Images that capture our imagination

By Barry Vitcov

Short poems and haiku often use visual images to communicate a mood, a feeling, an ephemeral moment. Donna Boem and Alice Mallory offer poems that give us their impressions of familiar moments; instances best described by poetry. These poems might be called appetizers for the imagination. Where do they take you?

What images capture your imagination? What poetry emerges? You are encouraged to submit poems to the Poetry Corner about images you’ve noticed in Southern Oregon. See below for how to submit.

Heading North On HWY 99

By Donna Boehm

Cottonwood snowfall,
summertime blizzard
tossed peaceably
on wind drift.
Downy soft sketches
on fluffy white edges
of forest roadsides.

After moving to the Rogue Valley from Chicago, via many years in the Bay Area, Donna Boehm has found a community that supports her creative energies. Always a curious creative, she has been a contributor to many local theater companies and the opera for many years as a prop mistress. She considers herself to be a backstage diva, often behind the scenes adding a visual sense of reality for the audience. Meanwhile, when not working between lights up, curtain down, or volunteering with theater groups and participating in occasional onstage productions, she writes prose and poetry, most often reflecting matters of the heart. Also, an accomplished floral artist, she creates for several organizations including The Schneider Museum of Art and Celia’s House Hospice care. To those who have played their parts in her life, she thanks you for what you do with words from a song in A Chorus Line: “You did what you had to do, the sweetness and the sorrow. Don’t forget, don’t regret what you did for love. As you travel on, love’s what you’ll remember. “

Haiku

By Alice Mallory

Looking for earthworms
after the rain
no stone goes unturned

Butterfly café
Memorial Day special
sweet nectar on tap

Blue heron hovers
silently stalking
fresh catch of the day

Hot pink peonies
lure me up the garden path
to the open gate

Springtime reverie
underneath shifting clouds
Pompadour stands proud

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 the 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@google.com .

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