Gabriella Barone

Global Haiku • May 2022
Dr. Randy Brooks

Gabriella Barone

Reader Response Essay
on Peggy Lyles' Nature Haiku

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To my muses:
to those that held my heart and let it go, to those that may have loved me deeper than I may have known, to those that I may have loved deeper than they know, to those that I have never stopped loving, to those that never stopped loving me, to those that love me in another dimension, to love and whatever that means to you, and especially for my daughter Ophelia Gaia, my forever love.

Wishbone

by
Gabriella Barone

A wishbone is normally broken between two people and the person who breaks off the larger piece makes a wish. This idea of only one person having a chance to make a wish intrigues me. That there is a win or lose factor between two people before even making a wish that may or may not come true. I have made a lot of wishes in my life and let go of a lot of wishes that I have made. I have put other people's wishes before my own and put my wishes before others as well. The following haikus are a look inside those moments in my life. Not all haikus are directly tied to a wish, but may have wishful thinking or a lack thereof. Or the haiku may be reminiscent of a time that I wish to revisit or wish not to revisit. Or the haiku may be a meditation on putting my wishes before someone elses or putting their wishes before mine. There is somewhat of a linear structure to the progression of the haiku in this selection. The beginning haikus of the collection stem from a reflection on adolescents. The following haikus are an introspection on relationships. The final haikus of the collection are an expression of motherhood. The first haiku of the collection is not a part of one single subsection, but of all of them. Whether the wish is mine, someone else, or no ones, the wish comes and goes.

wishbone hanging
by my window
snaps
the wish is gone

Reflection on Adolescence

blowing out candles
make a wish, for my parents
to be together

sheer blanket with lace
on the trim, cold to the touch
keeps the child warm inside

two chairs, a table
lemonade stand with grandma
hopscotch on blacktop

dance in the kitchen
Barry Manilow CD
plays on repeat

stained glass window
summer solstice afternoon
color dances across the room

Introspection on Relationships

my hair lays behind my ear
falls forward
he gently pushes it back

marlboro red kisses
passed back and forth
she's a cowboy killer

holding hands
walking her
to another man's house

shared bed
pillow on your side
no one resting there

his attempts sadly fail
to find
something or anything wrong

Expression of Motherhood

invitation
her first birthday
you will not come
we both know that

at grandma's house with the dogs
playing in the backyard
I worry she wont want to go home

tickling her toes
wet grass stuck to
souls of her feet