Gillena Cox lives in sunny St. James on the island of Trinidad.

A retired library assistant and married mom of two grown kids, she now passes her time dabbling in photography and writing haiku about the images she snaps.

She shares her pictures and poems on her blog, Lunch Break, and on her web site. In 2007, she published a book of haiku called Moments.

Gillena’s tropical environment is evident in her haiku. She writes of blooms and petals and butterflies.

She is drawn to haiku, she says, because the structure requires her to practice the art of abstraction.

However, she also likes the challenge of writing about the natural world. She likes “connecting so simply with nature and sharing an experience which is so fleeting,” she says. “Really it is deeply satisfying.”

Gillena’s haiku will be featured for the next five days.