August Blog Bash, Day 15 - Cara Holman @caraholman

Welcome to the Debut of the August Blog Bash 2012!

I am very much excited and honored to be hosting this new feature series... and it is a great way to end the summer!  This Blog Bash is an impressive talent showcase of poets, artists, and writers/authors from all walks of life.  For each day of this month, one individual will be featured here on this blog, at Origami Lotus Stones, my Twitter (hashtag will be #augblogbash), my Facebook community page, and on my blog page on Writing Our Way Home.  Please be patient while I post on all platforms. 

**Please note that all authors/artists have given me permission to post their work on the following platforms/sites I have just mentioned.  Please do not plagiarize, modify, reproduce, or distribute any work without permission from the original authors/artists.  Thank you!** If you are interested in participating in this Blog Bash, feel free to check out the details here.

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Today's Feature:  Cara Holman

I love the simplicity and ambiguity in this haiku.  Is it the "playground swing" really "kicking / at clouds" (as it might be a strong wind pushing it), someone pushing the swing (with no one on it), or someone who is on the swing really "kicking / at clouds"?  This is what I like to call minimalism haiku (minimalistic haiku?).  So few words, but the haiku itself says so much--so many interpretations and open for the reader's imagination and experience.  Haiku is already a short form, but Holman is very skilled to write a minimalistic one!  I love the fact that this haiku captures a wonderful part of childhood.  Playground swings are truly a classic experience. 

P.S.  NaHaiWriMo (hosted/created by Michael Dylan Welch) has such wonderful prompts!  This is a great way to share your work and oftentimes get it workshopped in the midst of seasoned haijins.

In this haiku, I love the lyricism in it, particularly with the sounds of "s."  What are secrets?  They are something whispered to another person's ear.  However, Holman adds a tangible feel to these "secrets" as they are like "corn silk / between [her] fingers."  In reading this haiku, I feel like I am sharing the experience of shucking corn while sharing secrets with the speaker of the poem (or author).  The sound of these secrets is like "corn silk," which makes these "secrets" even more alluring and at the same time, creates an experience of bonding or closeness with whomever the speaker/author is sharing this (the experience of shucking corn) with.  Or, to read this haiku in a different way, perhaps the speaker of the poem (or author) has secrets, but lets her hands ("fingers") do the talking.  There's such a stunning depth of interpretation to this gorgeous haiku! Beautiful work, Cara!  Thank you so much for sharing and being one of the contributors!  (NB:  Text arrangement on MS PowerPoint by Kathy Uyen Nguyen.  Please note that text/graphics will be in this format.)

To check out more of Cara's work, you can click on the following link(s): Prose Posies (blog/website) @caraholman (Twitter) Please do promote this new feature on Facebook, Twitter, etc.!  Thanks so much for all the support!  And look, my blog now has buttons (see below) to make your life easier!  Come back tomorrow for a new artist/author feature!