Offering 2024–044
a tanka -
everything starts small
forces of nature conspire
to grow the willing
from small acorns, mighty oaks
from single eggs, you and I
— —
I struggled to pull this one together this morning. As I sat thinking with my head in my hands, ideas rose and fell away with none of them seeming workable. As I burned through my time this morning, I decided to take a look at what I wrote a year ago. So you don’t have to scroll forever, here’s Haiku 2023–044:
paint, paper, brushes
poised for creativity
yearning for her touch
To be honest, Haiku 2023–044 ended up being one of my favorite of the year — I think about it often when I visit her studio. I then started thinking about what’s happened since I wrote that.
The answer? She’s grown… a lot.
When I wrote Haiku 2023–044, my wife was creating an artistic work a day as part of a challenge. While she started with acrylic paints and pastels, she developed an interest in watercolors — something she rarely dabbled in before. What happened next was remarkable. She became so immersed in the medium, she decided to create her own paint. When she found joy in that process, she decided to try and make a business out of it. The first few months, she saw only a trickle of interest to the point where she nearly abandoned the project.
It took only one positive review to change all that.
These days, she makes multiple trips to the post office a week sending packages not just around the country, but around the world. The joy it brings her is infectious. As I sit here and write this, I’m listening to her wrap up at least her third batch of the day. She’s an inspiration — you can draw a very bright line between her efforts and what you’re reading today…
..and I couldn’t be happier.
