concept.

So I'm wondering, can the moon guide down the right path or is it's purpose to push us into a deeper understanding of discrimination? Maybe it is in the moonlight that we are asked to see the darkness for what it is. Maybe the moon is to remind us of the light during the patterns of life.

Thin Layer

moonlight ---

through thin clothes

to naked skin

Hisajo Sugita

This haiku communicates a sensual experience. When light is given opportunity, the perspective of what is, is revealed. An artist learns that the angle of light influences the perspective of the image. I imagine the author laying out in a field and feeling the moon as it travels its arc above her.

Our clothing is just a thin layer of protection. We project who we are, what we want to be, how we see ourselves sometimes. Underneath though, we are vulnerable humans, more alike than different and yet, still unique. I wonder what additional thoughts passed through the author when she experienced the moonlight and then penned these words. I wonder what thoughts would pass through me if I allowed the moonlight to reveal my image.