Closeness of Friends

Today’s SoCS prompt is near / far. The very first thing I thought about when I read that was the theme song from the Titanic movie, but I was not going to write about that, so here is the haibun that went through my brain this evening (haibuns fit really well with this stream-of-consciousness writing, in general).

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I feel close to my online friends, even though they’re far away. Whether they live on the other side of the ocean or in the next state, we “see” each other through computer screens and user names. Yet we share our real worries, and we pray together, taking time to celebrate friendship and victories.

On the other hand, on the other side of my house are people I often feel most far-away from.

deep virtual bonds
easing pain of loneliness —
alleviated

 

Away from School

Today at DVerse, it is haibun Monday, and the theme is, appropriately, “back to school.” I am happy to be out of school, since even though there were aspects of it that I liked, it would also generate so much anxiety and overwhelm. At the same time, here I am post-college, and there’s still a ton of anxiety and depression, so life’s probably not any better. Anyway, I wasn’t going to post this haibun, but today is one of those days when I probably won’t write anything better, so here you go.

SoCS : My…

As the title shows, this haibun is for stream-of-consciousness Saturday. It is also in response to FOWC: Field.

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My major in college was French, and I have considered working in the field of education. I have always loved languages, and my high-school French teacher imparted to me a deep love of that language and culture. I had been considering teaching it at the high-school level, but I’m not sure about being a teacher anymore, especially since Covid has left so much up in the air. Masking and “social distancing” is still a thing, and when will this ever end? It also sets a disturbing precedent because what about when the next contagion comes along? This wasn’t supposed to be about Covid, but that’s what you get with SoC writing. Look at how Covid infects EVERYTHING, still, these days!

the future
a foreign language
no one knows

Flashback Friday: Grant Us Peace

For Fandango’s Flashback Friday, I am sharing a haibun that I wrote 3 years ago, since August 6th is both the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and it is the feast of the Transfiguration, when Jesus goes up on a mountain with Peter, James, and John and is “transfigured” so that they are briefly able to see Jesus’s divinity revealed. The original post is here.

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In an island nation in the Pacific, a city is transfigured in a flash of light — complete destruction in an instant.

On a mountain in the Middle East, Jesus is transfigured in a flash of light — our hope of glory and eternal life.

Oh God, transfigure hearts — that we may find and bring peace.

Change may come slowly:
Tiny blossoms’ aroma,
While snowfall lingers

Life is hard when you feel things.

But why must all the operations in life be performed without an anesthetic?
– Ernest Hemingway, To Have and Have Not (1937)

Fruits of Our Labor

A haibun alluding to the solstice for DVerse’s Haibun Monday.

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Sweet, ripe strawberries convey the taste of summer. Store-bought may be bigger, but nothing can beat the beauty of garden-grown. The sun from my own back yard reddens the fruits, which have grown from hand-planted seeds, just as this daylight has grown from the seeds of winter nights. Teeth sink gratefully into the fruits of our labor.

This moment stands still
Reaching the peak of ripeness —
Sweet strawberry juice

Driven Crazy

For SoCS: Drive and FOWC: Snap. This became a haibun.

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What drives me crazy?

When people use apostrophes to pluralize their words.

Sometimes, my mother sends me pictures of poorly-written signs, and it makes me want to snap!!

though I cannot drive
I can be driven crazy
by punctuation

A Modular Life

Well, in not posting yesterday, I broke my 2-month+ posting streak. It felt weird not to share anything, but I had a full day, and of course I wrote a few things. 🙂 Today, I’m sharing a haibun inspired by FOWC: Modular and DVerse Poetics’s prompt about risk. I looked up the definition of “modular,”and it made me think of furniture from IKEA.

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Noticing the Flourishing

May’s full moon is on Wednesday, and it is known as the Flower Moon, as Frank, the host of DVerse Haibun Monday, says.

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This month, I have noticed a wealth of new flowers in the garden: varying shapes and shades, hues of pink and yellow, almost whatever one could name. Bees are busy pollinating, and the blueberries, too, are growing and ripening from a gentle light-green. We have already picked a bowlful; soon the fruits will fill baskets. The garden is waiting to give many other fruits and vegetables as treasures.

after heat of day
buzz of all activity
rests under the moon

 

What Was Now

For DVerse, a haibun about the present moment.

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Lungs continue to inflate. Outside, white clouds are Rorschach blots in a sea of sky. The neighbors’ cypress tree is leaning as the wind breathes. Lungs hold their precious breath as birds chip. Lungs let go: Exhale.

sunny afternoon
notice past preconceptions
a breeze — a shiver

This picture was taken when 11 months ago was “now.”