August 7, 2026
Indicators
predawn moon’s telltale
but for a crescent
drifting on the pond’s glass face
i would not have known
from my window space
to seek a tiny peephole
in the canopy;
even then only
a glimpse of the water’s twin
before clouds moved in
—dotty seiter
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2.25 x 2.25″; watercolor, pencil, and collage on paper
paper-tile unit from a living work in progress
2026
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Notes on poem and art:
• “predawn” is a single-stack triple haiku. I delighted in the fleeting experience of the moon magic itself and then delighted in the took-quite-awhile experience of putting that magic into words.
• Growing Care is just one of many paper tiles acting as telltales of my summer’s unfolding and this painting’s evolving. This work in progress got its start during the very first week of June as a concept that became a grid on paper, then went on vacation with me to Maine for nearly two weeks, next carried me through the window of “down” time between that vacation and FamFest26, went on to provide grounding moments each day during the two weeks of very lively family festivity, and continues now by connecting me to granddaughter Caroline and her Camp Takodah experience as I send one tile at a time through the mail to her.
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9 responses to “Indicators”
Oh…don’t you just love those fleeting moments that if you weren’t paying attention and paused to look….you would miss them. What a gift that sliver of a moon moment was for you and how well you captured it in your poem.
And maybe I missed it earlier….but now that I know these tiles are going to camp…I’m even more enamored. Connecting her to FamFest26 while she’s at camp is so special.
Yes!, I love those fleeting moments that might have been missed but for attention, and I wonder about all the moments I do miss! Not with judgment or regret, just wonder : ) That bright crescent
drifting on the pond’s glass face was a sweet gift for sure.Yeah, you may have missed some explanatory background info re the paper tiles in posts that went live while you were unplugged. I love sending the tiles to Caroline at camp. She borrows a container of pushpins from me each summer to take to camp, and I know at least some of them are being put (pushed hahaha!) into service to arrange these tiles one by one on the wall beside her bunk. Thanks for knowing how special that connection is : )
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Lola! Thank you for isolating those two short lines and letting me know how those particular words landed with you. One of the huge gifts of writing poetry is that it attunes me more than ever to seek a tiny peephole/in the canopy as I go through my days so as to focus my attention, then to find words for the very specific physical noticings, then to launch the poems into the world … and see what else I learn from them through the eyes of others. I LOVE the way those lines landed with you. LOVE.
And yes, yes, yes! You will see all of the tiles together at the end! Already scheduled!!
I’m hoping also that Caroline will take photos of them on her cabin wall at camp : )
Love, Love, Love! This poem is so lovely. It really touched my spirit, Dotty. A quiet revelation. And I love seeing your daily gifts to your granddaughter. Each so different, and yet comfortingly similar.
Pure delight! xoxo
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Always enjoy hearing what lines touch someone else; for you, those last two lines. Thanks, Carol. Part of the fun with that pair was expressing what I wanted to express in a line of 7 syllables followed by a line of 5 and having them rhyme organically before I noticed that they did so! Love that you know right where you usually see the crescent moon.
Ongoing project with the paper tiles continues to move along successfully. Four have been received by Caroline, one is in transit, four remain in the wings ready to go.
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