Photography © Jennifer Matthews

 

It’s Like Falling Asleep at the Wheel

It’s been one month
since the brutal attack and kidnapping
of hostages
and I can’t allow my mind to drift
where by default my mind wants to go.
Nothing good will come of it.

 

A Definition, Haiku for Shattered World #1

Aspiration means
hope and breath, when we forget
the trees remember.

 

Amidst The Heartbreak, Haiku for Shattered World #2

To search for beauty
in a broken world might be
the best we can do.

 

Looking Towards the Sky, Haiku for Shattered World #5

We saw only rain
till a rainbow showed itself.
Was it just a ruse?

 

When Sunrise Doesn’t Bring Clarity, Haiku for Shattered World #7

In the light of day
things appear more confusing
than ever before.

 

About Reflection, Haiku for Shattered World #8

Mirror images
are what we look for but not
always what we get.

 

Making Room for Hope, Haiku for Shattered World #9

In lieu of saving
even one soul I’m grasping
at geraniums.

 

Laurie Rosen is a lifelong New Englander. Her poetry has appeared in The Muddy River Poetry Review, Peregrine, Oddball Magazine, Wilderness House Literary Review, Gyroscope Review, The New Verse News, The Inquisitive Eater: a journal of The New School, One Art and elsewhere. Laurie won first place in poetry at the 2023 Marblehead, MA Festival of the Arts.

Poet/Photographer Jennifer Matthews’ poetry has been published in Nepal by Pen Himalaya and locally by the Wilderness Retreat Writers Organization, Midway Journal, The Somerville Times, Ibbetson Street Press and Boston Girl Guide. Jennifer was nominated for a poetry award by the Cambridge Arts Council for her book of Poetry Fairy Tales and Misdemeanors. Her songs have been released nationally and internationally and her photography has been used as covers for a number of Ibbetson Street Press poetry books and has been exhibited at The Middle East Restaurant, 1369 Coffeehouses, Sound Bites Restaurant in Somerville and McLean Hospital.