Verse Wisconsin 105| Jari Thymian

Two Poems

my father
would enjoy
a tight wad
of rhubarb sprouting
from his grave

snowman
on the warm sidewalk
child pose

—Jari Thymian, Aurora, CO

Jari Thymian’s poetry has appeared in Simply Haiku, Ekphrasis, The Christian Science Monitor, Margie Review, Pedestal, Alehouse, and previously in Verse Wisconsin. jarithymian.com

I absolutely love these Japanese forms and use them often as a writing warm-up. I feel like they are meditation because I block out absolutely everything except what I’m focusing on. I enjoy the vivid images, the immediacy, and the impact they deliver with so few words. They are more difficult to write than they appear. In the ongoing 5-7-5 discussion among haiku writers, I’m on the side that believes that the Japanese sounds are much shorter than English syllables. Only by accident do I ever have a 5-7-5er.