Haiku with Heart

How do we remember to love when we are stressed or lonely? Haiku speaks to the ever changing landscape of the heart. I came across this image marking the spot of an old knot in a tall oak tree. The heart shape was upside down but unmistakeable.

While it takes some work to turn our lives around, a walk in the woods can begin to peel away layers of pain or heartbreak. Nature can wake us up in subtle ways and begin to right our world.

Writing haiku adds an additional ingredient to the healing mix of nature with the opportunity to reflect on a stirring encounter. In this case the worn bark offered a reminder that time can heal where a branch or a heart has been broken. photo: D. Bowman

I've not yet been able to write a haiku about this particular wabi-sabi heart (weathered beauty is the definition of wabi-sabi!). I will share a one-line haiku I wrote reflecting on the last time I saw my Dad before he died peacefully at 95. It took several years to find the right words.

last look in his eyes morning mist

Haiku is famous for its subtle expression of  humor, tenderness, loss and beauty.  In our new book, Tangled Thicket: Seasons of Haiku,  poetry weaves threads of nature through the human heart.  Haiku heals.  

You may find this poem and others that speak to the "wildness a heart can hold" in our new book:

tangled thicket now available!

Click here to learn more or receive a copy.