yellow blooms
dot the hillside
above the town
a stand of palms
tall and spindly –
heads move together
the mountain
is truncated, smoothed
by swathing cloud
white truck
blocks the lane –
car wriggles past
red sign
juts from a spread
of pale grey roofs
March afternoon –
clouds fill the sky
curls of grey
the church roof
rises in a point
aimed at the sky
a small mend
in the wire mesh
focuses my gaze
Some friends asked me, 'Teach us to write haiku.' As a start, I told them to write three-line observations of what they saw around us – plain descriptions, in present tense. 'These are not haiku,' I explained, 'but will put you into the mind-set of haiku.' I wrote with them, and later realised that what I had produced was (of course!) a series of small stones.
Always love when you write the stones, Rosemary. I form pictures in my mind as I read them.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's so nice! I like writing them, too, and probably should do them more often, but I get caught up with other poetry and short prose at my 'Enheduanna's Daughter' blog or posting photos on facebook and sometimes Instagram....
DeleteIt's good to see you're keeping the practice of writing small stones alive, Rosemary. A lovely sequence here...Cynthia
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, I still do them, though far from daily. It's a wonderful practice to put me back in touch with myself and the world, any time that seems to be needed. Thus encouraged by you and Barb, maybe I'll do them more often.
DeleteThat would be great if you started up again. I've been neglecting blog-reading for the last four years and have recently been venturing out to make some visits again.
DeleteI continued writing small stones in January every year, but made my blog private for a while. I opened it back up to the public recently. Not sure if I'll leave it open. Sometimes I just like it to be a private place for etching random thoughts and leave them in 'draft' mode. I think you, Barb and I might be the only ones still writing small stones. Take care...cynthia
I think there are one or two more still doing them. Just had a look at yours. They are simply gorgeous! I hope you do leave them visible.
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