Winter Gold

Many, many clouded over moons ago, I was in a play called prophetically enough, Haiku. In it a I played a young girl with debilitating case of Autism. She existed for the most part in her own world, depended on constant stimming, and change and challenge provoked self-harm. She was completely non-verbal. Her aging mother cared for her alone but was now losing her sight and had become all but blind.

A wonderful thing happened with the mother's loss of vision. Her daughter began to speak but only in haiku and only when the two women were alone. So the question became ... had the daughter gained savant poetic ability or was the mother losing her mind? This role for me was a gift. I learned an energy far different than my norm and had my first real experience with haiku. Poetry isn't for everyone and poetic brevity for even fewer. It is an acquired taste but then can become addictive.

Haiku hooks legions of nature lovers to the light side of the force everyday. Like the two women in the play, our senses for it heighten and we noticed that which we wouldn't have before. Wisdom is found in the often overlooked and minute details. Beauty whispers its subtle but enduring message to our ever-opening minds.

The last line of the play was hydrangea, spoken with 3 syllables and given the nature of English haiku, those 3 syllables were essential. Yet my rebellious mind insisted, until the dress rehearsal, that it was four. Fortunately when the lights went up on the performance, the Plebeian within surrendered to humanities and mathematics and learned to count.

Since hydrangea flowers have held a special place in my mind. They really are a remarkable flower, capable of radical change and lasting beauty. There isn't a season they don't shine and bring warmth too. White and spring queen, fertile pink and blue in summer, gem red and burgundy in autumn, and finally a turn to the precious, copper and winter gold.

***

Please enjoy the following showcase of the winter-inspired narrative poem and spoken word, the Boy Who Wore Clothes and permanent exhibit of digital photography and art, Winter Gold.

***