Haiku poetry...

1.
In the stillness of
Day, watch the snow fall
Effortlessly.


2.
Under the pale stars,
A winter sky pregnant with
Possibility.


3.
The wind whispers
Hushed stories of bright days
And blue skies ahead.



....From The Lily & The Aster - available in stores April 2012.

More Haiku...

1.
A crater-faced
Moon is shy
Even with the stars.




2.
The fire-flies fix
Themselves in the sky
Feigning the stars.



3.
The sun and the moon
Like brother and sister
To the wind.

From The Lily & The Aster which will be available in stores April 2012 

The Lily & The Aster

Well, it's settled. My next book of poetry will be a book of haiku entitled The Lily & The Aster. In the coming months, I'll be sharing more haiku, other poetry, a book cover and much more. Tune in as these crucial elements take shape. The book is currently in production, specifically we're editing the book right now. This week's haiku precedes the travel essays which may be included in the book of haiku. Enjoy!

What coarse sands will

Pass under soft feet

On new shores?

Fed by cool, new rains

And blue fertile skies,

Will she bloom?

My feet find new

Rhythms on

Foreign soil.

Fall Haiku

Here is some fall inspired haiku for a frigid fall afternoon:

Fall leaves fly

Off the ground—

Little birds.

                                                                                *
                                                                               

Like a plume of smoke

Above a Cuban cigar—

This autumn sky.

                                                                       



                                                                                 *

A man with a horse:

His whisper caught on the wind

Murmurs of comfort.

Richard Wright - Haiku Poet

Did you know that well-known novelist, Richard Wright, who gave us Bigger Thomas in Native Son, is also a prolific haiku poet? Having written more than 4000 haiku and having published 817 haiku, Wright made a tremendous contribution to the genre during his lifetime. I do not doubt that Wright seems capable such poetic prowess given the plethora of artistic works he produced, but the clumsy, foolhardy nature of Bigger Thomas does not lend itself to poetry.

In his book, Haiku: This Other World, the best and most complete volume of haiku that I've read this year, Wright takes notes during his time in exile in France. He spends a year and a half observing his natural surroundings and putting that work into haiku form. What results is a stunning account of “This Other World.” The book is the most complete compilation of his haiku poetry, featuring 817 of his haiku poems.

Written at the end of Wright’s life, in exile and on the heels of the death of his mother Ella, his daughter Julia observed that his obsession with haiku was something of an effort “to spin these poems of light out of gathering darkness.”

What is special about Richard Wright’s haiku is that he has a neat way of turning a phrase and he has a way of making each haiku his own, of reflecting his particular viewpoint. At first glance, I wondered what the big deal was about a few short poems written about nature. As I got into the poetry, I discovered something provocative, artistic and playful about Wright’s haiku. His poetry had a particular magic about it and it captured something elusive. I also noticed that the pauses between each haiku were heavy – full of thought and reflection. This is typical of good haiku.

When reading Wright’s haiku, I found my own voice. I saw in Wright a great challenger, a sparring partner, of sorts. As soon as I came across one of Wright’s haiku that was perplexing or jarring, I tried to come up with something better written on the same topic. I tried to spin a phrase in an interesting manner, careful not to mimic Wright but inspired to write something better. For instance, I wrote the following:

The fog lifted its

Cold, wet feet to climb out of
The bay and up the hill.

Inspired by the following haiku by Wright:

My cold and damp feet
Feel as distant as the moon
On this autumn night.

Moreover, I wrote:

Every year the geese

Journey south and return with
Loud stories of pilgrimage.

Inspired by Wright’s:

High above the ship
On which immigrants sail,
Are departing geese.

To conclude, Richard Wright’s haiku poetry has been an inspiration for my entire book. His witty and imaginative haiku have truly brought out the best in me. You can find more of his haiku at the following link: http://terebess.hu/english/haiku/wright.html & you can find more of my haiku in my book due out April 2012.

Another Look Inside A Dawn Run Hot with Morning (The Poetry II)

In two recent blog posts in the last few weeks, you got a look inside A Dawn Run Hot with Morning first at the Introduction and later at some of the Poetry. As promised, here is a third blog post that takes yet another look inside the book. Get a look at more of the Poetry that will appear on the book's pages. Enjoy!

Compassion


So moved,
you reached for my hand.
Although startled, I remain here
disarmed
by the gesture,
as I give you mine.
And your face is the picture of sincerity.
I see so plainly the mirror, the reflection to my anguish in your eyes.
Your daring empowers my resolve and leads me to smile.

Meditation


I journey within to the confines
of emotion, of memory, of consciousness
I have found a stillness here
I have quieted my mind only to
Navigate the topography of inner peace
I am here, I am present

As I chant my mantra with every breath:
―Ham-sa
I hold on tightly to moments of solitude
The past and the future drop away
A unified consciousness emerges
Soundless reverberating unity
Inwardly, I howl of freedom

The Power of Now


We are hopelessly nostalgic
Gently caressing the finest moments of
Yesterday.
Like a musician harbors the soaring high note
We bend time for the expressed
purpose of being.
But like pending judgment,
the future awaits us.
Embrace the supreme power of now.
Hear it beckon your every impulse.
Know that the present is yours to define.
Expand it.
Multiply it.
Deliver it.

I hope that you enjoyed your third look inside A Dawn Run Hot with Morning. Please join me for future blog posts featuring the Poetry inside the book and new chronicles in self-publishing and book promotion.

Another Look Inside A Dawn Run Hot with Morning (The Poetry I)

In a recent blog post, you got a look inside A Dawn Run Hot with Morning at the "Introduction."  As promised, here is another look inside the book. Glimpse some of the Poetry that will appear in the book's pages. Enjoy!

Dawn

 
As I rise, I ponder
The newness of morning
and the transience of day.
In these quiet waking hours,
a dawn runs hot with morning.
And the day moves
like the warm earth odor of fall
that sits on the breeze
and scatters all memory of summer.
This is the breeze that curls toes
and unfurls well-being.


The Hug


She stood up on the sand, walked in the
direction of the water, spread her arms wide
and embraced the sky.

She turned her head upward, admired each
buoyant cloud, took in the sun’s rays and was
heartily affected by the deeply bright blue of
the sky.

When she was satisfied, she turned back to
her family beaming.

She sat back down on the summer blanket
flush with love.



The Night Moves


The moon is love and the night moves.

Close the door--
aching surprise mounts this eve.
Blessed sun will crawl across the horizon.
Heed your will as the darkness bends strangely toward the day.
Whisper to me the songs of your solitude.

The moon is love and the night moves.


Copyright © 2010 by January Nicole Wilson
 
Now that you have read some of the Poetry, you might be curious to see even more of the Poetry that is inside the cover of A Dawn Run Hot with Morning. Stay tuned. There is yet another look inside to come.

 

"The Return" in Semi-Finals of New Millennium Writings 2010 Poetry Competition

Last year, before my poetry manuscript for Contemplating Eve was published, I selected three poems to submit to New Millennium Writings for publication. New Millennium Writings is a prominent literary magazine with writers such as Nikki Giovanni (poet & faculty member at Virginia Tech) as contest judge. I submitted my writing to this magazine because I wanted acknowledgment for my work from the literary establishment  before self-publishing.

Initially, I decided not to publish with a big publishing house because of the lengthy selection process and the high level of competition. Every writer in the world wants to publish with one of the "big 6."  And, so did I.

But, I wanted to publish in six months (rather than three years), to have full creative control and the promise of better than meager royalties. Self-publishing offered just this chance.

I entered the New Millennium Writings contest in order to gain acknowledgment from established writers & editors and to earn greater recognition as an author. Now, a year later, I just learned that "The Return," a poem that appears in Contemplating Eve, earned a place in the semi-final round in last year's New Millennium Writings' annual poetry competition. It was selected, one of few, among 1200 submissions.

The editor of New Millennium Writings, Don Williams, noted this to me as a semi-finalist in his letter:


"The quality in our contests is high, and you should be proud 
of your accomplishment. I am."

I am pleased that I made it so far in this competition. Here's last year's poem:

The Farmer II

The Return

 

We must return
There must be an exodus
We are too rich, too might a force to
Remain here
I want to see the day
A day when the water returns to the sand
The deserts
We are all on loan here.


The Sahara was fertile
Once
Grew tall trees and grasses
It was called the Sahel
I wonder where deserts come from.

Maybe we belong back there
Maybe this is my story
This is my journey
Back from where we left
None by choice

Sold and stolen
Sold and stolen
Sold and stolen
How many times?

I am Guinea
I am woman
I am country
I am money
The puzzle pieces fit together.

And, maybe I am the water
Maybe I make it rain
Flow---
If I word it correctly
If this is so, then
I think I know where I belong.

If I am Guinea and I am water, then
I wonder where deserts come from.

Sold and stolen
Water
An ever so precious commodity
Ever so cheap
Commodity

Commodity fetishism
is a shame now
is it not?
Now, that is justice clearly stated.

And, the deserts miss the rain.