Bad Poetry Monday

Haiku Inspired by Art

Good morning and Good Monday Cool Cats and Hot Kittens. I’m sharing something a little different today. It is a poem, but it’s a haiku, an ancient Japanese tradition in which poets write three lines with words containing only 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know that every Friday I post an original haiku. Also, during the era of COVID, I was inspired to write a book of haikus called The Big Weird: Haikus in Times of Pandemic and Chaos. If you’re interested, it’s available on Amazon.

But the haiku I wrote this past Friday was inspired by a piece of art, which you see above. First, you can read the haiku here below and then how this came about:

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I saw the moon wink

At me as if agreeing

All is right with God.

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This haiku was inspired by artwork that my longtime, childhood friend, Shirley Flory Keller, shared with me. When she sent me her latest piece she said, “The lavender rose petals reminded me of the moon.” And I interpreted the feather to be the moon’s eyelashes.

She created the "moon" effect by layering three pressed lavender rose petals. The feather wrapping around the moon is part of a peacock tail feather. Shirley designs and makes her own greeting cards using only organic materials she has either collected or which have been donated to her. She uses leaves, flowers, weeds, bark, and exotic bird feathers from flamingos and parrots. She often makes her own rice paper for the cards. She sells her work at art shows and creates work on commission. If you’d like to purchase from her collection or request a commissioned piece, leave me a note in the comments and I’ll put you in touch with her.

I love her art!