Time in with Haiku

 

 

During these chaotic times, it is necessary for me to stop and recharge.  I was lucky enough to stumble upon the St. Placid Priory, which offers online programs.   On August 18th, 2020, I had the pleasure of participating in Sharing the Creative Spark, presented by Margaret D. McGee.  Margaret is the author of Haiku - The Sacred Art (Skylight Paths Publishing) and an experienced facilitator of prose and poetry writing workshops.

Sharing the Creative Spark, was based in the working definition of haiku as, “a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.”  In addition, we were introduced to the tan-renga, a form of Japanese collaborative poetry writing.  In tan-renga, one person writes a haiku, which consists of 3 lines.  Then the second person finishes the poem by adding 2 lines.

Tan-renga

Sandstone porch wall
shades blooming pansies
from the hot dry wind

                              Ruth Ann Bohler
Water droplets of mist
a lace mantel over arid air
                              Victoria Marie

 

As part of the workshop, we were instructed to go outside, take in the sights and sounds—and write.  Porch sitting for 25 minutes, one street off a main traffic artery, produced the following summer observations.

Summer Porch Reflections in Haiku

 

City in summer
trees whispering in the wind
amid a cacophony of sound

Summer on the porch
butterflies and windchimes
erase the traffic noise

Covid summer
makes time
to see the flowers

Summer midday
while butterflies frolic
birds are napping

Summer
a city girl learns
she has a verdant heart.

 

Thank you, Margaret, for a brief respite from all the chatter that’s going on in my mind by calling me to see the life and beauty that is going on all around me.

 

 

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