Monday Musings

The Summer Solstice occurred this past week, on June 21st. It is now officially summer.  I celebrated the onset of summer by planting three dozen perennial flowers to beckon beneficial insects to my vegetable garden. The subsequent days were filled with a deluge of rainstorms. The new plants drank their fill and now stand erect with new buds.

Dear readers, I can now share some of my recently accepted and published poems, as promised in my last post. This is a big brag blog. First, a haiga (haiku superimposed on a photo/art). Published in the PRINT issue of  Meat for Tea, The Valley Review, Volume 17, Issue 2 Loaf  [Editor elizabeth macduffie Twitter  @elizabeef ] Heterodox Haiku Journal (Seven Deadly Sins Edition, Issue 3, Fall 2023 ) contains a second haiku in PRINT format. Now available in paperback at Amazon, I’m one of 26 poets in this volume. [You really didn’t think I would show you all of my work, LOL.] In addition, two haiku in  Haiku Girl Summer  [ONLINE at Substack, Editor Allyson Whipple Twitter  @quatrainquilts ] And released last evening from Switzerland,  The Poetry Pea, Inner Weather/Outer Weather PODCAST  [ONLINE Journal Editor Patricia McGuire Twitter  @ThePoetryPea ] This haiku will be included in the  1:23 Poetry Pea Journal  [forthcoming July 2023] I ...

I adore Sandburg’s poetry description: poetry provides a medium you can enjoy with all your senses. In his example, you can see, smell, and touch both items; you can taste the biscuits and hear the crunch as you bite.  I have been working diligently on various poetic forms over the past month, trying to stretch my poetic skills. Two forms involved more than inscribing a poem, so they were a new challenge. In the process, I have been steadily submitting poems to both print and online journals. [Note: I have not included copies of my work referenced in this article, which have been accepted for publication, because the pieces have not yet been published. I will be happy to share the poems once they are in “print”-online or actual print journals]. The first form I sent out was a haibun. The first recipient gracefully declined, but I was delighted when the second journal accepted my work. I’m even more pleased because this site produces a PRINT journal. What is a haibun? The following ...

This moment like every moment, is precious. Take a minute to stop and revel in the wonder. Are you at work, struggling to succeed? What do you really want; is it worth being away from your family and friends for innumerable hours? Is your goal possessions or happiness? Psychologists have examined the various facets that determine happiness. This  Brittanica link  describes their findings. True happiness comes from within. I have been writing and submitting to poetry/haiku journals like mad for the last few weeks. Already acceptance notes are pinging into my email inbox (as are rejections), but as some wise person recently said, “if you don’t get at least 100 rejections a year, you are not writing and submitting enough work.” Good news, more poems are on the way! I spent a few hours in the garden today; my vegetable garden is planted, and I can change my focus to perennial flowers. Time to head to my favorite garden center. Our small patch of land brings me great joy. What deli...