Personal Essay:
"Summer's End" featured mid-September 2025 in Persimmon Tree, an online magazine recognizing the writing and artwork of women over sixty. This piece captures loving moments between my mother and myself, explodes with color, and sings her praises, even as memories and abilities fade.
Collaborative Essay:
"Polishing Our Intent" featured in The Haiku Foundation's "New to Haiku" section on June 8, 2025.
New to Haiku: Polishing Our Intent-A Collaborative Essay on Revising Haiku - The Haiku Foundation
Selected Haibun (short titled prose with related haiku):
Always Becoming
true essence
tender heart, generous spirit …
The soul is love
The human condition is love. I glimpsed this reality during the last ten weeks of my sister’s earthly life. As Sis withdrew from material things and threw off layers of life accumulated, there blossomed a spirit of grace, gentleness, and generosity. She became love, wholly and completely, and then … let go the final sigh. Sometimes, one is lucky enough to witness such holiness. It is a gift, a veracity revealed, that is unmistakable and life changing.
in the lifespan
of a magnolia blossom—
journey to heaven
Beyond the Screen
Standing in the library with a digital SLR camera in hand, I spy a small porcelain figurine nestled amidst spring green fronds in a potted urn. “Ah, it is the Kannon, in a contemplative posture.” I gasp, edging in for a closer look. “Guanyin,” I whisper with delight, “the Bodhisattva of Mercy and Compassion.” I offer a slight bow. My fingers toyed with the Nikon’s f-stop feature, hoping to capture the perfect image. The time is centuries ago in the Song Dynasty, one of China’s most prosperous and vibrant time periods.
Having reached Nirvana, Guanyin has returned to be among mortals to assist them in achieving enlightenment. I feel blessed in my life.
the Nine Dragons scroll
offers a glimpse of forgiveness …
mid-summer fire
Author’s note: Kannon is known as the goddess of mercy. In China, she is known as Guanyin and revered as the most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity.
[Published online in Under the Bashō.com]