YAY Images
I was especially happy to receive my copy of Frogpond in the mailbox this week for two reasons. One, a haiku of mine appears in the journal for the first time! Two, a haiku written by my lovely 14-year-old niece, Olivia, appears in the same issue.
I get to take zero credit for Olivia’s haiku. Her teacher is Tom Painting, a name familiar to those in the haiku world (you’ll see one of his poems in the online samples of haiku in the current issue, linked above), and his students are lucky to have his guidance, encouragement, and expert instruction. His students submitted their work to the 2012 Nicholas Virgilio Haiku Contest sponsored by the Haiku Society of America. This year’s contest drew 457 poems, and I’m happy to report Olivia’s was among six winners chosen. They received cash prizes and publication of their poetry.
Here’s Olivia’s poem:
winter dusk
the crows
clotting the wind
Olivia, age 14 (all rights reserved)
~ Frogpond 35:2, Summer 2012
Judges Geoffrey Van Kirk and Patricia Doyle Van Kirk offered comments following each winning entry. Of this poem, Mr. Van Kirk writes, “…The poet’s choice of the word ‘clotting’ here is powerful. It is a wonderful alliterative fit with ‘crows,’ and the open vowels of the two words together also suggest, as you say them aloud, the round clumps that are forming in air.” Ms. Van Kirk writes, “…And because these creatures of the air are so agile and perhaps so numerous, they seem to have power over the very wind itself, ‘clotting’ it with their numbers and their flight. The combination is unusual and magical.”
Well done, Olivia!
My poem is perhaps more lighthearted than my niece’s. I wrote it as one year turned to the next, while our old hound mix kept his vigil on the kitchen floor for another trip around the sun.
new year’s eve
the thump
of the old dog’s tail
Robyn Hood Black
~ Frogpond 35:2, Summer 2012
Speaking of sun, my blog will take a mini end-of-summer break the next couple of weeks, as kids get ready to head back to school in our household (high school and college). See you later this month with some great posts planned!
Enjoy more poetry with Rena as she dives into hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at On the Way to Somewhere.