Alvin B. Cruz
Intersection
At the village park one cold morning, I passed a gardener pruning the older stems of rambling roses. He hardly noticed me—it was as if I were a ghost. His world revolved around that small but lovely garden. We were only a few feet apart, but he was alone. I breathed in the delicate scent of newly bloomed roses. At that moment, I was both there and not there.
bonsai the way we shape one another
About the Author
Alvin B. Cruz has published three poetry books, most recently a collection of haiku, senryu, and tanka titled Paper Cranes (Central Books, 2023). His haiku have appeared in Modern Haiku, Presence, Frogpond, Cold Moon Journal, whiptail, Poetry Pea, and Wales Haiku Journal, among others. He lives in Manila, Philippines.
This is a great example of how prose and haiku can complement each other, creating a complete unit, with neither taking center stage. The prose is spare yet carries so much substance, seeming to suggest how we humans can treat each other – and the world around us – with tenderness or indifference. So much to contemplate in so few words. Well done.