Nightshade Haiku
Alfonzo Liebenstein
Ran across this striking perennial earlier this week after loading some dry cows to go to town. Apparently common, I have never seen Silverleaf Nightshade, so I went back this morning to photograph it. Related to the tomato, potato and many other garden vegetables, it is poisonous with narcotic properties. And like many nightshades, natives prepared concoctions with the fruit to address headaches, sore throats, etc. Also the root was chewed before sucking rattlesnake venom from a bite. I continue to wonder how the natives knew when to pick the berries and how much of their preparations to ingest. All in the realm of the medicine keepers, I suspect it was not just trial and error.
Guest Editor Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work. Her poems have won awards and been published worldwide, and her photographs have been featured on the covers of numerous poetry journals and anthologies. Her practice of contemplative photography along with an appreciation of haiku aesthetics helps deepen her awareness of the world around her. Both image and written word open her to the interconnectedness of all things; to surprise, mystery and a sense of wonder. She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).
Like my haiku, my haiga are more contemporary English versions of these traditional Japanese forms: though I do aim to capture many of their key elements. Below are my first attempts at writing the tomato haiku, and following is the finished haiga; where I changed some words at the last minute.
David Elliott's third book of poetry, Through the Silence, gives the reader a meditative, tranquil experience rarely seen in poetry today. Rising through traditional haiku, non-traditional haiku, haiku-esque longer forms, and lyrical poems, Elliott's voice, grounded in precise peceptions, resonates within the reader and rises toward a quiet intensity upon each reading. The poems' many subjects and concerns range from the natural world to family, friendship, travel, language, and poetry itself. This book must be lived and experienced by all who seek meaning through the silence.
aa06259810