Two Haiku Poems Published in Leaf
My haiku/senryu poems “The Poet's Caste” and "Heat Wave" just got published in the online journal Leaf #4 on pages 3 and 42. The editor is Amanda White. Keith Evetts commented about "The Poet's Caste" on page 3. I'm so glad that he liked it! Here is a link to the new issue: https://leafjournal.io/leaf-issue-four-has-arrived/ "The Poet's Caste" began as a four-line poem, but I condensed this into a haiku/senryu about five years ago. It refers to the Hindu custom of having a bindi, which is a bright colored dot in the center of the forehead that is worn in the Indian subcontinent (particularly among Hindus in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia among Balinese, Filipino, Javanese, Sundanese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese, and Myanmar Hindus. It represents the opening of the third eye in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Bindu is the point or dot around which the mandala is created, representing the universe. I had many friends from India when I was a student at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, so I learned about Hindu customs…