Saturday Morning Haikus and Video

I woke up at four-thirty this morning and by five-thirty was reading a book. Oh, how good reading makes me long to do good writing. When I finally looked up, this is what I saw.

In my hanging plant
three eggs tremble, crack, birth.
Sparrows' gaping beaks.


Lily petals closed
wait for sun to clear tall pines
breathe before the bloom

The yard a runway,
hummingbirds zip to feeders,
pause, levitate, flee.

Picking Favorites - IWSG June 2019

It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, our brilliant ninja leader. The awesome co-hosts for June are Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte.

This month's optional question: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

I write women’s fiction, personal essays and poetry but could I say I have a favorite? I’m not sure. All I know is that whatever I am immersed in at the time is my favorite. So, if I’m writing stories about women who overcome life-altering obstacles, they rope me in, take me on trips to other places, plunge me into other lives. Once I’ve completed a draft, the editing drives me to contemplate every word, sentence, paragraph, scene, and arc. While I’m in the midst of it, it feels like my best and most passionate work.

Then there are the essays. Most often lately, they appear here in Middle Passages. Each month, when it’s time to produce another post I dive in, focusing on nuance, the style, my voice. Once I’ve completed a first draft, I walk away. On return, I see where the essay needs to go and tweak and massage, making it the best writing I can achieve at the time. I think about the bloggers who will see the piece, wondering what their impressions will be on reading it. Is it good enough? Is it clear? Is my point worth making?

Lastly, there’s the emotional writing—poems that come to me during times of deep and raw feeling. Poetry, where every single word must have pure meaning, saves me when grief, or fear or sometimes even joy, overwhelm me. I'm not sure sure I write poems as much as they find me and take me captive. Once one does, it's impossible for me to be free of it. I spend hours switching up words, moving lines, feeling rhythm, counting meter. It’s a good thing I don’t write too many poems, because when I do, I can’t stop. I sneak copies of the poem-in-progress where ever I go. Pencil in changes. Replace words in my head while trying to sleep.

So, you ask, which is my favorite? All writing from which I return blinking, oblivious to what is happening in the real world, is my favorite.

Funny story. At work, I am the editor of a monthly newsletter and often have to write short snippets for filler. My office door is always open, my back to the door. At least once a month, someone will pop in on me while I’m writing one of these things and I jump sky high. I admit that sometimes an expletive must be deleted. You see, even this kind of writing transports me to the point I don't hear what’s happening around me. I’m not sure who is more startled by my reaction, me or the folks I work with, but lately my office peers have begun to knock.  

What's your favorite type of writing and how do you react when you are interrupted from your work?