I could write an essay, short story, perhaps even a book about Charles de Lint’s work and how long and how much I have loved it. But as I’m currently writing a haibun travel diary – prose accompanied by haiku – in the style of 17th century Japanese master poet Basho, I’ve chosen to encapsulate my feelings in the classic 3-line form.
Urban magician
Tales of terror and delight
What joy they bring me!
MaryAnn Harris in memoriam
She walks now the path
Of truth, ar shlí na fírinne,
With his love for her
(The Irish-language expression ar shlí na fírinne “on the way of truth” is the gentle phrase the Irish use to describe someone who has died.)
© O. R. Melling
O.R. Melling is an Irish-Canadian writer of Young Adult fantasy based on mythology and fairy folklore. She has also published two adult works of magic realism. Her current projects include a haibun travel diary about her pilgrimage across Spain on the Camino de Santiago, a translation of Dante’s Inferno on BlueSky with devil-may-care commentary, and a theatrical production about the climate crisis enhanced by XR (Extended Reality) technology, laser projection, holograms and electronic sound. Her haiku has recently appeared in several editions of the Haikuist Network of the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s three top newspapers.
Celebrating CdL 