Holidays are about relationships
By Barry Vitcov
Here is a variety of haiku, senryu, and a poem involving our popular Ashland coffee culture. In one way or another, they all seem appropriate impressions gathered during the holiday season.
The Poetry Corner is possible because of submissions by poets who find something interesting to say about life in Southern Oregon. There were a good number of submissions when this column began, but they are tapering off. We need more! Please, see below for guidelines and how to submit. The guidelines are suggestive and the submission process is easy, so please send in one, or two, or three or as many as you’d like.
Haiku & Senryu
By Mary Theis
short days, cold dark nights. . .
dreading the return of everything
pumpkin spice
Christmas tree a lit,
cookies and milk await the
patter of deer hooves
pine, wood smoke, whiskey,
sugar and cardamon. . .
smells of the season
Mary Theis enjoys writing poems from a different perspective and likes exploring ironies, humor, and unexpected connections in life. Her work has been published in Failed Haiku,
Verseweavers, Encore Prize Poems, Cobra Lily, and /pãn|dé|mïk/ 2020: An Anthology of Pandemic Poems by OPA Members. Mary lives in Talent, Oregon, where she spends time outdoors, writing, and reading her poems at open mics.
Ashland Cafes
By Rae Otto
Yakkity-yak, yakkity-yak
Lots to communicate
no words we lack;
verbosity, loquacity,
conversing with vivacity
Chatter chatter,
what’s the matter?
Some may call it silly
prattle, babble,
chewing the fat,
but some see the value
of this bonding chit chat
Relationships grow as
people will share,
connect, communicate,
show that they care.
Rae Otto has lived in Ashland for 44 years after teaching in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Renton, Washington, retiring in ’98 from the Eagle Point School District. When Lawson Inada became Poet Laureate of Oregon in 2006, he presented a program on poetry to AAUW and challenged participants to form poetry groups. Although this was a new experience for her, Rae and others launched a group writing poetry and have continued for the last 18 years giving each other support in our writing and also friendship during the challenges and joys of life.
Senryu
By Alice Mallory
old friends
making up for lost time
empty teacups
itchy eyes runny nose
scent of perfume
takes my breath away
Alice Mallory is a Southern California native and former teacher who began visiting Oregon on road trips with her husband in the 1970s. They soon began annual treks to Ashland, finally relocating in 2008 after retirement from Los Angeles Unified School District. Alice credits the Haiku Corner in the former Ashland Tidings for re-kindling her interest in short form poetry. She often pairs her haiku with one of her photos of the human or natural world, and also enjoys writing haibun. In retirement she enjoys haiku walks, playing piano, capturing the moment with her iPhone camera, and the support and camaraderie of a group of poet friends who meet bi-monthly. She also enjoys greeting visitors at the Plaza Information Booth and other volunteer activities.
Poetry Submissions Welcomed!
You are invited to submit original work to the Poetry Corner. There are only two restrictions: First, poems need to show a connection to Ashland and/or Southern Oregon. Your interpretation of that connection is fairly loose! Second, poems need to be aligned to the left margin. The publishing platform used by Ashland.news has issues with the creative use of space! There are no length restrictions but try to keep your poems to no more than 30 lines. Be sure to include the title of your poem, your name as you would like it to appear, the city or town in which you reside, and, if you wish, your preferred pronouns.
To submit poems, send to Barry Vitcov at haikubjv@gmail.com.
