Serenade

evening shadows
the cricket serenades
the moon

Dance

barely a breeze
the long grasses still try
to dance

This haiku was a product of heading out to the park with a blanket, inspirational haiku reading in the form of Almost Unseen by George Swede, a pen, and my lovely journal with flowers and apples on the cover.  I read for awhile to get into the right frame of mind, and then I just laid there and listened....and listened some more.

Then, while I was listening to the nature around me, I tried to look at the world as a place filled with "awe and wonder".  This sense of appreciation for even the smallest things around us is vital to writing a great haiku.  And, soon enough...it came to me!

Fallen

bittersweet silence
strewn among the fallen leaves
cicada bodies

The Definition of Silence

I read this today in an article entitled "Silent Spaces" sent out by the A Slice of Infinity newsletter team.  The newsletter is a daily faith booster/thought provoker, but today I felt like it spoke not only to my love of God, but to my love of haiku.    

"Most people assume that silence is the absence of noise, but it is not. Hempton continues, 'For true silence is not noiselessness... silence is the complete absence of all audible mechanical vibrations, leaving only the sounds of nature at her most natural. Silence is the presence of everything, undisturbed.'(2) I remember one of these silent places Hempton describes. High in the North Cascade Mountains, my brother and I heard no other human noise, no bird or animal noises, only the trickling of a nearby brook and the gentle wind as it danced around us.   

Being able to hear the sounds of nature is an unexpected and often rare gift in a world bombarded by artificial noise. Of course, it is often the case that I use noise as a distraction from truly listening. I often drown out the silence by my own busyness, filling my day with constant movement and activity, so that I rarely take the time to pay attention, and to tune my ears not only to the sound around me, but also to the stirrings of my own heart and mind. In all honesty, sometimes I am afraid of what I might hear if I do truly listen."

As of late, I have been too quick to turn on the TV, the radio, etc.  I rarely sit and listen or think, or dream.  Not only does this prevent me from hearing God's voice, but it prevents me from writing.  How can I write about a moment I never savor or truly experience?  Why must there always be noise in my life?  I think it's definitely time to tune in to the "stirrings of my own heart and mind" and turn off the distractions.

Brilliance

as they pledge their love
the way he gazes at her--
the brilliance of the sun

*Written for my beautiful friends, AJ and Jayme Banzhoff, on their wedding day.

Lipstick

scarlet residue
struggling to scrub away
last night's argument

Alone

alone among many
I cling to the comfort
of my wine glass

Drifting

across the open water
drifting with the leaves
swollen moon

Fireflies

fireflies play tag
passing their light butt-to-butt
as night softly falls