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A Year in Haiku - In the evening light the hills glow golden brown; a Barn Owl hunts the woodland edge, picked out in the last rays of the setting sun - the sky to the west a faint wash of blue tinged with orange-pink. Yet it is still not-quite-dark. The Super Moon, rising over the hedgerow trees, splinters in their branches; throwing short spooky shadows across silver-washed fields; a shooting star - fizzes - a firework across the winter-spring sky ...
lights twinkle
in darkening sky
a curlew calls
Following on from my last post - Seasons in My Mind - a haibun, I felt the haiku poems may stand on their own or may even work as a linked poem, or haiku sequence, of the seasons - telling the story of a year ...
This post will be updated occasionally through the year - you may wish to bookmark it in your browser so that you can easily return to read the latest additions.
february days
blackbirds sing
by a roaring fire
distant bells
across dewy meadows
a lark rising *
chirping sparrow
lark, and pipit sing
an unchain’d melody *
* My response to Carpe Diem #1648 skylark (hibari) Carpe Diem #1648
swallows twitter
among the sheep ‘n cows -
we stand ‘n stare
whisper’n willow *
twittering swallow
a moorhens nest
* My amended response to Carpe Diem #1649 shining wind (kaze hikaru) Carpe Diem #1649
spring passes
on butterfly wings
dandelion days *
swift scream
as winter blackthorn
passes into May *
* My response to Carpe Diem #1653 passing spring (yuku haru) Carpe Diem #1653
red skies -
from wind-tossed trees
stormcock sing *
sunrise
clocks tick timelessly
a leaf falls *
busking swan
dancing sunbeams
fox trots away *
* My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #84 Quest for a new masterpiece "Movement" (Unduo) Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #84
ducks dabble
under golden willow
yellow flags wave
wagtail flit
between stone hedges -
cars race past
the hum of meadow
rainbow cast a summer sky
an artists palette
swifts scream
across thundery skies
on wing to Africa
drifting snow
shattering the silence
a Wren sings
bumbarrels
a blush-pink morning
mirrored in feathers
[...] The bird upon the tree utters the meaning of the wind—a voice of the grass and wild-flower, words of the green leaf; they speak through that slender tone. Sweetness of dew and rifts of sunshine, the dark hawthorn touched with breadths of open bud, the odour of the air, the colour of the daffodil—all that is delicious and beloved of springtime [...] —’Field and Hedgerow’: Hours of Spring. Richard Jefferies
Artist Credit
The Featured Image is a ‘Landscape of the Vernal Equinox’ by Paul Nash (1934) - sourced from Pinterest. He was passionately drawn to places in the landscape with ancient, and mystical connections, such as the Wittenham Clumps, and painted them many times over.
Note
Coincidentally Kim writing in her blog ‘writing in north norfolk’ also chose this image to accompany her haiku ...
vernal equinox
a celestial boundary
traversed by the sun
Kim M. Russell, 21st March 2019
That’s one of my favourite Paul Nash paintings Clive – I saw it at an exhibition fairly recently in Newcastle. The haiku work very well alone as a journey through the seasons, but I did like the haibun too.
Thank you Andrea,
The idea for these haiku and haibun came from a poem I wrote in my post ‘In a Summer Meadow’
https://artin.artinnature.co.uk/in-a-summer-meadow-2/
While reading the poem again the haiku just seemed to create themselves …
A lovely poem Clive – Jefferies description of summer coming was one of the first things of his I read and I loved the way he made it a sentient thing.
Thank you Andrea – here’s my take on that passage …
morning prelude
sentient songs of summer
sibyllic coda
A lovely sense of music and rhythm!
I enjoyed the image of the twinkling lights above and below and the suddenness of the woodcock, Clive, but I’m not sure what ‘roding’ means. I also love the vibrant colour in the ‘artists palette’ haiku and the wren breaking the silent white space,
Thanks for the comment and for following my blog Kim. I’m still trying to get the hang of writing haiku – I’ve reworked the last two in this post …
winter silence
a Wrens song
fills the white space
bumbarrels
a blush-pink morning
mirrored in feathers
As a dyed in the wool birdwatcher I sometimes use words which are ‘obscure’ or at least not in common usage – I will see if I can rework this one. But for now if you’ll excuse the explanation – ‘roding’ is the courtship flight of woodcock in spring when they fly just above the tree line in early evening, twixt sunset and nightfall – dimpsey as we call it in Somerset; the evening skies are not yet dark – more violet than anything, and distant lights come on one by one. It’s very atmospheric.
Another version more in keeping with the introductory text …
lights twinkle
in darkening sky
an angel on silent wings
An angel on silent wings is a reference to the Barn Owl which because of its habit of frequenting churchyards is often called an angel. It flies silently.
This is lovely. Clive. I saw and heard and felt. It all works together so beautifully.
Thank you so much Cynthia. I’m still feeling my way when writing haiku so I’m glad you liked them.
Yes, wonderful painting and Haiku are such a concise and delicate way to focus on nature. Some lovely images.
Thank you – I’m still learning …
Awesome response Clive. Thank you for sharing this with Carpe Diem Haiku Kai
Thank you Chèvrefeuille. That means a lot.
I’m chuffed to say the following haiku has been published in the Spring issue of the Wales Haiku Journal …
red skies –
from wind-tossed trees
stormcock sing