22 Oct 2019
by lynn__
in quote, Uncategorized, worship
Tags: apples, autumn, cornstalks, leaves, pumpkins, squirrel, tumbleweeds, wind
do you know what the earth meditates upon in autumn?
when north wind breathes fresh worship
over cornfield of heavy stalks bowed down
as ripe apples bless orchard with abundance
and tumbleweeds dance across rural road?
when crispy leaves gather in harvest pile
over rich soil fully yielded to waning sun
as pumpkins swell with orange-ribbed grace
and squirrel chatters praise for scattered nuts?
do you know what the earth meditates upon in autumn?
The beginning (and ending) question is from Pablo Neruda’s El Libro de las Preguntas.
30 Sep 2019
by lynn__
in haibun, Uncategorized
Tags: autumn, farm, grove, hope, insects, lawnmower, monarch
It’s haibun Monday at dVerse Poets where we’re writing about insects!
I bounce along, riding the lawnmower around our farm site. It’s windy and warm today…excellent weather for drying the crops for the imminent harvest. We’re glad for the silage we’ve already chopped for our livestock. Cows galumph toward the fence when I stop to toss the fallen apples I gathered for them.
While mowing in our grove, I am discouraged to note many trees show signs of stress. Both ash and spruce host invasive insects that bore into exposed spaces in their bark. An epidemic infestation across the nation appears to have arrived here. Time will tell if it’s lethal for these trees we planted many years ago and nurtured to a protective and glorious expanse.
While fretting about insects destroying our grove, I’m surprised by a singular monarch butterfly that flits ahead of me, leading the way. It flutters into my vision as I pass by again and again. Like a shimmer of hope, it gently clings to a leafy branch. Stunning creature with delicate legs and designer wings sent to lighten my mind in a moment of serendipity.
monarch messenger
flashes autumn’s joyful hues
arresting beauty
23 Jul 2019
by lynn__
in classical haiku
Tags: autumn, branch, crow, flies
Chevrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai offers us a beautiful haiku by renowned Japanese poet Matsuo Basho to “photoshop” (tweak) a little. Here’s my attempt:
kare eda ni karasu no tomarikeri aki no kure
on a bare branch
a crow has stopped
autumn dusk
© Basho (Tr. Stephen Wolfe)
bare tree branch sways with
dark crow’s weighty silhouette
autumn flies away
© lynn__
29 Apr 2019
by lynn__
in classical haiku, haiku
Tags: autumn, ears, leafy, pillow, whispering, wind
Link to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai where host, Chevrefeuille, invites us to “improve” on a classic haiku; re-write and make it look better (like a photo-shopped image).
autumn has come
visiting my ear on
a pillow of wind
© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)
autumn rustles in
whispering wind tickles ears
fluffs leafy pillow
© lynn__
photo by lynn
14 Nov 2018
by lynn__
in haiku
Tags: autumn, cattle, creek, deluge, mud
CDHK challenge to write haiku about rainstorm without using the word…
full creeks run swiftly
cattle huddle in wet mud
autumn’s cold deluge
26 Sep 2018
by lynn__
in tanka
Tags: autumn, cornfield, deer, harvest, orange, pheasant, seasons
harvest harmonized
pheasant struts from ripe cornfield
deer leaps pumpkin patch
culmination of seasons
color life deep rich orange
photo by lynn
My tanka response to Ramblings of a Writer’s prompt: seasons, harmonized.
09 Sep 2018
by lynn__
in tan renga
Tags: apple, autumn, crow, orchard, squirrel, winter
Haiku in original French:
Une pomme, seul
dans le verger abandonné
rougissent pour l’hiver
Ⓒ Patrick Blanche
Here is the translation by Michael R. Burch:
One apple, alone
in the abandoned orchard
reddens for winter
Ⓒ Patrick Blanche (Tr. Michael R. Burch)
Add two lines to complete tan renga:
autumn rains gently rustle
crow and squirrel wait…patient
Ⓒ lynn__
free image – pixabay
13 Nov 2017
by lynn__
in haibun
Tags: autumn, birds, seeds, summer, sunflowers
Joining Carpe Diem Haiku Kai‘s weekend challenge on sunflower theme. I wrote the prose, followed by a haiku from our host!
wild sunflower – photo by lynn
The sight of sunflowers warms my heart, although my farmer hubby says they’re a weed. I remember as a child planting a few sunflowers in the backyard on east side of detached garage. The plants grow faster than children and their sunny faces exude happiness bright as summer sun. When autumn comes, their smiles fade, petals dry, and seeds mature. Oh, what a joyous feast for the birds! Sparrows flutter and cling to droopy head to peck tasty seeds. We let them eat the raw seeds as we prefer the roasted, salted variety. Dad would have a bag along to ball games or car races where we’d leave striped shells scattered under the bleachers; shells sucked dry of salt until the tips of our tongues went numb. On vacation, I still thrill at roadside sightings of expansive fields of sunflowers; their golden heads tipped toward the sun. On my walks, spotting more diminutive wild versions in the ditches (NOT our fields) brings a smile to my face.
blooming sunflowers
reaching for the early light of the sun –
birds praise their Creator
© Chèvrefeuille
16 May 2017
by lynn__
in tan renga, Uncategorized
Tags: autumn, dizzy, leaf
Chèvre hosts tan renga party at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai . A tan renga is a haiku by one poet answered in 2 (7 syllable) lines by another poet.
now it reveals its hidden side
and now the other—thus it falls,
an autumn leaf © Ryokan Taigu
do leaves ever feel dizzy—
twirling in their spiral dance? lynn__
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