The Līgo Haibun Challenge is hosted by Ye Pirate and Ese.
This week we are invited to be innovative. Instead of completing our prose with a haiku, we can choose an alternative style of oh-so-brief poetry. I have selected the Cambodian pathya vat style – four lines of poetry where the second and third lines must rhyme.
This week is also prompt week, and i have chosen the Mexican proverb ‘It is not enough to know how to ride – you must also know how to fall’ as my inspiration.
Please do go and check out the other entries by visiting the co-hosts’ blogs and finding the InLinkz linky thing! There are some very talented writers out there…
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– One Wild Song –
The weather yesterday was what I told myself to be the winter version of the day of my dad’s funeral – blue skies, here and there the odd wisp of teased, cotton wool clouds, everywhere crisp and bright.
It was a fitting day for us all to gather for his memorial service. A man who loved colour in his clothing as well as in his art, he would have delighted in such a day to celebrate his life, his achievements, his work.
Throughout the service – a mixture of classical music, hymns, choral works, poetry and other readings – I kept on thinking that I wouldn’t have been surprised if the man himself had arrived, charging down the aisle in a puff of cigar smoke, rainbow-hued tie flailing. It was all so ‘him’. The stunning surroundings, the atmosphere, the sheer grandeur of it all, yet wrapped in an intimacy so tangible it could almost be touched and held close.
So many amazing sentiments were expressed. They were touching, even humorous at times, topped off by a huge round of applause fit to lift St Paul’s Cathedral from its foundations and expose the OBE Chapel to the world outside.
It could have been no better.
clapping of hands stings in echoes for life that flows – sorrow no more
Most weeks of late, I have been taking part in the Ligo Haibun Challenge, where we are invited to write haibun, a Japanese writing form of prose interspersed or closing with haiku. It’s a very different form of writing, not to mention addictive!
I have been lucky enough to receive Honourable Mentions for two of my pieces now – quite different in voice (it’s not all about dystopia here!). I know how very good the other creations are – we all work hard at our craft! There is always something new to learn and read, and this form of writing does take me to unexpected places, I confess. So, thank you to Ese and Ye Pirate (not to mention Penny, who is there in the background) for mulling, reading, reviewing and discussing the pros and cons of all of our pieces. And thank you for my two awards! If you click on both of the badges, you can go directly to my pieces, if you haven’t read them already. If you would like to, of course… 🙂
The Līgo Haibun Challenge is hosted by Ye Pirate and Ese.
This week we can choose one of two word prompts, either Mirror or Faery, and I have chosen Mirror.
Please do go and check out the other entries by visiting the co-hosts’ blogs and finding the InLinkz linky thing! There are some very talented writers out there… I will visit each and every one as soon as I can!
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– No Words Necessary –
The mirror is my wicked step-mother, blasting ice-cold shards of criticism at my cowering reflection, hurling epithets that corkscrew their way into my ears, even though my back is turned, even though I am long gone.
The mirror is my Nemesis, my arch-enemy, my downfall. It knows when I am at my weakest. It knows when I need to look immaculate. It knows when I have the least time to attend to faults highlighted by the unforgiving light like emergency flares.
The mirror magnifies every little thing, every imperfection, all of my worst fears.
The mirror is no friend of mine.
manifesting faults amplifying blemishes abuse needs no words