final prognosis different clouds on the horizon

Published by

Marion Clarke

Marion Clarke is a poet and visual artist from Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. She has been studying and writing haiku for over a decade and her work features regularly in international journals. Winner of two Sakura awards in the the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Contest, and shortlisted in the Touchstone Awards, Clarke?s poetry is included by invitation in two national collections of haiku from the island of Ireland. A selection of her poetry and artwork is at http://seaviewwarrenpoint.wordpress.com/

35 thoughts on “”

    1. Hmm, yes that's prettier – but to me it doesn't doesn't express the same hard to digest emotion. It's a 'nice' view of loss, expressed by an onlooker.

    2. Gary, I want to be clear: tinywords is not a workshop site. We're looking for responses to the haiku and micropoems published here, or for polite comments. Not critiques. There are plenty of other places to critique or workshop haiku.

  1. .
    final prognosis different clouds on the horizon

    —MARION CLARKE

    I am so sorry for your loss. Even without knowing a little background, I would know this is a close member of your family.

    Those first two words really hit hard and yet you do something magical with the next words. Haunting, poignant, and yet oddly uplifting as we make precious of what little time any of us have left.

    warm regards,

    Alan

  2. I disagree with Gatry Michael Dault…"prognosis" is key to the authenticity of this piece. I'm also not sure it refers to the loss of a loved one. I took it to be about a literal change in some health related journey and how that now impacts the view of the future. Either way, I love the chosen imagery. Very nice.

  3. This was powerful for me too; anyone facing serious illness of self or a loved one knows those sometimes heavy, sometimes teasing, shape-shifting clouds, and that horizon of hope … thank you.

    test results conclusive still I ask the same question

  4. I’m pleased your weighty haiku made it in the early part of the new year, where hope abounds. In all of our bright hope, there are some who traveled into it with cloud disturbances trailing.

    Jan Benson

  5. I'm so sorry about your sister's passing, Marion. This is a beautiful and deeply touching poem. Those first two words are so powerful…and then the magic comes.

Respond here