NPM 2022 - Day 13

Today's poem is written to a set of unused stamps issued in 1934 as a tribute to the mothers of America. These particular stamps are from my father's stamp collection. 

This poem is written as a pair of senryu. Senryu is a three line poem written in the 5-7-5 form like haiku. While haiku focus on nature, senryu focus on human foibles. You can read more about this form at How to Write Senryu Poems: Understanding the Senryu Form.

This stamp is an engraving created by Thomas Carlyle. The image for the engraving comes from James Whistler's work, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871). Today it is better known as Whistler's Mother. You can learn more about this work at Whistler's Mother: Grey, Black, and White.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow and see what new inspiration I've found for a poem. Until then, you may want to read previous poems in this series. I'm also sharing these poems on my Instagram in case you want to see them all in one place. 

April 1 - Senryu to a photo of my grandmother as a child
April 2 - Haiku to my mother's recipe
April 3 - Dodoitsu to a war memento
April 4 - Choka to my mother's engagement announcement
April 5 - Gogyohka to the receipt for my mother's engagement ring
April 6 - Senryu to a student's drawing of my dad
April 7 - Tanka to a photo of my grandmother and her mother by a car
April 8 - Dodoitsu to a piece of V-mail from my great uncle 
April 9 - Senryu to a Christmas card from Paris during the war (1944)
April 10 - Somonka to a war letter to my father
April 11 - Dodoitsu to an early family portrait of my mother
April 12 - Senryu to a photo of WWII nose art