Finally the newspaper announces he’s a member of the Bar, entitled to use “attorney at law” following his name. The proudest day of his life. My mother, thrilled, can barely contain her ebullience. I buy a bottle of Cold Duck, invite Aunt Mary and her husband to celebrate. We raise glasses high in the air as our voices rise to the chandelier except for Uncle Pete, who never got into law school.

On a gardenia
the painter
wipes his brush

Alexis Rotella

is an American poet, editor, artist, hypnotherapist, acupuncturist, and student of Chinese and energy medicine. She is author/editor of 40 books mostly related to Japanese poetry forms in English. Her latest book of haiga, Scattered Sunflowers, is about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She served as President of the Haiku Society of America, and editor of its house organ Frogpond (1984), and honorary curator of the American Haiku Archive. Rotella is founder and editor of several leading journals. Her mobile phone art has been exhibited internationally. She resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Alexis Rotella’s Blog

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Reciprocity, a haibun by Rotella in Thoughts About the Earth Series, Silver Birch Press (17 January 2022)

⚡ Time on My Butt, a tanka prose by Rotella about “waiting waiting waiting rooms” (30 October 2021)