triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY! hosts: Teji Sethi and Kala Ramesh GUEST EDITOR: John Stevenson
mountain shadow robs the tree of its
Kala Ramesh
Roadrunner, 9.3 August 2009
John Stevenson (born October 9, 1948, Ithaca, New York), professional actor, especially in playback theater, and haiku poet and editor. He began college as a visual art major and finished with a degree in theater. Before retiring in 2015, he worked as a human resources administrator for the New York State Office of Mental Health. His first poetry publication occurred at age 8, and his interest in haiku dates from 1992. He is a founding member of the Route 9 Haiku Group and its journal Upstate Dim Sum, and has served as regional coordinator, president, second vice president, treasurer, associate editor, and editor of Frogpond for the Haiku Society of America. In 2013 he received the HSA Sora Award for service to haiku, and from 2018 to 2019 he was the honorary curator for the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library. Since 2008 he has served as managing editor of The Heron’s Nest. His haiku collections include: Something Unerasable (1996), Some of the Silence (1999, 2008), Quiet Enough (2004, 2008, 2016, 2018), Live Again (2009), d(ark) (2014), and emoji moon (2018). He has received over 200 awards for haiku and haiku-related poetry. Since 1985 he has resided in the Village of Nassau, New York.
This month is going to be a treat for our members. _()_ Thank you so much, John.
A wonderful monoku. "its" is an almost perfect ending. Shadow is an excellent theme for a haiku.
I remember this ku from the old Roadrunner online journal. It still carries that pleasant zing of surprise at the end, at least for me. Well done and congrats on enduring the test of time (14 years), Kala. Thanks to John for posting this gem.
---Billie
mountain shadow robs the tree of its
Kala,
Love your ku! why? it made me smile with the use of " robs" . on a deeper level, it made me think of light and shadow and their interplay in new ways. The mountain's shadow could be a problem for a tree that requires full sun. The tree will be stunted in its growth. I could go on and on as this ku takes me so many places. thank you!
Trying to get in the habit of reading Spotlight more regularly, so I just saw this a few moments ago. It immediately put me in mind of an old favorite — don’t the two of them make a wonderful pair?
moving into the sun
the pony takes with him
some mountain shadow
Jane Reichhold
https://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm
Beautiful Kala! Loved the usage of the word, 'robs' and well placed too.