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| Photo: Trym Asserson |
You wouldn't know it by the weather here in Florida, but the writing's on the wall–
summer is drawing to a close.
Soon I will be forced to let go of lazy days and loose, unstructured schedules. Until then, I'm grabbing every moment of quiet, reflective time I can get my hands on. That's what makes today's visit in the Haiku Garden all the more special.
Joining me today is a man of many talents: Charles Waters. Charles is a children's poet, poetry performer, actor, teacher, activist, friend... I've probably forgotten a few, though I'm not sure it matters once you've reached a half dozen. One of the things I find remarkable about Charles is that he actually pulls it all off. While some of us require sleep, Charles is a preeminent go-getter. He doesn't wait for opportunities, he makes them.
And let's talk about his swoon-worthy poetry, shall we? Charles' work has appeared in numerous anthologies. In 2015 alone, he has appeared in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (Vardell/Wong) and Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems (Hoyte), and will also appear in J. Patrick Lewis' The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry and Lee Bennett Hopkins' Amazing Places, both forthcoming this October.
Leading up to today's haiku, Charles shares with us a few lesser-known personal attributes– nature lover, allergy sufferer, and vegan:
I had a love/hate relationship with nature for many years. While I admired its beauty, washing my eyes over its visual splendor, I had the worst case of allergies in U.S. history. I'm exaggerating, but only a little. Pollen/dust have always been thine enemy.
However, some of this discomfort may have been from food, as well. Since becoming a vegan there has been a major decrease in scratchy throat, itchy eyes, sneezing, and coughing. This has given me an opportunity to be less apprehensive in strolling inside nature, like a poet detective, looking for clues on the unfolding of our universe.
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| Photo: Alan Howe Landscapes |
Straw colored swaths stretch
From tufted bed drinking in
Nature’s nourishment.
© 2015 Charles Waters.
All rights reserved.
For Charles, all roads lead to inspiration.
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| Photo: Fiona in Eden |
He has appeared in several national theater touring companies including The National Theater for the Performing Arts, The National Theater for Children and Poetry Alive!, AND he's been on television– how cool is that? He conducts his one man show POETRY TIME, as well as poetry performance workshops for elementary and middle school audiences, all over the nation. It's been said that "Poetry comes alive when Charles takes the stage!" and I, for one, believe it. To find out more about Charles' books and workshops or to watch a sampling of "Poetry Time" videos, visit Charles' website: charleswaterspoetry.com.
Thank you for stopping by the Haiku Garden, Charles,
and for sustaining us with your nourishing words.
