even an old man
has New Year’s eyes…
cherry blossoms
Issa
seeing potential
in arrival of new year
even in old age
The prompt for Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #85 Photo-shopping haiku – cherry blossoms is to “photo-shop” or remake a haiku by Kobayashi Issa (above in blue), by making a minor edit. I had a hard time stopping at “minor.”
Image source: Minneapolis Institute of Arts – Old Man Who Made Blossoms Bloom, by Sonsai Kōitsu
Unfortunate Turn of Events
No one saw it coming.
Hills. Valleys. Bluffs.
They’re not conducive to tornadoes.
Technology changes everything,
showed this one developing.
And so it came.
Middle of the night.
Sirens wailing.
Cars and houses sailing.
Walls in pieces.
Roofs gone.
Ours still over our head.
Close enough to go down
to the corner and see
the damage. Feel lucky.
It’s said they turn
counterclockwise.
This one twisted right past us.
A tornado passed within a mile of our home last night, causing extensive damage in Jefferson City, Missouri. Several homes and businesses were destroyed. There were injuries, but no fatalities.
Image source: fox2now.com – aerial photos of damage
& screenshot of local news
Unknown Horizon
I once thought it was the separation
of distance that magnifies
this richness I find in family.
Now I understand it is age,
with reflections on the past
replaced by a wistfulness
for future lives I will never know,
as they continue without me.
This is my response for Quadrille #80 – Eat the Rich, the prompt from Kim at dVerse, which is to use the word rich in a 44-word poem that does not require meter or rhyme.
Two Hearts in Love
Would rain have made any difference?
What is grass without water?
A maple.
An oak.
Each would welcome it.
Allowed to flow, growth will
follow. A benediction.
Vows spoken in the open air would gather
on each raindrop, bringing life,
as each leaf, each blade, would
gather those raindrops.
Instead, those words were carried
by sunlight that shone on those
who welcomed them into their hearts, all
sharing in the love, this day.
Yet it was not sunlight, nor was it rain
that made this day possible.
It was two hearts in love.
the fate of a heart
in the sweetness of a kiss
a lover’s blessing
This senryū is my response to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge #254,
where the prompt words are sweet and heart.
Image source: unsplash.com / Andrew Santellan
A Family Grows
Distance. Family. A 700 mile drive, and balance is achieved. Fair weather may be followed by three days of storms, but balance will not be diminished. Rain or shine, my grandson’s wedding will be a day of celebration. Not even Sunday’s drive home can change that.
a family grows
two hearts look to their future
journey together
Carpe Diem #1665 Tan Renga – “Miscanthus bud”
asks us to use a haiku by Matsuo Bashō (in blue)
to be used to create a tanka.
another year is gone
a traveler’s shade on my head,
straw sandals at my feet
Bashō
journey of inspiration
in lessons learned from strangers
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
from Yoshitoshi’s Hundred Aspects of the Moon
