Vision is just another way of looking at things. The forest or the tree, I say. You can have both but not one without the other. Now, I’d rather you ask me a trick question. If you take no for an answer, we won’t be missing much. My neighbor stepped outside today but fell short by a foot. She could have caught herself, but that would imply she was a thief. The government said I owe money so I paid myself first. Oh, the things you hear when you’re not listening! I’d pay more attention if only I could afford it. I could go on, but instead, I went. The applause was the best, hands down.

Peter Jastermsky

A New England native, Peter Jastermsky lives in the high desert of Southern California. He is the author of eleven books of haiku-based work, and his writing has been featured in numerous journals and anthologies. In 2017, Peter invented a new linked form that is haiku-centered called a split sequence. His book Just Dust and Stone (Velvet Dusk Publishing, 2021) is a collection of collaborative split sequences, co-written with Bryan Rickert. Peter’s recent books include Where Days Begin: monoku (Cyberwit, 2023) and Into the Stillness (Red Moon Press, 2023), a collection of solo split sequences.

Author’s website: www.peterjastermsky.com

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ “Love Thing”: The Allure of the Split Sequence, an essay on process by Peter Jastermsky in Issue 9 of MacQ (August 2021)