A Charming Surprise

Holding in my hands

A four leaf clover you picked

Pressed inside my heart

___________________________

Afterword:

This haiku is a tribute to my Great Grandmother, Marie Bickerton. She was an amazing painter, an abstract expressionist during the 1950’s to 1970’s. Everything about her is special and astonishing to me. She had the most giggly personality and nothing ever phased her. She always kept an upbeat attitude, saying “Oh, you little pups!” whenever children around her did wrong. She taught art classes out of her basement and both my Mom and Aunt attended. Growing up, I developed a love for art myself, and she taught me the art of constructive criticism by always having something to say about my works. She was a very cool and quirky woman, keeping up with fashion trends even into her later years. She had many pretty blouses she would wear in wild colours and prints. She’d read tea leaves and talk to crows on her front lawn. I’m guessing that lawn was rich in four leaf clovers because I’ve found not one, but many, pressed inside heirloom books. Additionally, I’ve found heartwarming cards, newspaper clippings of art related articles, obituaries, illustrated jokes from the funny section, poems, and notes in her handwriting…which is so beautiful, much better than mine.

February 24th, 2023 is when I found the clover, but I can only imagine what decade this was picked and pressed in.