Grenada

Inspiration When You Least Expect It

In May, my wife, Hollie, and I traveled to Grenada for a vacation. I had hoped to write haiku inspired by the vibrant, exotic setting, but found myself struggling to focus.

Hollie, a lover of tropical islands, surprised me. I expected her to spend her days lounging by the pool or beach, but instead, she handed me her iPhone to share something extraordinary. What followed was a conversation that left me in awe:

Me: This is a haiku.

Hollie: I guess so.

Me: Did you just write this haiku?

Hollie: Yeah. (smiling)

Me: Have you ever written a haiku before?

Hollie: No. Never.

Me: Wow.

Hollie, familiar with my poetry but never a poet herself, suddenly unleashed an inspired creative process unlike anything I’ve seen, taking her observations, filtering them through her thoughts and emotions and crafting them into haiku with raw authenticity.

I was already amazed, but then Hollie kept handing me her iPhone over the next few days, revealing seven of the most inspired haiku I’ve ever witnessed emerge in any given moment. She captured her experiences in their purest form, making this a highlight of our island stay.

She actually surpassed me in one regard with her poems. Her sequence of haiku, centered on a single theme or event, formed a gunsaku—something I’ve yet to write.

To say I was impressed is an understatement.

To celebrate this remarkable, spontaneous burst of creativity and to honor my wife, I present Hollie’s seven unedited haiku in her gunsaku, Grenada.

tropical breezes
fruity cocktails
heaven on earth

palm trees sway
a cloud bursts
liquid sunshine

turquoise waters
waves crashing
tropical paradise

sunshine
island breezes
my happy place

seven days
way too fast
next trip booked

nutmeg ice cream
toasted coconut
island delight

white frangipani
tucked in her hair
picture ready

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