Prior to writing haiku, my poems had appeared in a number of publications, including Confrontation, Poet Lore, The Poetry Review, The Ekphrastic Review, Poetry Quarterly, POEM, The Aurorean and The Meridian Anthology. I taught special education for 30 years in the New York public school system and loved working with this population. I enjoyed composing music for these students and helping them bring out their own gifts. Presently, I live in upper Manhattan, close to Ft. Tryon Park. My husband and I raised our two daughters here. Unfortunately, my husband died this past year in May. We had been married for 63 years, and for the last five, he was on peritoneal dialysis, which we did in the apartment every night. During his illness, I was inspired to write a haiku.
Awards and Other Honors:
I was fortunate to be nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times. My poem "The Coat" won third place in the 2012 Tom Howard/John Reid Winning Writer's Contest, and I was a finalist in the 2016 Atlanta Review's International Poetry Competition.
Books Published:
Two Sides of a Ticket, Finishing Line Press (2014); When We Had Orchards When We Had Moonbeams, Xlibris (2022).
Selected Work
barefoot in the barn
wildflowers tickle my toes
through open cracks
winter playground
on a creaking swing
a sparrow
winter's end
our voices soar
through skeletal boughs
his frayed green jacket
slouched on its hook
scent of harvesting fills the house
garden walk
through heather paths
warblers trilling
a sailboat gliding
down the river
trees salute on shore
Credits:
"barefoot in the barn”; “winter playground“ – Cold Moon Journal, Sept. 7, 2025 & Jan. 18, 2026; “winter's end“ – Cattails October 2025 Issue; “his frayed green jacket“ – Autumn Moon Haiku Journal Vol. 9:1, Autumn/Winter 2025-26; “garden walk“ – Under the Bashō, Aug. 26, 2024; “a sailboat gliding“ – Haikuniverse, Feb. 28, 2024.
