Behind the Heian Jingu shrine, cherry
blossoms weep into sky-coloured ponds.
A week early, a…
Just posted Part 41 of the series “A story in many unequal parts, some missing”. This one is filled with memories of Kyoto. Read the whole poem here.
japan
Almost
no answers
yet no questions
I return empty
***
gibbous moon
see how radiant
almost
***
the wind that brushes my lips
drifts away
I with it
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) concludes. From Tsuruga, Basho travels to Ogaki, where a joyful reunion with Sora and other friends marks the end of his trip. But, like a troubadour who cannot sing his songs in the same place for long, he soon sets off again, torn from his home, as he says, like a clam from its shell.
Previous posts in this series are HERE.
I have followed in Basho’s footsteps this entire month through the prompts at CDHK. Grateful to all who travelled along with me. Your support was invaluable. Hope 2016 brings with it many new journeys and more beautiful poetry. Have a wonderful new year!!
Wordless Dusk
then I remembered
how the twilight
curls around your fragile wrist
***
everything is bearable
except this silence
that swallows your name
***
all my journeys
all my poems
awash in this wordless dusk
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. From Fukui, Basho travels with the poet Tosai to see the full moon over Tsuruga harbour. Passing the Uguisu barrier with the first wild geese of Autumn, he is struck by the moonlight on the sand at the Kehi Shrine. Waiting for a clear day through the variable Northern weather, he takes a boat trip to the island of Iro-no-Hama, where glass of warm Sake in his hand, he feels the desperate isolation of the beach at dusk.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Say Goodbye
like a horizon
splitting two worlds
this goodbye
***
now what does it matter
that the blue moon
will rise tomorrow
***
the goodbye
fallen between us
whose is it now
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. At Maruoka, Basho expresses sadness at parting with yet another friend who had accompanied him from Kanazawa.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Solitary Road
my fickle companion
shrinks again-
even my shadow seems indisposed
***
wearing her dancing shoes
one breathless leaf
waits for the autumn breeze
***
now my sentences
fall unfinished
on this solitary road
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. Basho expresses his loneliness after his loyal companion Sora falls ill and he is forced to travel alone from Yamanaka.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Frozen Moonlight
why search for words-
when the frozen moonlight
sings aloud for us
***
how low
the night bows
to her kohl-lined eyes
***
rainbows dissolve
as the sky slides down
to watch the peacocks dance
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. At the Yamanaka Onsen (hot springs), Basho feels chrysanthemums have been made redundant by the fragrance of the water.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Farewell Kiss
dawn sky
why does the sickle moon
still hang over the cherry blossoms
***
interrupting
the bulbul’s dirge
one love-struck toad
I
***
farewell kiss
on dawn’s glowing cheek
a dark smudge
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. Marvelling at the beauty of the town’s name, Basho worships at the shrine in Komatsu, where he observes the fleeting nature of glory in the incongruity of a cricket chirping inside an intricately patterned ancient battle helmet.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Chattering Leaves
chattering leaves
how long
is their story
***
last monsoon cloud
weeps on a rocky shoulder
soft rain
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. On the road to Kanazawa, Basho remarks on the presence of autumn, despite the indifferent sun… a reminder of the changing season.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Mourning
after the comma
sadly
nothing
***
there
in another unmarked grave-
another unfinished poem
***
mourning-
the way the sky
brushes a broken wing
Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where Basho’s journey to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi) continues. Crossing the many rapids of he River Kurobe, past fragrant paddy fields, Basho reaches Kanazawa where he attends the memorial service for a young poet, mourning his loss.
Previous posts in this series are HERE
Desert Rose
sharing
the blanket of night
we sleep under different stars
***
in the warm night air
fragrance of the desert rose-
who sighs so sweet
THOUGHT PURGE 