Mono no aware is not only “a Japanese idiom for the awareness of … the transience of things.” It’s a paradigm through which the Japanese view life. Linking this haibun to dVerse where Frank hosts.
Neighborhood cats chase one another through backyards, loudly caterwauling in the night. Five interested toms follow one breathless tabby who flees under the deck. Food dish is ignored in this spring mating frenzy. Once she’s bred, hormones calm, kittens develop and toms slink away.
Lilacs bud in May, one of the first blossoms to appear. The tight buds open to a thousand tiny flowerets, blooming in bunches of profligate purple display. The delicate scent of each cluster concentrates on fragrant breezes. After a few days, the heads wither and flowers fall.
Young couple speaks wedding vows on sunny May day. The bride wears sleeveless lace gown with tiny corseted waist and magnificent hoop skirt. A fingertip veil, lacey wristlets, and ballet flats complete her bridal finery. She dies of asthma complications a month past their 4th anniversary.
brief season of life
actors pass across the stage
cherish spring vignettes
a poem in my pocket 
May 23, 2024 @ 11:48:25
If ever a haibun could capture that sense of mono no aware, ephemerality so acutely, this one does, Lynn. You’ve wrought it in such detail that you carry us into the depths of sadness then back again to the fragrance of spring in the haiku. Masterfully done.
May 24, 2024 @ 03:39:54
Goal accomplished…thank you, Dora, for your encouraging comments.
May 23, 2024 @ 02:47:10
You emphasised poignancy and tragedy by juxtaposing the paragraph about lilacs and the paragraph about the young couple, Lynn. Two kinds of beauty and impermanence, beautifully described. I love the haiku with its ‘spring vignettes’.
May 23, 2024 @ 08:11:35
Juxtaposition…i appreciate that. Thanks, Kim, for pointing it out 🙂
May 23, 2024 @ 09:14:50
My pleasure, Lynn.
May 22, 2024 @ 09:43:32
Ohh, I thought this was shaping up to be another pleasant tribute to May. How tragic this one is. The tragic tales are the ones we remember.
May 22, 2024 @ 11:48:58
Yes, it’s a bit jarring…perhaps doesn’t fit together but that’s where my mind went.
May 22, 2024 @ 07:15:50
The sadness of dying in asthma (probably in the wonderful month of May too)… so much happens during these few weeks.
May 22, 2024 @ 11:50:06
She passed in June years ago…with medications today, she probably would have survived.
May 21, 2024 @ 20:23:39
Oh, what a compelling and tragic story you shared. And yet, and yet… the hope and beauty of the very last line: “cherish spring vignettes”.
Yes, we do. We all do. Cherishing spring is a huge part of the human condition.
May 22, 2024 @ 11:54:56
Agreed! It’s that hope of renewal. Thanks for your comment 🙂
May 21, 2024 @ 16:05:35
The fleeting nature of life is captured here. Especially with the short lived marriage. So sad.
May 21, 2024 @ 16:13:31
My father is buried between his two wives…all are passed on. Yet, i believe they live on into eternity (and in my heart).
May 21, 2024 @ 17:41:20
I believe this, too.❤️🙏🏻