For DVerse, a haibun about the present moment.
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.”
A haibun for DVerse, alluding to cherry blossoms, also partially inspired by FOWC: Slight, but mostly inspired by my family’s garden.
A warm afternoon at the end of March passes both languidly and much too quickly. The sky is blue, with no clouds blowing in the slight breeze. A monarch butterfly, black-and-orange wings majestic and beautiful flies — almost floats — nearly close enough to kiss the nose of an observer. The bird-feeders, filled for the first time in a long while, attract many other winged creatures, feathered things opening their hungry beaks.
And it is around now, when the cherry blossoms bloom at their peak.
Nature takes her time —
From the outside see Earth spin
Making us dizzy
This is for two prompts from MLMM: the Sunday Writing Prompt and Tale Weaver: Bookworm.
“Bookworms unite!” The loud cry
Came from a crowd congregated outside
The library, hoping for it to be reopened,
Making their voices heard, missing the
Multitudes of written words.
opening pages
newness held in waiting hands —
now there is quiet
The word for today’s FOWC: Moratorium, brought back memories. When I was in fifth grade, I took part in a spelling bee for my school district, and I won fourth place. The word that I misspelled was “moratorium,” which was an unfamiliar word to me and which I spelled with an I rather than an a. I guess you could say that, after I misspelled that word, there was a moratorium on spelling bee competitions for me. 🙂 At least until the next year, which I won.Â
It’s the second-to-last day of February, so what I’m loving today is…have I said “writing poems” yet? I love writing poems and wrote 9 today (of dubious merit).Â
For Frank’s current haikai challenge, I wrote a haibun about Ash Wednesday.
The ashes that are used to mark the foreheads of the faithful, as a sign of repentance, grief yet hope, are the ashes from the burnt palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. Since Palm Sunday was cancelled for the public last Lent, I wonder which branches were burned. They were burned along with the hope of certain earthly pleasures — a reminder that this was never meant to be anyone’s true home.
Symbol-filled ashes:
Journey to destination
Because life is Lent
A haibun for DVerse’s Poetics prompt about war poems. I really wasn’t sure about this category of poems, though I did like “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I also like Wilfred Owen, but as for writing my own….This is what I came up with.
A haibun for JusJoJan day 2, which is SoCS today. 🙂 The theme is “in the corner.” I’m not sure why I wrote this, as it surprised me a little bit, but that’s the fun of stream-of-consciousness writing: you must follow the stream!
This is a haibun for FFFC #98 and Frank J. Tassone’s haikai challenge about the New Year / Cold Moon. I tried to come up with a good title, but they were all either too silly or too sad. I don’t want to make the reader sad right from the get-go. 😉
She lies awake, waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square, for the new year to be ushered in with customary fanfare — or what passes for fanfare (or custom) in these strange times. Times Square is empty, people in their homes, hoping for a fuller year ahead.
silent snowy night:
2021 tiptoes
wolf under cold moon
For DVerse’s haibun Monday about Halloween and for FOWC: Merchandise.
The house is filled with ghosts and graves. Smiles are carved into all the pumpkins’ faces. Bats and cobwebs cling to the corners, hang from the eaves. Such timely horror, that no one believes.
no mere merchandise:
Nowadays this is the state
of those haunting here.
For the current Weekly Scribblings, Magaly has asked us to write about anything October. I was partially inspired by the moon (shocking, right? 😉 ), so this haibun is also linked to Frank’s challenge. I love it when multiple prompts synchronize! (Thank you to Fandango for that one.)
If Halloween is on a dark and stormy night, remember: the Hunter’s moon is shining, reflecting sun’s light, even if nobody sees it.
Likewise, if current life does not seem fruitful, know: the Harvest moon will share its bounty, even this very night.
Luna’s face imbibes
faraway sunlight, carries
kindness to the stars
