soundless —
the rain falls from
flower to moss
Published by
Cindy Zackowitz
Alaska poet and photographer Cindy Zackowitz was born in 1965 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her untimely death in 2012 deeply saddened all who knew her. She was a life-long Alaskan, and graduated from the University of Alaska with a BA in Journalism/Photography. Cindy was a long-time member of the Haiku Society of America, serving three terms as Regional Coordinator for the Alaska Region and co-founding the Alaska Haiku Society. She was one of the early members of the Shiki Internet Haiku Salon. Her haiku appeared in leading haiku journals and many received special honors. A highly-skilled photographer, her photographs, too, won several awards. Her keen perceptions of the Alaska landscape are clearly captured in words as focused as her camera. View all posts by Cindy Zackowitz
Miss her and her lovely poetry
Thank you–yes, we all do…. (her family)
Lovely, just lovely.
Thank you, tiny words.
Quietly, gorgeously, intimately wonderful. You are greatly missed Cindy.
respectfully,
Alan
Thank you for your very kind words about our Cindy's expertise. She was so humble about herself–a beautiful attribute of her talents…..
Haikus about smells, sounds, sights, sensations can be commented on. But a haiku about the absence of a sound has a special kind of reality.
Beautiful, evocative words.
Quiet and gentle, so peaceful.
Alan's response prompted me to read about Cindy's untimely passing and visit her Flickr website, and the poignancy of the reflections leaves me wondering whether this haiku is Cindy's death poem? If not purposefully written as such, it certainly stands as a perfect modern embodiment of that sabi art.
For some people, the journey of life is long, beginning like a raindrop in the clouds. But for others, the journey back to earth is short. Cindy begins by making us hush – to focus on our other senses. As in her photography in which she continually strove to achieve a close observation of life, so this poem is writ in macro focus.
Then we can see the gentle movement of a raindrop, passing from beauty to beauty – from the flower to a gentle bed of moss.
The image has such peace, such tranquility – indeed such calm spirituality. Cindy has left us a wonderful model for appreciating the brevity of life and facing the inevitability of death.
Truly beautiful.
My condolences to her family, and my thanks for sharing this work with us.
Strider
Strider,
Than you for your wonderful words about Cindy and her haiku. She was immensely blessed with her ability to capture life in poetry and photography. Her talents are becoming more realized by us, her family, than previously known. She was a private person who kept a lot of her feelings to herself. We have come to know so much about her through her haiku and photography. I am her oldest sister, who has always loved her for the closeness we shared in the same room growing up. However, I was 12 and she was 1. Cindy has captured so many beautiful moments in her photography and haiku–I am proud to be her sister!! (I speak for my family in that we all miss her tremendously, but are happy to have so much of her legacy to live on!!
This is simply lovely!
The softness of a raindrop falling into moss beautifully captured.