Cherie Hunter Day

Among the Wild Irises of July

If we continue to the archipelago of numbered islands, we must deal with the perception of exile. There’s a difference between isolation and solitude. An island is isolated by definition. Separated not of its own accord, but as an artifact of geography. A person on that remote island experiences separation as solitude. It’s not an ongoing exercise in loneliness, although, there were awkward times like when the short wave radio broke. For a week I could talk into the microphone without a return reply. Nothing to verify that anyone was listening.

almost indigo
the veery’s song spiral
into nightfall

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About the Author

Cherie Hunter Day has written and published haibun since 2000. Her haibun “In Rumble Dark” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2019. Recent collections include a prose poem e-chapbook, Qualia (White Knuckle Press, 2017), and a collection of micro poems, for Want (Ornithopter Press, 2017). She lives in northern California among some thirsty redwoods.