Category Haibun

Yitgadal v’yitkadash – dVerse Haibun Monday

freyathewriter 32 Comments

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Sitting in a hospital, watching and waiting for my father to die, that was my memory of three years ago. I remember the bizarre juxtaposition of the glorious, scorching summer outside, and sitting in the shadow of partially-drawn curtains, as if the room was already preparing us for mourning, for the stopping of all the clocks. A butterfly danced in the breeze of the oscillating fan, fluttering above our heads as if attempting to lighten the atmosphere, enticing us outside with the glories of Nature dusted brilliantly on its wings. It didn’t seem right that the heady perfume of honeysuckle should still waft in through the half open window whilst life was disappearing in front of our eyes. But on the other hand…

sunlight and fragrance

haunt our days with rich hints of

renewal – the end.

 

dVerse is back to its normal post-anniversary-celebration schedule, with Haibun Monday! This week, our lovely host Toni has asked us to write on the theme of summer, heat, keeping cool and our memories of the challenges of the dog days.

As you can see from above, my dad died in the summer three years ago, and it was the oddest experience, something so sad and challenging happening in such a heatwave. It didn’t seem quite right.

Please do hop on over to dVerse and see how others have interpreted the challenge – no haibun will be the same as any other!

Oh, and by the way, the name of this pieces is inspired by the opening words of the Jewish prayer, the Mourner’s Kaddish – the words mean ‘glorified and sanctified’.

 

Yokoburi – dVerse Haibun Monday

freyathewriter 49 Comments

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I need windscreen wipers for my glasses and a windproof umbrella. My coat needs sleeves with elasticated cuffs to shield my wrists from the chill deluge. I need shoes that don’t let the water in, that are impervious to the puddles. I need to love the rain. I relax into the squall, lift my eyes to the skies, admire the lowering clouds, see them pregnant and heavy with fat, luscious raindrops, relax my shoulders and smile. My fellow commuters, marching head-down across London Bridge might think me mad if they took a moment to look up from their intense march towards the office, the coffee shop, the cafe, the next bus stop. But if they did take that moment to look around them, perhaps that might mean they were rejoicing in Nature in all her English summer unpredictability too?

Lifting my eyes

to the clouds over sky-line

I become raindrops.

 

This is my first attempt at dVerse Haibun Monday – and how apt! This evening the sky was cloudless as I left London, and it was beautifully warm. This morning – well, it felt like Autumn, with wind, intense rain and to top it all – yep, it was Monday. The haibun does indeed reflect what happened – I realised I was making myself tense and a little bit more than a little bit fed up with fighting the elements, so decided to go with the flow. And believe me, there was a great deal of water swirling in the air and on the pavements!

Thank you to Toni for hosting! I hope my offering is what she is looking for. I’m no expert at haibun, am a little ‘light’ on what a ‘proper’ haibun is like, but I think I’ve gone some way to achieving what has been asked for!

Yokoburi is Japanese for ‘driving rain’. Who knew there were so many words for different types of rain, as Toni kindly shares with us?

Why not join in, or if you don’t feel up to it, at least pop on over and read what others have offered up?

Technicolour – dVerse Open Link Night

freyathewriter 38 Comments

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The skeletal beginnings and the nagging thought that maybe I can’t do it this time are soon engulfed in colour. I resist the temptation to fill the void with only one – scarlet in this case. No, I look closely and discern the many hues, the tones, the textures, the dark, the light. I dissect. I delight in the clatter as I discard one pencil for another. I revel in the aroma of graphite, pigment and wax. I rejoice in the rasp of wood on blade as I sharpen yet another to a pin-fine point.

I lose myself. I lose myself in the not-quite-smooth paper brushing against my hand. Cold pressed, hot pressed, Daler Rowney, Strathmore, Arches, Winsor & Newton – a magical mantra that is music to my ears. I lose myself in the creation of something where nothing once reigned.

I infuse paper
with the joy of rainbows – no
concerns can stop me

Tonight it’s the turn of the delectable and highly talented Bjorn to host the bar over at dVerse. I know that it’s usually Monday when we are invited to write a haibun, but I thought I’d mix it up a bit and share one with you this evening instead.

My other creative passion, relatively recently reignited, is art. Much like when I’m writing, I lose myself in the process, but in a very different way. I hope I’ve managed to impart that in my haibun!

Open Link Night is great fun, as are all the nights when the dVerse team open the doors and usher us in through the hallowed portals. Do come along, even if it’s just to read an enjoy. Or… why not take part yourself? I guarantee a warm welcome!