Memories Fade

Childhood memories are a curious thing.  There are so many events that I recall, but often, only a few sepia-toned images, but rarely a whole movie. For example:

I remember wiping out on my bike when trying to turn too sharp on gravel.  I remember the pain of skinning my knee, and even worse, my mom picking bits of gravel out of the wound.  I don’t remember where the accident occurred.

I remember my first plane ride…a four-seater.  I even remember the fear I felt as we took the first corner (I had no idea that a plane was supposed to tip that dramatically), but I don’t remember the take-off.

Those, and so many other memories of major events that I remember more as singular moments, that I wonder why the rest of the context has faded

Springtime river flows
as clear as liquid crystal –
Autumn: filled with silt

written for dVerse haibun prompt on childhood memories

Memories of Memories

It’s interesting…the things that one remembers, the things that one forgets, and the memories that one has that cannot really be.  For example:  I remember the morning of my 5th birthday. Or should I say, I remember one moment of that day.  I clearly remember walking down the hallway of my home, somewhere between the bathroom and the entrance to the living room and thinking to myself, “I’m five today!”  Of the rest of that day, I can’t say that I have any recollection whatsoever.

And now, nearly 40 years later, I have to wonder…do I remember that, or is that merely the memory of a memory?  For I also distinctly remember that moment when a hole appeared in my bedroom wall and a bird flew out…a memory that is clearly not real.

the full moon rises
shining its light on the earth
– memory of sun

~~

for Toni’s haibun prompt at dVerse, where we are invited to write about birthdays, or the moon, or a combination thereof.

~~

NaBloPoMo Day 14

With Outstretched Arms

I wait with outstretched arms. I am a constant invitation, though I know that my guests come, only to say goodbye. What is given to my one hand is just as quickly removed from the other. My life is a zero-sum equation, for my purpose is neither to gain, nor to lose. I wait with outstretched arms.

and always
– beneath –
the river runs away

~~

At dVerse, Grace wants us to write a contemporary haibun with “bridge” being the focus

The Room

It was obvious that once, the room had been quite pretty.  Now, though, the peeling paint, chipped furniture, and cracked window spoke of the room’s history.  This room was a metaphor of the occupant’s life since coming to this country.

She had come with so much hope.  How had things come to this?

how could she know
that his threats against her family
were nothing more than the wind
that howled just beyond her door?

~~

Another response to Bjorn’s haibun prompt, where he has asked us to write about cities…and has encouraged us to write about the darker aspects of the city.  Human trafficking is, perhaps, one of the darkest aspects of any city.

The Drama of the City

I like to keep my Speaker tuned to The Drama of the City.  It’s not your typical drama, as you rarely hear more than snippets of any story…muted conversations that begin in the middle of a sentence and end in the middle of another…the sound of a siren, but hardly ever an explanation of the emergency…the slamming of a door or the honking of a horn.  Sure…it’s a strange sort of drama, but it’s the sort of thing you might expect to hear when your Speaker is the open window.

it may seem strange, but that car speeding past contains a secret story

~~

at dVerse, Bjorn is having us write contemporary haibun that contain some element of city life.  With that in mind, an American Sentence seemed more appropriate to me than a I haiku.

 

Farewells

I still remember that last meal at the Bible College I had attended for 4 and a half years. Few words were spoken, but many tears were shed as I bid goodbye to my friends…some of whom I knew I would never again see on this planet. At the time, I would have traded much to have those years continue forever. Since then, though, I have experienced life. I have married, become the father to three wonderful boys, held down various jobs, have matured greatly. I miss those college days, and I miss those friends, but I would not trade my other life experiences to go back.

a stench arises
from a pond that’s gone stagnant –
mosquito’s sharp bite

~~

Haibun Monday at dVerse – and the topic is change

Angels Dancing

It was near the end of a long summer, fraught with problems at the summer camp where I was working as a counselor. The biggest issue was the inter-personal problems between the various camp staff members. Finally, the director had had enough, and called us to a night-time meeting (as soon as all the kids were asleep). I don’t remember if that meeting resolved anything, but I remember standing outside with another counselor after the meeting had ended.

We were too amazed to move, for that night, we saw the most brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis that either of us had ever seen.  The usual green of the Northern Lights was joined, that night, by every colour of the rainbow.  I was convinced then, and still am now, that God was sending us a reminder: “your problems are small, but I am big enough to overcome any issues that you have.”

a mosquito’s buzz
ignored beneath the starlight –
angels dance above

~~

written for the Night Sky haibun prompt at dVerse.  Incidentally, that night prompted the first poem that I ever wrote because I wanted to instead of had to for a class.

When the Sky Explodes in Glorious Colour

Why do people seem to desire clear skies? Oh yes, there is something nice about that unbroken blue with no punctuation other than the blazing eye of Sol, but that skyscape becomes so much more when there is a cloud or two (or two-hundred) to give the sky definition and contour. Besides which, when the sun goes down on a cloudless day, it merely sets. It is only on cloudy days when the sky explodes in glorious colour as it bids the sun “goodnight”

dragons bask on rocks
underneath the blazing sun –
but fly above clouds

~~

written for dVerse

God Has a Sense of Humour

I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do: pursue a relationship with a girl who was clearly interested in me, or pursue a job opportunity in Anchorage, Alaska.  I could not do both, and so I stood in my room and prayed for God’s guidance.

A few years prior to that, I had attended Jinny’s wedding.  At the time, I was very single, but longed for that to change.  Naturally, when her husband shot the garter for “all the eligible bachelors”, I was determined that I would be the one to catch it.  Its trajectory put it about a foot or two higher than I could reach, but in a never-to-be-repeated moment of gazelle-like grace, I leapt and snagged it out of the air!  I took it home, and hung it on a pop-bottle that I had, for whatever reason, attached to the ceiling of my room.

There that garter hung, all but forgotten, for all those many days…and then fell right in front of me, the moment I uttered “Amen!”  That girl and I have been married now for almost 15 years.

caterpillars wait
in their cocoons until spring –
then butterflies dance

Idylwyld Drive – Jun.19

Idylwyld Drive was closed at 36th Street yesterday. We were driving Southbound, and I would have continued to 29th Street before turning off, but had to take a slight detour. Not a big problem, as 36th is a route I often take anyways. In other words, a forced change of plans rather than an inconvenience. Apparently, the old tree was no longer able to withstand yesterday’s strong winds, and a large, trunk-sized branch broke part-ways off the tree to block both the south and north-bound lanes.

harsh winds but barely
a smattering of fuu rain-
old man takes a rest

~~

note: fuu is one of numerous Japanese “rain” words.  It means “wind and rain”.

Haibun Monday at dVerse. The topic is rain. Rain only makes a brief appearance in my haiku, but the rain only made a brief appearance in yesterday’s storm too.