Life at Seventeen Syllables a Day: A Journal in Haiku

By Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

A collection of haiku written from March 18, 2013, to March 18, 2014. One poem was written every day and inspired by something the author saw or experienced that day. Some poems are literal while others are symbolic. Almazan hopes this collection will inspire you to find more poetry in your daily life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Solar Unicorn Publishing
• Release date: Mar 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781386889878

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan started reading at the age of three and only stops when absolutely required to. Although she hasn’t been writing quite that long, she did compose a very simple play in German during middle school. Her science fiction novella Move Over Ms. L. (an early version of Lyon’s Legacy) earned an Honorable Mention in the 2001 UPC Science Fiction Awards, and her short story “A Reptile at the Reunion” was published in the anthology Firestorm of Dragons. Other published works by Sandra include Twinned Universes, the sequel to Lyon's Legacy; Seasons' Beginnings, Book One of the fantasy Season Avatars series; and several science fiction and fantasy short stories. She is a founding member of Broad Universe, which promotes science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by women. Her undergraduate degree is in molecular biology/English, and she has a Master of Technical and Scientific Communication degree. Her day job is QA Representative for enzyme company; she’s also been a technical writer and a part-time copyeditor for a local newspaper. Some of her other accomplishments are losing on Jeopardy! and taking a stuffed orca to three continents. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, Eugene; and son, Alex. In her rare moments of free time, she enjoys crocheting, listening to classic rock (particularly the Beatles), and watching improv comedy.  

Book preview

Life at Seventeen Syllables

a Day:

A Journal in Haiku

Life at Seventeen Syllables a Day: A Journal in Haiku

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

Copyright © 2014 by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, printing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

CONTENTS

Introduction

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Afterword

Other Works by the Author

About the Author

introduction

I REMEMBER THE MOMENT well. It was Monday, March 18, 2013, in the early afternoon. As I looked out the window at work, I noticed robins in the snow. The image inspired a haiku to pop into my mind. The experience was so effortless I immediately thought I should write a haiku every day. Then I decided I would write a haiku every day for a year, using something that happened that day as inspiration, and at the end of the year I would publish the collection. You’re holding the result in your hands.

These poems were written between March 18, 2013, and March 17, 2014. For convenience, I’ve organized them according to the calendar instead of in chronological order.

I wrote these haikus under different conditions. Some were written first thing in the morning, others right before I went to bed. Some were hastily written on scraps of paper, some were composed on the laptop. Some are literal, some are figurative. Many of them are inspired by my family. I hope there are at least a few poems in here that resonate with you.

January

January 1

THE SNOW KEPT FALLING,

We kept on shoveling, and

Alex kept shooting.

January 2

The moon—a blue