2022 Book of Haiku

Some re-assembly
required, a year sifted through
52 haiku

Handmade book of original poems and drawings, 2 signatures, butterfly stitched, 64 pages.
Cover printed on Vandercook Letterpress.

35 numbered editions made

Click image for link to PDF
(c) Adrien Dawson

20 editions for sale – $50 + shipping. To order, email adrien.dawson@gmail.com

In 2022 my life became a unrecognizable.
Each morning I would awaken and wonder, “Who am I?”

I let go of my work.
I let go of my community of faith.
I let go of my marriage.
I let go of my address.
I let go of my calendar.
I let go…

One night in the darkness of 3am, I opened my hands and said out loud, “I consent, God. Whatever you ask me to let go of… I will let it go.”

I couldn’t sort out when was last week, a month ago, or yesterday.
In desperation, I wrote a small reflection each day and then a haiku at the end of each week. The poems became vessels, containers for points in time. In July, after 26 poems, I realized that these poems were taking on a life of their own. Strung together, like beads, they create a narrative of what remains after all the letting go. My body is reassembled, one week at a time, in this little book of word and image.
Thank you for re-membering me.

Adrien P. Dawson (Gehring)