A longtime non-fiction writer, only in recent years has Rita developed a passion for poetry to the point that even her prose tends to be…poetic.

She likes to write about all facets of love and beauty, even when hidden in the ugly parts of life, about the richness, depth and breadth of that kaleidoscopic flow that moves the stars, the universe, that cradles a human and non-human heart.  That’s what inspires and awakens her being, lets her fly in the dark of the cosmos, sit inside a slice of the moon, as if it were a balcony climbed up by a woman’s song.  And that song may often be a haiku that wakes her up at dawn while still dreaming, and wants to be written down.  Often, she even writes inside her dreams only to discover that what was written was never actually recorded!”

She is a haiku poet.  Her work has appeared in Haiku Journals such as Haiku Dialogue, The Scarlet Dragonfly, Poetry Pea, Mariposa, haikuNetra, Presence, ColdMoon, Autumn Moon Haiku Journal, and in SDPA and SCHSG Anthologies such as “Red Paper Parasols” and The Taste of Sunlight”.  Her Tanka too have been published in Journals like Ribbons (USA), Gusts (Canada) and Presence (UK) as well as in the Tanka Society of America Anthology.

A world traveler, Rita lives in the USA in a forest overlooking the Mississippi River.  This is a perfect setting also for her photography and creating haiga, the Japanese form of poetry combined with visual art.  The ancient trees, native plants, gardens and wild life are a constant inspiration for her writing.  Oneness with Nature and Beauty is present in the unfolding of the seasons and ultimately, the wonders of interbeing and living The Way…of Love.   

Her first Haiku Book will make its debut soon…stay posted!

For now, here some of Rita Melissano’s HAIKU: