Thursday, April 30, 2015

Writing Short & Sweet

I haven't had much time at home, or much time to write these days as my husband and I and our small construction crew enter the last month or so of work on our project house. 

I'm not a morning person (an insomniac night owl by nature), and to work at the project house means waking up at 6 a.m. and commuting an hour each way twice a day. As the days grow rapidly longer here in the Pacific Northwest, the blessing of rising at 6 a.m. is watching the drama of the sky and unfolding light of sunrise.

My morning ritual in the year we've lived with our view of Puget Sound and Seattle, has been to look east each morning out toward the water while I eat breakfast, noticing, paying attention, sometimes taking photos, receiving the day with curiosity and gratitude--but not usually before 8 or 9 a.m. if I'm working at home.

Recently I've expanded this spiritual practice to include taking a photo of my early morning view, composing an accompanying haiku, and then posting the result on Facebook to share with my friends.

I'm enjoying the simplicity of the form as I search my mind for the right words and syllables: the 5-7-5 pattern I learned in fourth grade when we studied Japan in Mrs. Schmidt's class. 

Some mornings words come as soon as I set down my camera, other days I ponder during our morning commute while my husband drives. This practice may disappear as the sun will soon rise well before I do, or it may stop when our project house is finished. Who knows what the future holds?

For now, though, I'm enjoying this ritual, this discipline that pulls me out of bed and into contemplation and gratitude first thing each day. Here are the photos & haikus I've written to go with them so far, in no particular order. Enjoy!



Cloudy Haiku

Steel day shot through gray
Rain and thunderstorms forewarn
God's drama, not mine
April 24







Haiku for This Morning

On the horizon
dawn offers its glowing coal
our lives fringed in flame
April 17


Monday Morning Haiku

City silhouette
sun sliding over the Sound
gratitude spilling
April 20


Haiku for the Samish ferry's sea trials 


Empty new ferry

sails round four times; its message:
trust and do the work.
April 28


Another Haiku

This scene brings to mind
doves descending from heaven
I long for God's voice
April 28



The day of April 27th changed so dramatically, I had to write two poems, just a few hours apart: 


Monday Morning Haiku 

Today comes on plain
no dazzling sunrise greets me
just a quiet grace.
April 27


Haiku for this surprising Monday
Gray sky grows brilliant
Earth displays God's handiwork
Preserve this beauty
April 27



My husband & I wrote this silly one together while driving to work. He's noticed that I'm more chipper now that I'm haikuing in the mornings:

Haiku For Morning Haiku

A haiku a day 
Helps keep the grumbles away 
I'm very happy
April 21


Wednesday Haiku 
The new day greets us
shirred with possibilities
What will we become?
April 29







1 comment:

  1. These are wonderful--each photo, each word, each haiku! Keep haiku-ing, Cathy! They make my day!

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