January 13, 2017
by Ivette Ebaen
Haiku
Haiku poems consist of no more than two images written in very few words. Tiny poems recited in the present tense, emotional yet never sentimental, without the use of rhyme or metaphor.
Contemplative haiku experiences, when they arise, are as spontaneous as they are unpredictable. Arising in relationship to nature, haiku maintain their purity, mystery and delight, because what arises is captured in the moment of its creation or happening.
Haiku in its simplicity is seen in the everyday events occurring in our lives. Yet what haiku captures is the extraordinary within the ordinariness of these events.
Haiku like Miksang is meditation but in written form.
Place your cursor over the image to read the Haiku.
old letters-
as I run out of ink
a silverfish!
New Year’s day,
bright sun for only a moment
unfeeling,
the wind tears through its trees
glances –
between horse and me
longing for watercress
daybreak,
in cloudy water
floats his teacup
moon under heaven…
a dozen mockingbirds
shelling seeds
lonesome –
in a Chinese courtyard
the coo of doves suffices
lovers work…
tangles in hair
the scent of chestnuts
windfalls –
lesson in the rush of squirrels
climbing Pine
ant in my cup,
reading tea leaves
at day’s end
fruitless shell…
the rattle of tiny
pomegranate seeds
of storm and wind,
at midnight
how I toss and turn
a twenty year marriage
combing grey hair
beneath candlelight
wrinkled sheets –
his smile in dreamtime
footprints fill of snow,
this raven watches
daylight passing
before a sea of fog
a solitary seagull
held in air
a seagrass green,
beyond the waves
streaks of seagulls
behind Croagh Patrick Mountain
the sun long overdue
evening
alight by fireflies –
something of his
moment of longing…
chopping green onions
on wood
of earth and metal
from boiling water
the swirl of steam
Original photographs and Haiku by Ivette Ebaen 2017©