feather buddha
just sitting there
winter wind
“Be patient. Everything comes in the right moment.”
1568. sipping sake
winter rose
resting on the windowsill
sipping sake
*
before the petals
of last summer’s red rose
purple wisteria
*
counting the days
longing for springtime
planting rose seeds
Shiki, one of the four great masters of Japanese Haiku, upon noticing a vase of wisteria blossoms on his desk, exclaimed to himself, “What elegance, what loveliness!” and before he knew it, was recalling romantic tales of long ago. He became inspired to write. Here is translation of a tanka (5-line form) from his 10-Poem Sequence on Wisteria Blossoms:
if you stick the stems
in strong sake
the wilted flowers
of the the wisteria
will bloom again like new
1567. slow and easy
meandering….
grasses no longer green
sniffing anyway
Every season has a mood. It’s winter.
1566. this one!
this one!
i want this one,
said the little girl
Checking out at the supermarket, bagging my food, I happened to look a short distance away over by the pet food: big cats! There were five or six of them just hanging around….20 or 30 inches across, all mounted on heavy-duty poster board, displayed 8 feet high. She looked up at them, one by one, then said to herself, I want this one!
When life gets to feel a little too home drum, open your eyes and look around.😘
1565. hooray!
chilly morning
here comes the sun….
the eagles won!
1564. looking
oak tree
falling into itself, leaves
inside and out
What is it about emptiness that makes us want to look inside? What is it about not knowing, wondering, that intrigues? Isn’t it interesting how not knowing can be more fun than knowing, how ideas can be more interesting than proven facts. If I knew everything, what would be the point of looking?
1563. he said…she said
the truth comes out
in the light of the moon
scary!😱
He said: “You can be pretty scary sometimes!”
She said: “Not true!”
He said: “You don't see yourself.”
She said: “You’re wrong. You don’t really see me.”
He said: “Oh, yes I do. Look!”👀
1562. winter poem
on this road
one traveler traveled on…
one still here
We are born, we all have our turn on this earth, we live, we work, we love, and then we must let go and leave….even leaves.
1561. looking for the heron
winter geese
too many to count
quiet as mice
Many days now and no sign of the blue heron. Crossing over the road to look down from the bridge on the other side of the icy creek, all I see is a gathering of geese….and not one honk.
1560. bird by bird
listen to me:
the way to get started is
bird by bird!
By the way, I loved Anne Lamott’s book, “Bird By Bird—some instructions on writing and life.”
1559. that’s no lie
yak, yak, yak, yak,
yak….hey, that’s no hawk
that’s a crow!
Taneda Santoka (1882-1940), a wandering beggar poet, preferred bold, decisive works. He felt that poets must honestly express every aspect of their experience. He declared:
“When an art becomes intense, loneliness comes forth, clarity comes forth, strangeness comes forth—if it doesn’t go that far, it’s a lie.”
1558. bob dylan moon
driving around
driving around….
chasing the moon
After the movie, it was dark outside. A glimpse of the moon, low in the sky big and bright, I sat down in the car and drove around taking my time, looking for a good picture. By the way, the movie was “A Complete Unknown,” about Bob Dylan’s early rise to fame. Terrific! Be sure to see it if you can.
1557. crossing paths
on this road
so many travelers pass by—
tying my shoe lace
Sometimes we just need to stop for a moment and look up to see what’s there down at our feet.
1556. the way things were
sunlight rising
over rolling fields and flowers—
the good earth
There’s something comforting and reassuring here in this woodcut print by Wharton Esherick. It makes me think of The Good Earth, Pearl Buck’s historical novel which follows a young farmer in rural, turn-of-the-century China. Its overriding theme is “the nourishing power of the land.” Throughout the novel, connections to the land are associated with morality, good sense, respect for the land and a strong work ethic, while alienation from the land is associated with decadence and corruption. Published in 1931, the novel won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize. I was a young girl when I read it; I must read The Good Earth again.
1555. honk honk
faintly
wild geese, i can hardly see them
faintly white
Out of the blue, barely discernible, yet loud enough to catch my ears and eyes, unmistakable sounds, faint at first, then louder as they make their way overhead across the sky. Wild geese honking, always honking. What are they saying? Are they planning a route, giving directions? Or laughing, letting off steam, or complaining about the weather? Do they have important things to say or simply cracking jokes along the way?
1554. spying
spying:
gloria, dan, and me
artsy-fartsy!
Yesterday we went to the Brandywine River Museum to see the Wharton Esherick exhibition. It was fabulous. We had fun taking it all in, inside and out, all around!
1553. stuff happens
down at my feet
out of the clear blue sky….
a patch of red
1552. on my way home
light turns red
just in time to take a picture
—what a sky!
….And when I got to the next light, my phone rang. It was Dan telling me that he grabbed the wrong bag of food out of my car.🤪 I had to turn around and go all the way back.😬
1551. bookends
two deer
two eyes, ears, noses, and butts—
like bookends
1550. if i were the sun….
silver sun
rising up over the creek
wow!
Just think, the sun shows up and shines, lights up the whole world, brings things to life, everywhere. I can’t help but imagine that the sun must be pretty satisfied with itself. I would be….wouldn’t you?😘
1549. in the skinny!
jammin’
under coconut trees
in the skinny!
Waiting for lunch, this painting took me far away, had me sipping pina coladas on some far away island. That was yesterday. Today back home again more snow and well below freezing. What a difference a day can make!
1548. finding shelter
hunkered down
staking his place in the sun—
orange boy
It was mid-afternoon. The sun was out, it was a gusty, blustery day and still mighty cold. On my way home, I spotted Orange Boy, that’s what I call him, hunkered down in the sun getting his D’s. There’s a picture, I said to myself. I drove on home, parked the car, and walked back hoping to take his picture.
1547. weather report
close to zero—
those two picnic tables
full of snow
Yesterday‘s weather report: 19° feels like 3°. I said, “Dan, let’s go out for a walk up in the woods.” So we bundled up, fastened snow studs onto our shoes, grabbed our hiking poles, and went up in the woods. It’s been years since we’ve seen this kind of snow. It sure was pretty. This morning it’s 18° feels like 1°. It’s winter!
1546. making marks
the trees in winter
sit clean and undecorated
marking time
“Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart.”~ Haruki Murakami
Those words ring true for me. They remind me of how having to do my blog every day, sometimes really saves me. It’s a means of staying in touch with the world. It’s a way to notice, to contemplate, to praise and honor the world as it goes on turning. It’s not always easy. Making sense of what I see, finding the right words to convey my thoughts and feelings takes patience and persistence. It’s work, and work has always saved me.
1545. snow on snow
in the snow
a stand of tall fir trees
turning white
*
snow on snow
the second fall better than the first
—it’s winter!
From the time I was little, I’ve always loved riding around in the car, looking out the window, watching the world go by. Yesterday, Dan drove me to work so that I could lead the gentle yoga class at Spring Mill Pointe, a senior living community, where everyone was glad that I’d made it out in the snow. All the way there, taking pictures, I was thinking…isn’t it pretty….I hope I get a good picture!
1544. green…white…red!
all the green
turned white in the light of day
—a flurry of red
It was first snow of the season! I had to go out to the golf course. I peered through the chain link fence—all the green gone now, turned white. It was cold. It was windy, too. The wind made the cold, even colder as my eyes took it all in, and then I saw something speeding across the white, fleet of foot—a fox! Of course in the distance, I couldn’t see the color very well, but I knew that red. I had to get closer….
1543. winter moon
winter moon
doesn’t have much to say, but
it sure does shine
Last night, the moon followed me all the way home.
1542. winter storm watch
yellow flower
pretty as a dream
….smiling
Isn’t it pretty. Sunny yellow on a sunny day, it’s got nothing to do all day, but smile. I’ve been saving this picture for a day like today. It’s cloudy and gray, 27° and it feels like 12°, with possible heavy snows on the way. Brrr! 🥶
1541. a mystery
hand up in the tree
i can count all five fingers
hmm…
Hmm…This is one of those times and I could easily ask: Who? How? Why? ‘What’ is obvious—a glove. ‘Where’ is obvious, too—up in the tree. All the rest is just a mystery. 🧐
1540. talking to the sun
“good morning, my friend
i like the way you light up the sky….
thanks for being there”
Out for an early walk….I looked over to my right and there it was, the sun coming up, the first sunrise of the new year. It’s not a very good picture, but it’s the only one I took so I’m saving it. I don’t like that green dot but who cares, I’ll just pretend it’s not there. Sometimes it’s good just to relax and let things be, just enjoy whatever shows up.
1539. day by day
a fond farewell
goodbye, goodbye my old friend
thanks for a good year
Saying goodbye to 2024. Day by day—Sunny days and rainy days, up days and down days—364 days like so many friends. All in all, it was a very good year. 🙏Thank you and looking forward to 2025!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)