Category Ligo Haibun

Cuts Like a Knife – Līgo Haibun Challenge

freyathewriter 14 Comments

I have decided to dip another toe in the world of the haibun – a piece of prose followed by a haiku poem. The Līgo Haibun Challenge is hosted by Penny, Ye Pirate and Nightlake – why not take a trip to their blogs to find out more?

This week’s two alternative prompts are:

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough – Rabindranath Tagore

or
The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful  – E.E. Cummings

I have chosen Rabindranath Tagore as my inspiration – I hope you enjoy it.

Please do go and check out the other entries by visiting any of the co-hosts’ blogs and finding the InLinkz linky thing! There are some very talented writers out there…

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– Cuts Like a Knife* –

She sometimes forgets. Wrapped up in the treadmill of her days – the getting up, the showering, the dressing, the rushing out of the house; she is distracted.

Half a mind on this, the other on that.

But then, late at night, as she steps into her bedroom, switches on the lamp and bathes herself in its pool of yellow light, she catches a glimpse. She is peeling off the day; removing her jacket, her blouse, skirt and stockings. Her mirror records the moment, that millisecond when half-turned, she sees the inky etchings on her rose-blushed skin. It was a choice she made not so long ago, to record a time in her life that changed the path that she thought had been set.  A reminder that for her, life’s opportunities must not be taken for granted and yet sometimes, she also just needs to breathe.

the butterfly kiss
whisper-soft, yet knife sharp
in its impermanence

*Yes, I have Tagore’s quote etched on my skin, in a huge spiral across my back, starting at the base of my spine. Yes, this is autobiographical. No, you don’t get to see pictures!

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Random Beauty – Līgo Haibun Challenge

freyathewriter 22 Comments

This week, I have decided to dip another toe in the world of the haibun – a piece of prose followed by a haiku poem. The Līgo Haibun Challenge is hosted by Penny, Ye Pirate and Nightlake – why not take a trip to their blogs to find out more?

This week’s two alternative prompts are photos – I have chosen the one below.

Copyright - Ye Pirate

Copyright – Ye Pirate

Please do go and check out the other entries by visiting any of the co-hosts’ blogs and finding the InLinkz linky thing! There are some very talented writers out there…

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– Random Beauty –

A long, winding path. No matter how far along I tread, no matter how I crane my neck and squint into the distance, I can never quite manage to see what lies ahead.

Uncertainty. That is our destiny. The not-knowing, the random, the accidental. These are life’s greatest gifts. They are our freedom, if we care to open our eyes to their possibilities. There is no wrong choice, just a different result. Life still continues, whilst we still breathe.

roll your dice and smile
open hearts and all possible
outcomes can be yours

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Life Lessons – Līgo Haibun Challenge

freyathewriter 21 Comments

This week, I have decided to dip another toe in the world of the haibun – a piece of prose followed by a haiku poem. The Līgo Haibun Challenge is hosted by Penny, Ye Pirate and Nightlake – why not take a trip to their blogs to find out more?

This week’s two alternative prompts are the following words:

Paradise

Apathy

I have chosen ‘apathy’ – because I really couldn’t be bothered wih paradise… 🙂

Please do go and check out the other entries by visiting any of the co-hosts’ blogs and finding the InLinkz linky thing! There are some very talented writers out there…

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– Life Lessons –

Recently, there have been days when I have fought hard to just drag myself out of bed. There have been moments when I have wondered (sometimes out loud) ‘What’s the point?’

Life is never what we plan. Lucky is the old man who can look back on the decades and think ‘Yes, this is what I imagined it to be’. Did he achieve everything that he wanted, when all was said and done?

Probably not.

The trick is to pull yourself through the dark parts so that they don’t drag you down. Learn from them, don’t let them consume you, nor let them take control of your life. Don’t let your darkest predictions become your reality. Do not, do not become apathetic in the face of life’s tough stuff.

Life can be terrible and wonderful. It usually has elements of both for all of us. And yet, we can spend so much time focusing on the disaster, wallowing in it, letting it define us and allowing it to stop us in our tracks that the autumn and winter of our lives arrive like an express train, whilst we barely notice the joy of the spring and summer.

Not bothering, not experiencing, not being in the world – terrible choices, all. Take time to breathe when life knocks you sideways, because it surely will. Don’t take the choice of opting out. Regrets lie there, aplenty.

life lessons are tough

the trick is to learn them well

winter comes quickly

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