A taste of the cherries on top

If you think I'm going to blog today like my many other blogger friends have done already, about the free downloadable e-book "With Cherries on Top" edited by Michael Dylan Welch, featuring some selected haiku and senryu from August NaHaiWriMo, then you are absolutely right! The collection looks fabulous,as it is, with artwork  by Michael Dylan Welch himself and contains nearly 200 poems by 73 poets who participated in NaHaiWriMo that month, with the best 5 or more poems for each day being selected by the 31 different prompters themselves.But what is remarkable about the book is the astounding quality of the poems. I had always known there were many gifted poets in this community and many excellent poems get written every month in response to the prompts. In August, the number of participating poets were even more and perhaps because everybody wanted to excel, the level of the poems went up many notches higher.

The poems featured in the book are already hand-picked.Still I'd mention here a few which i thought were brilliant just to whet your appetite(for those of you who are yet to read it).

The prompt "Karumi" perhaps produced the most amazing poems.  Here are a few.

sun dance

not touching the ground 

not touching each other

-Stevie Strang

(I wish i wrote that, Stevie Strang.)

the little sister 

and the big sister--

wild summer grasses

Vincent Hoarau



dappled sunlight 
dragonflies linger
over his grave

Pris Campbell

 I had not quite captured the essence of karumi, but after reading these poems, now i know what karumi is.



And what can i say about this one? It made me smile, it made me cry.

 From the prompt love,

summer night

my daughter asks how long

I might live

Dawn Apanius

The next two are also from love,

shooting stars 

the gap in our ages 

just too big

Sheila Windsor

a sparrow's song

colors the breeze...

having you near

Asni Amin

Consider these two from tidepool,
 

tide pool  clumps of mussels sipping starlight on the rocks

Kathy Uyen Nguyen

tide pool-

my heartbeat 

settles

Jayashree Maniyil

And this stunning one is from sand,


 

divorce decree--

the remains of a castle

taken by the tide

 Michele Harvey

The following ones from grass and enlightenment respectively.

a very wise man
a bit of wild grass
in his hair

Vincent Hoarau

meteor shower

for a split second

I know

Annie Juhl

And this very moving one from birth,
 

growing dusk...

the stillborn calf

is taken away

Kirsten Cliff

"Breath-taking" is how i describe the next one, the prompt was surrender.

wherever

 the morning takes me--

white butterfly

Claire Everett

This incredibly beautiful one is from seam,

between the meadow

and conifer forest-

a seam of elk

Deborah Barbour Lundy

and this absolute stunner from childhood in summer.

cotton-candy clouds--

days when I am

one of the butterflies

Christine L.Villa 

 This one is simply delightful...from the same prompt childhood in summer.

farm pond

kneedeepkneedeepkneedeep

in frogs

Susan Murata

Don't miss this one,(prompt boat)

my kayak

opens and closes

the glassy lake 

Carole MacRury

And this,(prompt time)

 shiva call--

the steady sweep

of the second hand

Mark E.Brager

Finally this one , from healthcare.

everyone

with a different quiet-

chemo lounge

Edgar Hopper

 I'd have liked to include many more, but that would be giving away the whole show.

So if I've got you sufficiently interested by now, you could view or download the book.here. And let me remind you, I too have six poems tucked in there under the prompts tide pool, lion, chili pepper, seam,forgotten things and  moon viewing.

Happy reading!