THE HAIBUN GALLERY : 19 May — a Thursday feature
- Kala Ramesh
- May 19, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: May 25, 2022
hosts: Shobhana Kumar and Kala Ramesh
19th May
This month we'll be showcasing haibun written by Harriot West
Unprompted!
Yes, this week, we invite you to leap from the effective, stunning verses of Harriot West and embrace the form of the haibun in the manner you think works best. Go on!
PLEASE NOTE:
1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt.
2. Share your best-polished pieces.
3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written. Let it simmer for a while.
4. When poets give suggestions and if you agree to them - post your final edited version on top of your original verse.
5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.
We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in haikuKATHA monthly journal.
𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
True love, or the truth of making it, is like breath. Pure, life-saving breath. I somewhat dislike the consistency of this rawness. Here roses smell like roses, and I smell the smell...
I once asked her, "How will I remember you when you are gone?"
She replied, "In everything..."
𝑒𝑏𝑏 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡—
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑
Feedbacks are most welcome :)
Edited, thanks to Kala, Mona.
The Secret Ingredient
In the wee hours of morning, she stirs honey and psyllium husk in lukewarm water. The steel spoon in a brass tumbler makes a typical sound. My ears are now used to these notes. Four pills, two arrowroot biscuits and this concoction—is exactly the way my grandpa wants it. In another pan, on the gas stove boils tulsi leaves and ginger. She hums a prayer while her feeble fingers sink into the grainy dough of his favourite makki ki roti. As she flattens the dough ball between her palms, she whines, “I can no more churn butter, my bones have given away, I wish I had taught you, your grandpa…
𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦
Bards will always be there
They are as desperate as you, love
You desire to bloom
All they ever want is to sing
and when the Spring ends too soon
They suffer the storm
Don't meet me there, in those lyrics, in those rhymes, for I might forget to feel, as and when you wither into words...
𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑐ℎ—
𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑓
𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟
Feedback appreciated :)
𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
Remember,
How we both once died, my love
And it was
Just a heartbreak...
𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛...
𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚
𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑠
Feedbacks please :)
stubbed toe
More than once she has told me, no! Umpteen times she has told me.
Generally followed by the same question;
when will you learn?
Of course, I always give the same answer; It’s so I don’t wake the house my love.
moon landing
I hop the last three steps
before touch down