Land Shapes

These poems and visual art shape themselves delicately into a kaleidoscope of meaning. It’s not often that a series of poems can pull you from your daily life and immerse you in a world that is wholly peaceful and resonant. These quietly powerful haiku poems lead the reader inside many layers and then, underneath layers. Each poem supports the others in a creative way. These wonderful poems slow the reader to a meditative state and take us all to a place where we are one with the blossoms, the earth, the shapes of ourselves, our world.

— Connie Post Poet, Laureate Emerita Livermore, California 2005-2009 Connie Post has written eight books of poetry.

Haiku may be the easiest poems to read, but they are among the most difficult to write with anything like the delicacy and insight of the original Japanese form. Sherry Weaver Smith’s haiku in Land Shapes achieve a kind of mesmerizing grace; taken together, they weave a gossamer tapestry of life—from the poignant image of a baby’s fingers curled around its mother's thumb to the grandeur of 'a river where they felt the world began.' Enriched by the almost calligraphic watercolor illustrations by Sylvia Van Strijthem, this small book is a gift to the reader.

— Sally Zakariya, poet, author several books of poetry and placements across multiple genres