Haibun for Lake Huron
my feet firmly rooted in the sand
Lake Huron sways me like I’m her firstborn
her cool water tinged with soft seaweed green
holds me delicately – I am pages in her book
of letting go as she helps me lift the worry ink
from the deeps of my skin
in her body – great Lake Huron
the universal ebb & flow thrills a current
in my veins – inside I am fire purpleblueyelloworange
the colours of my gently communion with Time
can I teach myself to feel this free without her
sand under my soles?
can my bones recall her sweet swagger
of willing waves in the heavy hours of
a lonely work day?
the lightness I experience is alien
I exhale stardust & hear the child’s
thumping heart beat in the belly of the woman
who glides in the water beside me
the making child – wombed
the new child born screaming stars
the adult child learns
Reading is rad.
The Book of Speculation
I finished reading Erika Swyler’s ‘The Book of Speculation’ yesterday afternoon at the beach. OOOOO, it was soooo incredible! Mermaids, circuses, old books, librarians, crabs, love, lies and wicked weather! This is a book that thrills the imagination and zaps your love of books to a new level. Also, it’s very great to read next a body of water so you can jump in and try to hold our breath for ten minutes. Yeah, I wrote ten minutes…
The Dollhouse – A Ghost Story
I’ve started reading Charis Cotter’s ‘The Dollhouse – A Ghost Story’, her most recent middle-grade kids’ novel that isn’t officially out yet (I got an ARC so I can write a review!) but is already gaining accolades as it has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection in the U.S. This means 3000 librarians will have the book available for their readers. You can read it too! Coming August 31. Preorder wherever you buy books.
This just in…! Deadline for poetry anthology extended!
In case you’re in that boat where deadlines go splashing too, this extension may be just what you need!
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 