A Truly Cold Moon ~ haibun

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr

A Truly Cold Moon

Having decided not to travel for the holidays, I am on the road in mid-December, nonetheless. Life does not always proceed according to plan, and the loss of a loved one takes precedence. The heart of my brother-in-law has been broken since the death of his wife, my sister, ten years ago, and it finally succumbed to the weight it has carried all these years. There is one less light in this world.

viewed in my travels
moon rises in a dark time
cold night in my heart

This haibun is my response to Frank Tassone’s #Haikai Challenge # 129: Cold Moon.
The Cold Moon also is known as The Moon Before the Yule.

Linked to OpenLinkNight #256 at dVerse ~ Poets Pub

Moon photo: 11 December 2019

64 thoughts on “A Truly Cold Moon ~ haibun”

  4. Very sorry for your loss, Ken. I’m acutely conscious of the preciousness of these family relationships – your haibun arrives just as my own brother and sister fly to me for an early Christmas. Safe travels!

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  5. A touching farewell to your brother-in-law – a tribute to family ties that extend to in-laws and beyond any legal connections.

    Something about the moon haunts (all we see is reflection of another’s light, but ever returning) … makes me recognize I’m a temporary flash. Though temporary, humans can leave a glow reflecting in the hearts of others long after their lights go out. Thank you for sharing.

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    • Thank you, Merril.
      Travel “to” was uneventful – blue skies and dry roads. Today’s service was in a rural area south of Buffalo, in Western New York’s “snowbelt.” True to form, wet snow started falling just after the service, and the drive on country roads, and even on I-86, was harrowing as I drove afterwards, from there to Cleveland. Fortunately, it became rain just west of Erie. As I approach Columbus on my eleven-hour drive home tomorrow, it will take me out of the snow that will hit here in Cleveland in the morning . Meanwhile, heavy snow is coming to mid-Missouri tomorrow afternoon, before I make it home. On the plus side, I’m having lunch with a poet in Indianapolis!

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      • It does not sound like a fun drive, but I hope you have a good lunch. I’m glad my in-laws did not live in Erie for too long. That one drive at Christmas time in the snow was enough for me (even though I wasn’t doing the driving).

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  20. Pingback: #Haikai Challenge #117 (12/14/19): Midwinter (mafuyu)/Midsummer (manastu) #haiku #senryu #haibun #tanka #haiga #renga – Frank J. Tassone

  21. Ken it is a cold and lonely time of year, where loss weighs heavy on the heart. I’m so sorry your brother in-law passed, especially when nights are long. My condolences to your and loved ones for his passing.

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