looking carefully to see only the Flower, said Princess Haiku takes practice

Oh, the uncertainty of Spring. Do we really care to revisit these memories?

The flower looked like a magenta cauliflower

and I hear the silent rustle of it growing.

purple, purple flowers the color of Twilight

I'm feeling purple, said Princess Haiku and will blend in perfectly with the twilight.

Chedwick is looking for something different to read and once I start thinking about books it's hard to stop and so here is a summer reading list.


The Girl Who Played Go, Shan Sa
Stones from the River, Ursula Helgi


photo credit
Fires, Marguerite Yourcenar
The Character of Rain, Amelie Nothomb
The Blue Hour, Carolyn Forche,
Words in Stone, Yves Bonnefoy
Dictee, Theresa Hak Jyung Cha
The Pure and the Impure, Colette
Book of My Night, Li-Young Li
The Temple of my Familiar, Alice Walker
Wild Harmonies, Helene Grimaud

What are you reading?

Perfume Rose Harvest Tour

Princess Haiku is delighted to share her information about the Russian River Rose Company's "Perfume Rose Harvest Tour." All of her friends are invited and especially the cat, Chedwick who has been blue. This unique tour of a rose company is completed with a demonstration of a rose distillation to rose water and rose oil. The tours will be available every Saturday and Sunday in April and May. There will be two display gardens connected by a "Rose Allee" of 8 arches displaying 600 + varieties of roses. Princess Haiku will be there with her little digital camera taking photos for a visual depiction of the ultimate rose/flower experience.

Midnight Garden

The full moon shines
with all its might,
drenching my garden
with mystic light...............

L. 11 years old


Flowers such as "Queen of the Night" bloom only in hours of darkness and belong to my sister's midnight garden. They open pale eyes under the light of the moon, when the rest of the world is sleeping. Their perfume is more intoxicating than ordinary flowers for they belong to dream and mystery. One of the night flowers; Cereus greggi blooms only for one midsummer's night each year. The flower exudes its exquisite perfume as night falls, then closes forever with the first touch of dawn. There are people who are like that too; special people who in a unique moment touch us with ephemeral beauty.

Within a dream

I am at a loss for words, explained Princess Haiku, having awakened into a dream within a dream.

I Thought They Were Sleeping

I thought that my white gardenia buds were sleeping in winter's arms, said Princess Haiku, except that they were not. They were listening to Maria Callas singing from La Wally.

Flowers Cloud Koto

Beauty is everywhere, said Princess Haiku as she fell asleep. Far away on a mountain top a flower bud opened and saw its first light.

(Hint: click on arrow to start video)

White Ballerina Poppies

White ballerina poppies told their dreams to Princess Haiku. Don't tell, they whispered.

Snow Blossom Tree

my snow blossom tree
was born to weep white petals,
a lonely Spring path

Purple; a plum's tale

Purple; a plum's tale

A plum comes to me
in my dark place, where
there is no Eye.

Purple sweetness-
Satin sheets are the arms
of an orchard.

Spring disguises itself
as my lover again;
it happens every year.

I know full well
the ear lobe I bite is the
visceral beauty of god.

Beauty establishes its Own Communion

Today, was a cold gray day in Northern California. As I walked home in the drizzle I thought about a comment made by Jorge, a friend of mine.

"Beauty establishes its own communion."

As I mused along these words resonated in my mind. I realized that I haven't written any poetry in quite a while. His words called to the poetry hiding within.

There are mother-of-pearl gray days such as these; subtle moments when the deeper self rises up as wings to touch the rain. "Poet," I tell myself, "your poetry is never far away. Today is a blue gray opal hiding in cumulous clouds and white gardenias." Speaking of which, my gardenia plant offered me a flower and I am intoxicated with its gentle fragrance.

Winged Flower