Written for Sadje’s “What Do You See” #317
Here’s where the photo prompt took me.
Category: Haibun
The Watcher
Written for Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative
Challenge #061. I chose Pic #2.
Here’s where the image took me.
Being Sicilian: A Haibun
Written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt
#440 where we’re asked to be creative in exactly
97 words using the word ‘heritage’. Here’s my take.
In Papa’s Garden
Written for dVerse Poets Prosery: Yvor’s
“Time and the Garden”. Our host, Sanaa, asks us
to write a short piece of prosery of up to 144 words
and include a complete line from the poem
“Time and the Garden”. Here is my haibun.
Little Foxes
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday: ‘silver’.
Our host Frank asks us to write a haibun with
the word ‘silver’ as our inspiration. This is my haibun.
How Sweet It Is
Written for dVerse ~ Poet’s Pub: Who Has A Sweet~Tooth?
Our host Lillian asks us to write a poem using candy
names. This is my sweet~tooth inspired haibun.
Identical Grief Revisited: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets – Fancy
Meeting You At The Pub Today and
Saturday. We are asked to share any
poem of our choosing. I am sharing
a haibun I wrote almost one year ago.
Since then, our feelings remain unchanged,
except now laughter comes a bit more easily.
Night of the Lepus: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday 3-3-25.
Our inspiration this week is “March Madness”.
This is my haibun.
Groundhog’s Lament: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday –
Celebrating Groundhog Day. This is my Haibun.
With Love From Us: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics where the theme is
“Despite and Still”. My inspiration is the poem seen below
written by John N. Morris. Here is my haibun.
In Prescious Moments Of Lucidity: A Haibun
Written for d’Verse Poets where our inspiration
today is “reflection”. Here is my haibun.
Día de los Muertos ~ A Haibun
This week the three prompts from aooga at OLWG #389 are
1) thirsty souls, 2) police dog, and 3) Armando’s Market,
to be used as we like …. as is, as an inspiration or not at all.
Also, Gerry C & Sue W ask us to incorporate the word “eerie”
in their Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge. And finally,
I have used one of Kevin’s brilliant images from No Theme Thursday
as the inspiration for my post today. Here is my haibun.
Like A Leaf On A Breeze: A Haibun
Written for d’Verse Haibun Monday 10.21.24 ~
Fall Foliage or Spring Blossoms. Here is my haibun.
Whether winter, spring, summer or fall, the view from my bedroom window has afforded me comfort and solace in times of physical and emotional struggle. The simple, unadorned panes of glass are a constant in my life, keeping me company, offering the best show in town. After all, what could be better than observing the changes brought about by Mother Nature? As the daily view gradually transforms, so do I. The delicate buds that caressed the tree branches in spring burst open full of life to face the summer sun; now they cling precariously to those same branches, a dainty necklace of copper, bronze and gold strands. More sky is visible through scantily clad tree limbs. Oh, what a tantalizing tease! The silvery glow from the hunter’s moon is an organic lightshow. What will tomorrow bring?
spring blossoms plant warm wet kisses
fall leaves crunch underfoot
winter flakes form crystal blankets
NAR©2024
This is “Forever Autumn” by the Moody Blues
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
As Days Grow Short
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday where
the theme today is “equinox”. This is my haibun.
It’s now one month post op. I have spent a lot of time looking out my bedroom window contemplating the healing transformation of my body and the seasonal metamorphosis as we gently slip from summer into autumn. I had been facing physical limitations as I aged; they have now been compounded by my back surgery. On bad days I curse myself for agreeing to this procedure but I know it was the right choice. Getting back on my feet is taking longer than I anticipated. Like the brittle tree branches that come with autumn, my bones are not what they once were. But now I have a chance to walk among the fallen crimson and golden leaves instead of simply watching them drop from the trees and for that I’m grateful. I am better today than I was two weeks ago and in two more weeks I’ll be better than I am today. It’s a process.
warm burnished tones of autumn
as days grow short
the earth prepares for new life
NAR©2024
This is “Autumn In New York” by Billie Holiday
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Crop Invaders: A Haibun
Written for Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge and
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge where the
required words are “wrong” and “hoarding”. This is my haibun.
The exact year escapes me but it was a long time ago, to be sure. It was the summer we returned from vacation to find our tomatoes had ripened into gorgeous red orbs ready for eating. I could practically smell that grassy-green, spicy-sweet summery aroma. But something seemed wrong, off somehow. I felt like I was not alone in my garden, like I was being watched. Taking a closer look, I discovered disturbingly large caterpillars feasting on our lovely harvest. The bloated green creatures blended in so well with the underside of the leaves, it took a few seconds to register why our crop was full of gaping holes. Probing, boring, ravaging, gorging, hoarding. No tomato was salvaged that summer. Not one. That was the year I stopped planting tomatoes.
garden interlopers
devastation
signaling summer’s end
NAR©2024
This is “End of Summer” featuring Katie Melua and L.U.C. from The Peasants soundtrack
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Identical Grief: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics: Picking Up The Pieces
where today we are sharing grief. This is my haibun.
Tomorrow will be 4 months since my husband’s identical twin brother died suddenly. His wife returned home from a walk and found him on the bedroom floor; she said he was still warm. The news felt like an arrow ripped through our hearts. Jim was dead. How was my sister-in-law ever again going to walk into her bedroom without picturing her husband’s body? How was my husband Bill going to face the rest of his life as the lone twin? At one time there were three brothers; now there is only Bill. This is the most difficult trial for him. My husband lost a piece of himself that day. We are numb, disbelieving, questioning, dazed, numb, numb, so unbelievably numb.
You know how people say that time flies? Not when it comes to Jim; time has stopped for us. Logically we know he’s dead but our hearts cannot accept it. It’s unbelievable, inconceivable for us. It doesn’t feel possible. We function normally every day, do the same old crap, talk and eat and laugh. We watch movies, go shopping, pay bills, gab on the phone, babysit. We live the same lives we lived before Jim died except he’s not here to share them and we cannot wrap our heads around that. It just doesn’t feel like he’s dead. He should be here. It’s not right that he’s not here. It’s like someone has played the cruelest joke on us.
Now, when my sister-in-law looks at Bill, it’s Jim’s face she sees. And sometimes when I look at my husband, I see Jim and I find myself pondering why Jim was the twin who was taken.
I am Bill’s wife but Jim was his other half.
save them in your heart
golden summer memories
for when winter comes
No idea who’s who!
NAR©2024
This is “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Chasing Shadows: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets Pub – Haibun Monday: Solstice
offered up by our host, Frank J. Tassone. Here is my haibun.
Giggles overtake me as I chase my squatty shadow across the green velvet carpet of freshly mown grass. I’ve waited 365 days for this hour to repeat, another chance to sit in the warmth of the evening and delight in the heady fragrance of honeysuckle, to spy a firefly and gasp in awe as the sky blazes with cascading colors of sparklers, rockets and fountains. The realization that tomorrow will be minutely shorter than today hasn’t registered; no, I won’t go there just yet …. not when there are so many summer nights to dream on and the winter will be far too long and cold.
the willow tree weeps
cicadas reject their shells
tilt toward the sun
NAR©2024
This is “Saturday In The Park” by Chicago
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Sometimes I Wonder: A Haibun
Lately I have been pondering some of life’s mysteries.
If I had gone out on that blind date in March of ’68 with Bill’s twin brother Jim instead of Bill [which was the original plan], and married Jim instead of Bill, would I have experienced the same happiness and blessings in my life? Would I have had the long and loving relationship, the feeling of security I enjoy now? Would my spouse still have been my equal partner in every aspect of our marriage? Would I have conceived and given birth to the amazing children I raised who in turn have blessed me with incredible grandchildren? Would we be celebrating our 52nd wedding anniversary?
Or would I be a widow?
Two-and-a-half months ago, before my husband’s brother died, I never thought about such things. Strange how death can make us wonder about life.
scattering stardust
unanswerable questions
swirling round my brain
NAR©2024
This is Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” featuring the voice of Nat King Cole
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Bubble Queen
Written for Haibun Monday where we have been asked
by Frank J. Tassone at dVerse Poets Pub to write a haibun
incorporating “May Transcience”, using the Japanese idiom
of “Mono No Aware”. My granddaughter was my muse.
She’s four now and it seems like yesterday she was barely walking, crawling sideways like a huge pink crab with her undeveloped knees brushing the floor in lightning speed. Her golden blonde hair is loose, flowing almost to the tops of her thighs like the fragrant flowers trailing from a Maypole. We laugh when we worried that these glorious tresses would never grow out and she would forever be the source of jokes by the mean girls in school. But that was not to be as this indescribably beautiful child standing before us with all the presence and attitude of Xena the Warrior Princess will stake her claim and win against any goddess wannabees. No more baby bubble pipes for this one; she has moved into the power bubble zone. She is a force of nature.
intergalactic shifts
bound from planet to planet
hail the bubble queen
NAR©2024
This is Biffy Clyro with “Bubbles”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Moonspell: A Haibun
Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Photo Challenge #513,
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge (orange), Moonwashed Weekly
Prompt (hazy moon) & Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge (regret)
I was lost, a bit frightened and filled with regret for not making a note of the address. A hazy moon began to make her appearance in the evening sky, leaving the tiny Palermo street awash in a warm orange glow. Squinting in the darkness, I saw what appeared to be a tunnel at the end of the street; there was no way I was going to walk into the black unknown. Slowly I inched closer and discovered the tunnel was actually a stairway. Just as I quickened my pace, an arm shot out of a hidden doorway and pulled me inside, pinning me against a wall. A deep voice I knew intimately whispered in honeyed Sicilian tones “Picchì ci haiu misu tantu tempu, amuri miu? Ti vogghiu beni!”º Passionate kisses drifted down my neck. Breathless, I murmured “I’m here now, my love. Show me.”
Kiss me now, my love,
In the warm glow of the moon
You possess my heart
NAR©2024
º“What took you so long, my love? I am burning for you.”
This is the Flamingos with “I Only Have Eyes For You”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
April Showers: A Haibun
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #359 (tempest, 29 words)
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt (gilt-edged) and
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge (pointless)
It’s springtime! I love to see my flowers growing but sudden storms wreak havoc on defenseless, gilt-edged blossoms.
roses madly thrashed
spring’s wild tempest rains attack
my pointless garden
NAR©2024
29 Words
This is “Dead Flowers” by the Rolling Stones – Totally Stripped
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
La Luna: A Haibun
Written for Eugi’s Moonwashed Weekly Prompt ~ Star-flecked
It seems I rarely think of the moon; she’s just there, suspended in the sky in some kind of pretentious orbit around the earth. Unlike the sun with his blistering summer rays that our mothers warned us about, the moon’s ambient glow is somehow taken for granted. I’m sure the moon is a she. We are inextricably linked, la luna and me, and I know she forgives me for not paying my respects more often. But she is present in the most unassuming of ways. It happens silently, softly in the very early hours of a new day as her lunar aura pirouettes across my lashes. My eyelids quiver open to see her peeking from behind the tree branches sprawled across the blue-grey sky. And I watch through smiling, star-flecked eyes as she gracefully disappears into the shadows.
mellow morning moon
quietly you slip away
into the stillness
NAR©2024
This is the delightful Cat Stevens with “Moon Shadow”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Fever Pitch: A Haibun
Written for dVerse where we are asked to celebrate
the arrival of spring by writing a haibun
that alludes to the first [cherry] blossoms [hatsu hana]
It was five, maybe six years ago …. I’ve forgotten …. but it was April, that much I’m sure of because the legion of cherry trees dotting the shimmering green lawn surrounding the hospital was starting to bloom. That was the Spring I almost died from pneumonia. Funny, I can’t recall the year but I remember one particular bud on the cherry tree which I could see very clearly through my hospital room window. As I became sicker with each passing day, the bud thrived, almost as if I was giving it my life force. The day the pink and white blossom fully opened was the day my fever broke.
pink bud unfurling
branches reaching for the sun
life resurrected
NAR©2024
This is Perez Prado with “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 