Book of the Week – Petals on the Wind by Cezar Ciobîcă

Cezar Ciobîcă’s Petals on the Wind wins the reader over through sincerity, tenderness, and a deep attentiveness to the world.  Written in both Romanian and English, this bilingual collection unfolds through the seasons, offering haiku rooted in family, faith, village life, and the enduring rhythms of nature.

What struck me most while reading this collection was the recurring presence of the poet’s parents. Their lives are woven into the landscape so seamlessly that memory itself becomes a seasonal phenomenon. In one of the opening haiku, the poet writes:

Palm Sunday –
on the sill a turtledove
with my mom’s eyes (p. 6)

The emotional resonance here arises not from explanation but from recognition. The bird becomes a vessel for remembrance, transforming a simple spring image into something deeply personal.

Throughout the collection, blossoms and petals function as recurring motifs. Yet these are never merely decorative. They often carry reflections on mortality and transience:

petals on the wind –
my father’s life hangs
by a single thread (p. 10)

The title image returns here with startling force. The fragility of drifting petals becomes inseparable from the fragility of human life.

Ciobîcă frequently juxtaposes religious imagery with everyday observation. One particularly memorable example reads:

old roadside cross –
the wind puts on His wounds
plum petals (p. 11)

The poem succeeds because it remains grounded in the physical world. The petals settling on the cross evoke suffering, compassion, and renewal without ever becoming overtly symbolic.

Many of the finest haiku in the collection celebrate resilience. Consider:

Ascension –
from below the concrete slab
a blade of grass (p. 23)

The image is simple, yet powerful. Life persists despite obstacles, offering a quiet affirmation that feels especially relevant in contemporary times.

The collection also contains moments of striking originality. I was particularly drawn to:

reading Braille –
fingering the light
of lime pollen (p. 29)

This is a beautifully synesthetic poem in which touch, sight, and scent merge into a single sensory experience. It demonstrates the poet’s ability to move beyond observation toward genuine discovery.

Across its pages, Petals on the Wind reveals a poet deeply connected to place, memory, and spiritual life. The village landscapes, blossoming orchards, church bells, birds, and seasonal changes create a world that feels intimate and authentic. Like the petals of its title, the poems drift lightly across the page, yet many leave a lasting imprint long after the book is closed.

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You can read the complete collection in the THF Digital Library.

The THF Digital Library can now also be found easily through the carousel on the home page, making it simpler than ever to discover the rich collection of books, journals, and resources preserved in the archive.

Do you have a haiku collection or chapbook published in 2021 or earlier that deserves renewed attention? Let us know. Book of the Week selections are curated by THF Digital Librarian Vidya Premkumar and featured with permission.