I’m in junior high when Woodstock happens, longing to live the flower child dream. In the late ’70s, I find my way to a California hippie haven where it’s still the ’60s.

back to the land

turning
vegetarian

I plant a garden
and make kefir
from goat’s milk

A former ugly duckling, I suddenly become the object of unfettered male attention. Nearly every freewheeling stud in the valley wants to grab a hug, a kiss, and more.

flattered

I half-heartedly
fend them off

wondering which one
might steal me
from my boyfriend

With heavy rains, the local swimming holes fill up. A couple dozen of us carpool to a primo backcountry spot. We pile our clothes on the rocks and ease into the chilly, waist-deep water.

sideways glances

everyone
checking out
the reality

of their favorite
fantasies

Soon my boyfriend buys a used VW van and moves back east. I start canoodling with one of those men, who introduces me to my first husband. And so it goes...

hiking alone

I return
to my first
love—

mountains
without end

Cynthia Anderson

A California resident and poet for more than 40 years, Cynthia Anderson is the author of eleven books, most recently a collection of haiku and senryu entitled Full Circle (Cholla Needles, 2022). Her poems have been published widely in journals and anthologies, and she has received multiple nominations for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. In 2020, she took up short-form poetry including haiku, senryu, cherita, haibun, and split sequences. Her recent work focuses on the natural world and her family history.

Cynthia is co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens (Green Poet Press). She makes her home in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park.

Author’s website: www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com

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⚡ Formerly Known as Ion, haibun by Cynthia Anderson which was nominated by MacQ for the Red Moon Anthologies, and selected for publication in Contemporary Haibun 17 (Red Moon Press, 2022).