The Poetry Sisters’ challenge for this month was to write a haibun. Here’s what the rest of the crew came up with:
Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon
Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}
Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas
Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect
Sara @ Read Write Believe
Michelle has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at MoreArt4All.
A(nother) Year of Reading 
Too many birds lost, as your haiku notes, thanks for your sanctuary Mary Lee and others like it. I provide one too.
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This pairing of prose and poetry is perfection! (she says, as the cardinals are busybusy at the feeder this morning!) xo
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Oh!!! Your backyard sanctuary is so hopeful!! Kirk gave me binoculars for Christmas so I hope to be finding lots of hope in the birds this year. Lots of hope in the birds…
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So beautiful and sad, Mary Lee. Grateful for your sanctuary.
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The prose is as poetic and lovely as the haiku. I appreciate all the backyard sanctuaries that provide a respite for birds. May they continue to grace your space.
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Thank you for creating a sanctuary for so many visiting species. So sad to think about losing birds to climate change and habitat loss. A perfect application of the haibun form.
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Oof, that final line is a gut punch.
i love the imagery of “riding spent coneflowers” because my goodness, don’t they just?! You’ve really nailed this haibun thing! I love the visual detail.
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I love how you combine dread with hope and beauty here, Mary Lee. This feels so urgent! Happy New Year to you–you ARE a sanctuary of hope. xo
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Ah, beautiful, Mary Lee. I have to put up my birdfeeder and add one more small sancturary before the new year starts.
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Mary Lee, your backyard sanctuary is a wonderful place for birds. It is sad that the population is dwindling. Your haibun prose poem and haiku fit well together.
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I feel this Haibun so much. So poignant. So true. I love making sure all the birds feast on my deck.
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Oh oh oh whistling in the dark!
“Wrens mine the mulch and dodge into the woodpile” and so many other good lines.
The year of the haibun?
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Every haibun I’ve read has had a gut punch of a last line and yours is no exception. Wow! Also I really love “wrens mine the mulch” has a delicious feel when I read it.
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Oh, Mary Lee! This is a beautiful lament to what has been lost and an ode to what still is and could be. xo
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