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There is the old saying, I know. “the grass is greener…”
it is an interesting one,
and sometimes literally true,
as well as metaphorically,
and can have to do with appearances and perceptions
as well as “reality” of course.
We ambled on the Ambler grounds here,
around the Wilson house,
and came to a place where the grass was distinctly greener,
in a small valley where water must have been.
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It reminded me that from the air,
flying into Philadelphia,
I noticed shades of green
that seemed to come from my Northeast childhood,
and my “forest heart” responded.
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Where have you felt,
or seen a greener green,
and how does it,
how has it affected you?
Autumn Frost from blogsite
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Kristjaan writes:
Today I love to share a, not so well known, haiku by (my master) Matsuo Basho
in which we can read and see how ancient Japanese honored their parents.
As they did honor their parents we see nowadays
more dis-honor for parents or likewise parents for their kids.
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melting in the heat of tears
autumn frost
life passes –
in the early sunlight
the ripe melts
frost on the branches
melts in the early sunlight
life passes
© Chèvrefeuille (2012)
my hair turned grey
as if it was the frost
on bare branches
a pebble
thrown into the old pond
in an eye blink it’s gone
© Chèvrefeuille (2012)
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.(c) Saradunn 2013 Full moon over Downeast Maine, USA
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The prompt:
Kaga no Chiyo, considered one of the foremost women haiku poets, began writing at the age of seven. She studied under two haiku masters who had themselves apprenticed with the great poet, Basho….
In 1755, Chiyo became a Buddhist nun —
not, she said, in order to renounce the world,
but as a way ‘to teach her heart to be like the clear water which flows night and day’.
From that moment on she is known as Chiyo-Ni (Ni means nun).
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| Credits: Chiyo-Ni (1703-1775) |
Chiyo-Ni is known for her wonderful Morning Glorie’s haiku, but today we don’t have a haiku on Morning Glories by her. We have another haiku written by her, not so wellknown I think, but a strong one. It’s an autumn haiku.
meigetsu ya ittemo ittemo yoso no sora
autumn’s bright moon,
however far I walked, still afar off
in an unknown sky
© Chiyo-Ni
In this haiku there is a feeling of separateness here which is not to be denied. The poetess realizes that she and the moon are two different entities, in a different sky, in a different world….
at the mountain top
it looks like I am bigger than the moon
in her first quarter
© Chèvrefeuille
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My inspired response:
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same moon shines bright
far away city and home
over the moon and back
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(c) 6/2013 Saradunn… Purple lupine
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I used to meet in the mirror
is no more.
Now I see a wasted face.
It dribbles tears.
I drew
the long clusters of wisteria
that move like waves
my pain will end yet
in the little garden
I had them plant
seeds of autumn flowers
the birch found its leaves –
my grief in green
Queen Anne’s Lace and chicory
in their swirling dance –
how the autumn-brown stalks
make me dream of summer
.coronapumpkinfarm.com Bee on Cantaloupe Blossom
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Today our second haiku by Yosa Buson. Buson
Buson had the honor to illustrate the first paper publication
In an earlier post at CDHK we had haiku about ”melon-flowers”
and the haiku by Buson which I love to share here is also on ”melons”.
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adabana wa ame ni utarete uri batake
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fruitless blossoms
are beaten by the rain
in the melon fields
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© Buson (Tr. by Thomas McAuley)
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A beautiful haiku I think …
well I hope it will inspire you to write haiku.
Here is my attempt to write a haiku in the spirit of Buson.
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every where I look
the yellow flowers of melons
after a sunny day
© Chèvrefeuille
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My response to the prompt:
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cantaloupe blossom
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long dry summer days and nights
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thirsty for rain
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(c) 2014 Saradunn. The Somesville Bridge, Maine, USA 7/7/2014
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Memory you can touch
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iconic bridge
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draped with American flag
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Inspiring
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special events celebrated here
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photographers gather
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note:
When the flag is on the Somesville, Maine, USA
bridge, I feel a swell of joy in my heart…today
I didn’t expect to see the flag, and I went across
the street to take more photos myself. Each time
the flag is draped from the bridge and the reflection
is like it is today… it causes me to reflect on the
flag and all it means to this country and me.
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Friday, July 4, 2014 prompt: tangible objects that remind us of absence
( I have been waiting to give this evocative prompt for the right moment, for more than a week.
It was suggested at our first Monday Tanka Meeting at Caltech by James Won.
He recalled the haiku written by Busan about stepping on his dead wife’s comb.
In fact his wife was alive at the time, and outlived him by 31 years!
But the incident of stepping on it,
and the premonition of absence was enough to create for Busan,
the inspiration for the fullness of the feeling of absence.
We all have moments like this.
What tangible object gives you ripples of feeling,
recalling (or anticipating) the absence of someone, a love, a friend, family, even yourself…
and makes those feelings tangible in this kind of vivid way.
How what vivid way do you bridge those feelings in your tanka?)
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July 4 prompt: tangible object that reminds of of absence
photo copyright 1992 Sigrid (Stevens) Saradunn, dancers, Libitzki School of Dance, Ellsworth, Maine, USA
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church Christmas bazaar
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from the Cole Land Transportation Museum
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from the Cole Land Transportation Museum
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World War II veterans who participate in Bangor’s Memorial Day Parade each year
siggiofmaine 