Her mother holds our 20-month-old granddaughter and her new little sister we’ve only met in virtual space. She reaches out to us, smile a wisp of her usual full-faced lighting-up when she sees us. Then in goes the thumb, other hand playing with her ear as she does when she’s tired. In my arms, and my heart, this dull ache.

her starfish hands
touching the screen
nanna...gampa

—Republished here with author’s permission from Haiku in the time of COVID-19 (Facebook: 7 April 2020)

Marietta McGregor

is a retired botanist and science journalist who has lived in Canberra, Australia with her family for more than four decades. A photography enthusiast and keen world traveller, she is a late-comer to haiku. Her poetry and artworks appear in international journals, have been featured on Japanese television, and have won awards in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the United States.

To learn more, see Ms. McGregor’s Poet Profile at The Haiku Foundation.