Sparrow Haiku

Loving both haiku and birds as I do, I was completely charmed by a small new book from Violet Press, HAIKU ON THE SPARROW. as the introduction notes, sparrows tend to go unnoticed as they are so common and dull colored. However, the Roman poet Catullus immortalized a “passer”–a pet sparrow, and religious scripture notes “the fall of the sparrow” as does novelist Rumor Godden. In short, there is much to observe if the poet has eye to see it.
There is the intersection between human and natural worlds, beautifully captured by Tony A. Thompson:

sparrow song:
my daughter begins
her ballet routine

And something similar, yet different in feeling tone, by Michael McClintock:

China Alley…
a girl at a window
feeding sparrows

There is nature observed, ad the passage of time, in a haiku by Peggy Willis Lyles:

the sparrows beak
slightly parted–
New Year’s Day

The collection ends with a sense of release:

letting go
the hear
of a sparrow (Natalia L. Rudychev)

Beautiful inside and out, this book would make a good present. The illustrations by Rebecca Clark are delicate and closely observed. Order from violetpress.com