eavesdropping

slender crisp crescent
of horizon-shrugging moon
rises before sun,
captures whistled wakening
pillow-talk of red robins

—dotty seiter

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Notes about poem and art:
• With “eavesdropping” I share a predawn neighborhood observation, adhering to the classical Japanese tanka form of 5 lines of 5 – 7- 5 – 7 – 7 syllables with a mid-poem pivotal turn plus my own stricture to end no lines with prepositions, pronouns, or articles—a considerable and enjoyable challenge! I was pleased to honor a 1,300-year-old structure while using a contemporary voice, infusing personification, anthropomorphism, and metaphor into what traditionally would have been more understated, naturalistic observations.
• I recently participated in Karen Abend’s online Sketchbook Revival Challenge. During a zoom kick-off, she offered a series of quick prompts, with opportunities to scribble, doodle, paint, write, and play in our sketchbooks. The quick-moving aspect helped me dive in intuitively without overthinking. The Hatches is what filled one of the tiny squares on my page, using ink and watercolor paint to create a whole neighborhood of colorful crowded houses.