Eagles, Evergreens and Poems: Haiku Poetry (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781939623188)

Have you ever longed to soar like an eagle over a majestic wilderness, unfettered, free as the wind and simply grateful to be alive? Or dreamed of being a proud and majestic evergreen, whose resolute branches steady the earth, sky and sun, dancing with the elements when the occasion beckons? This precious collection of haiku poems and illustrations is your passport to such dreams and beyond. They beautifully reflect Maria, alchemical distiller and author, and Sonia, maestro illustrator, two lovely and intensely creative souls. These transcendent haiku in words and images poignantly honor their inspirational origin, Bobby Charles' homage to his Maine childhood, to nature and country, as shared in his memoir Eagles and Evergreens: A Rural Maine Childhood...

-from the Publisher's Note, by Matthew Cross

The Sound of Water

This little volume is filled with joy of differing kinds, a mixture of joys-the way we like fresh cream, organic butter, a well-cooked egg, chocolate or vanilla, but artfully distilled, carefully curated, and lovingly assembled... in perfect measure, with perfect timing, color, and flavors. Suddenly before us: a melt-in-your-mouth soufflé. This volume is the soufflé. From the raw materials of poignant childhood stories collected, recalled, and retold in the 2018 book Eagles and Evergreens, a master poet and master artist have collaborated to produce a masterwork of extraordinary power and imagination-beautiful, elegant, reflective and uplifting. Like a French vintner harnessing the hot French sun, bathing castles and individual grapes alike, this volume brings together a haiku master, gifted in words, and a visual master, gifted in colors, to create a rich work of art akin to the best Bordeaux. And so, my introduction is short. The art that lies beyond it is what you have come for.

My introduction, like haiku, comes in three parts. First, let yourself flow with these poems and pictures, let your mind wander down old paths, and let yourself discover beautiful places of peace. Second, think of these poems and paintings as a source of inspiration, unlocking a special place where imagination can flourish. They are confectioner's sugar on crepes, dew drops on a leaf, moonlight on an orchard, a star atop a tree. Third, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the poet and artist. As one who does not possess their talent for haiku or colors, let me borrow from others. One of the great haiku poets, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), wrote poems that conveyed different emotions, including gratitude. One of Basho's haiku creations conveyed-to me-a kind of gratitude. Forever does an old pond lie unnoticed, until suddenly brought to life by a frog:

the old pond.

a frog leaps in.

sound of water.

Thank you, to this wonderful poet and wonderful artist, for bringing to my pond the sound of water.

--From the introduction by Robert B. Charles, author of Eagles and Evergreens: A Rural Maine Childhood,

the inspiration for this book