Nicholas Virgilio haiku

i have always been a fan of the late American haiku poet Nicholas Virgilio.
At a poetry reading i met his brother Tony, who talked with me about Nicks
early days writing haiku, i really enjoyed our conversation about Nick's life.
i would like to include a few of the poems we discussed.

the following haiku poems were written by Nicholas Virgilio:


lily

out of the water

out of itself



over spatterdocks

turning at corners of air

dragonfly



in the singles' bar

magnifying loneliness

her thick eye glasses



Viet nam monument

darkened by autumn rain

my dead brother's name



autumn twilight

the wreath on the door

lifts in the wind


i am very thankful and delighted to have talked with Tony Virgilio,

thank you Tony........michaela

haiku by Kayla

autumn

through fallen leaves

so much more sky



together

spinning in circles

butterflies



autumn

sunset in the fork

of the maple tree



autumn

seeing the trees

undress



full moon

shadows of the willow tree

spread across the yard



circling overhead

the crying sound

of a lonely hawk



always walking

never in a hurry

shield bug on the wall



dresser table

my mothers ring

now cold



mothers' grave

leaves fall gently

on the still earth



visiting mothers' grave

a flock of noisy starlings

fill a nearby tree



mothers'grave

i sweep away the leaves

covering her name



near mothers' grave

on top of a tomb stone

an unopened cup of coffee



below the giant oak

a young dogwood shows

her first blossoms



tulip poplar

towers high above the house

its baby just grass high



strange rainy season

seeing the deck boards

green with moss



my lost sister

the campfire out

ashes blow in the wind



garden roots

smelling the sweet scent

of sassafras



dead oak

a woodpecker taps out

a morning meal

bottle of stars

here is a collage from my collage journal using a similar idea , i used some astrophotography prints and made drawings of old bottles from my old bottle collection,i love the shape and colors of old glass......enjoy , michaela

here is a poem i wrote about this college that is on the opposite journal page


                                                Create art

                                   in the bottle you shall see

                                   the stars of the pleiades

                                   in the bottle filled with blue

                                   all mysteries unfold for you

                                   in the stars patterns lie

                                   some shaped like kites that fly

                                   in the stars charioteer and cart

                                   in the stars He displays His art.

ships in a bottle

                                             
This collage was inspired by some old pen and ink drawings of ships that i found at a flee market in the Pocono's.  The ground is a small 5x7 in. canvas panel,the background is text from the same book that the drawings came from.  i made sketches of old bottles on the back of the ink drawings,then cut them out using a craft knife. i don't want to explain in detail how to collage , there is a lot of material available ,i do enjoy sharing my work with others, maybe it will be an inspiration.......  michaela

haiku by Kayla

cemetery

at father's grave

an empty bench



gusty night

the sound of wind chimes

fills up the darkness



rainy day

seeing clouds drift

across the puddles



in the stillness

in the quiet

a lonely field



children off to college

a robins nest in the juniper

now empty



her beautiful dress unfolds

a red rose bud opens

in the side yard



cold morning

African violets bloom

in the warm window box



autumn soon ending

the weeds now withered

the trees now bare



bedroom window

seeing the pleiades

rise above the trees



end of autumn

seeing the squirrels carry leaves

back up the tree



autumn migration

the sound of geese

high overhead



suddenly

the dragon fly completely still

completely bronze



hanging in the shed

my childhood bugle

silent all these years



quiet night

the andromeda galaxy

now above our house



lonely white cat

out of the darkness

into the darkness



quiet house

i cannot find it

cricket with a loud voice

double stars

Here's a nice beginners site on double stars,be careful they can become very addictive.........michaela http://www.eaglecreekobservatory.org/eco

Collage art by Kayla

                                                       14x14 inches 
                                            

i had a lot of fun making this collage, the ground is a piece of Plexiglas and the background  - old sheet music,  i used artist papers to make the images by drawing on the back of the sheet then carefully cut the images out with an craft knife.
i used mod podge as a glue.