I first shared this small collection of haiku and senryu on Medium in 2022. As I get ready to shut down my Medium account, I’ve decided to move some of my poetry over here. Poetry has served as therapy for quite a while, so there is often pain expressed in these pieces. Always approach my poetry with that in mind, and take care of your own mental health.
It was late March when I decided to start putting my writing out in the world. I had always kept it hidden, like scars of self-inflicted wounds. There weren’t many, but they were deep, and I was afraid the people around me wouldn’t understand everything that was going through my mind. Also, it took time and a lot of emotional work to write these longer pieces.
Then I found two different prompts on Twitter: #haikuchallenge by Baffled and #haikuseed by Haiku Seed Journal. These daily prompts pushed me to write more often, think deeper, and be more concise with my thoughts. Eventually, they made composing longer poems easier and less draining. Here are a few of the short pieces that speak to me most.
Prompt: downpour
joy pain and sorrow
felt year-round yet in springtime
tears hide in downpours
Prompt: crack
trauma driven crack
filled with golden filligree
broken in her strength
Prompt: could
the damage of could
awash in the memories
of painful regret
Prompt: hold
forgotten childhood
memories of woodland walks
holes left in the heart
Prompt: guess
guess and check movements
relationships take us through
just like learning math
Prompt: mistake
feel how you must on
the whimsy of emotion
you are no mistake
I have a whole poetry page here on my website that you are welcome to check out. If you like what you read, please consider picking up my debut published collection When Can We Be Soft: Poems of Female Resilience. I have signed copies available in my shop. It can also be found on Amazon.