Claire Vogel Camargo

Treadmill Reflections

I look around my small world. See the ever-on tv, walls painted Poet’s Bloom—a terracotta rose, white ceiling, sparkly floor tiles, boxes of papers and clutter.

Mom and Dad watch me from their photos on the bookcase. I miss them. Hear them telling me to take care of my health, stay busy, be happy. Good and simple advice. Why didn’t I simply do that?

What if I had exercised more, cut sugar, found poetry sooner, not dwelled on regrets, not let clutter immobilize me, visited Mom and Dad more often? And they me?

stumbling 
I grab ahold
of gratitude

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About the Author

Claire Vogel Camargo jumped into haibun in 2017, won a 2018 Sakura Award in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku Festival and has placed or received honorable mentions in other contests. A published haiku poet, Claire also writes free verse. The retired nurse lives with her husband and dog in Austin, Texas.