In celebration of National Poetry Month, Bent Alaska presents “Wind Through Trees,” a collection of haiku by Barbara Soule.

Wind Through Trees

by Barbara Soule

The wind through the trees
Appears to be twittering
Many messages

Sigh in mountains to
Me, gesture with soft plant’s green
Murmured harmonies….

Clouds breaking the sun,
The breezes ciphering in
Whispers of nature.

Sunlight peeks through the
Trees as conversations float
By in muted waves….

Rain washes away
The heat and the dust leaving cool
Night air for sleeping

I close my eyes in
The coolness of the evening’s
Still, as the light fades.

The scent of the trees
In the chill of the night air
Soothes me as I dream….

About these poems

Traditionally, a haiku includes some aspect of nature. Twice now in this stage of my life I’ve made it my task to write a poem a day for a year. The majority of that time the writing came at the end of my day, just before I turned out my light, before I went to sleep, as I was attempting to quiet down my mind. Often, I was looking out my window at what nature exists in my yard, on my street, in an urban setting.

About the poet

Barbara J. Soule is a visual artist and writer of poetry, short stories, articles, essays and one woman stage performances. She is a long-time member of the LGBT community, receiving the 2008 Radical Woman Award from Radical Arts for Women (RAW) for outstanding contributions to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community. She and her partner co-facilitated the only Transgender Support group that meet weekly in the United States for three and a half years. In 2010, Ms. Soule was one of the spearheads for the Steering Committee for the 2011 LGBT Discrimination Survey.

Photo credit: Black cottonwood, 21 May 2006. Photo by Melissa S. Green.