Tuesday, November 24, 2009

wine and haiku

i looked out the classroom windows
off and on
throughout the day.

it rained and rained.
light then heavy
from a sky that was
blue-grey then
charcoal grey
and all the time the puddles
grew and grew!

needless to say -
the ride home was wet!
i was soaked within minutes of setting off.
but in my head
i knew,
i'd pass through some woods before
the end of this journey . . . .

and so it was!

i brought some haiku
by santoka taneda
and a bottle of red wine . . . .

come and walk with me
for a little while
through the woods
in the rain.

"just as it is —
it rains, I get wet, I walk"

"completely drenched —
this stone marks the way"

santoka taneda

"stretching out their branches
the winter trees"

santoka taneda

"even the sound of the raindrops
has grown older"

santoka taneda




it's getting late
time to turn towards home . . . .

along the way i see

"men, women
and their shadows
dancing"

oh you silly people!!
just enjoy yourselves!

21 comments:

Jenny Stevning said...

I am in love with the last photograph! Oh...rain!! First it was autumn color and now the rain. Thank you so much for what peace you provide my wee soul. Oh...rain.

Sid Smith said...

Another beautiful journey Steven. Thanks for taking the time to share these with us.

steven said...

jenny stevning you're welcome. this morning it's foggy - one of my favourite sights to wake up to! i'll need the lights on my bike today. have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hey sid - thanks for the thanks. the schoolwork load is intense right now as we're in the middle of a reporting period. that means my life is spread mighty thin!! the golden fish is a great way for me to unload some of my load and creata place of calm! have a lovely day on the east coast of england. steven

Unknown said...

It's so familiar to be able to share pictures of the same wood lot at various times of the year. This group of trees has such gothic beauty, the way the branches stretch up to the blue sky. I am imagining the snow falling quietly here, the trilliums and violets blooming in the spring and the new green leaves. It is such a peaceful place to visit. Thank you, Steven for sharing your neck of the woods, so brilliantly.

ellen abbott said...

They almost look like feathers in the mist.

Golden West said...

Still waiting for a decent rainfall here... Your woods are beautiful in their starkness. Ride carefully on those slick streets!

Anonymous said...

I used to go off on tales when I looked out the window and would have on this one. I think the students enjoyed it.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

The stark, spare beauty of the trees is mirrored by the spare beauty of the haiku. Beauty (words, leaves) falls away only to reveal more beauty.

Crafty Green Poet said...

these are hauntingly beautiful photos, Stephen. I like the idea of wine and haiku....

steven said...

crafty green - maybe it's all the kerouac and haiku and whatever else how i've lived my life but wine and haiku are lovers. steven

steven said...

bonnie - the spare essence that hints at deeper truths..... nice. steven

steven said...

linda - i'm really fortunate to have so many little woodlots so close to me in the same way as you are blessed by the rouge valley. it's a place to remind you of what's important as the whirlygig of life spins...... steven

steven said...

ellen - nice vision - steven

steven said...

hi golden west - i ride faster on the straights and slower on the turns - it's the wet leaves that are the nemesis for cyclists at this point. but it makes me stay very much inside the moment. the point of peril!!! steven

Bee said...

This was my walk today, too. But you REALLY found the beauty in it. Such marvellous pictures of long-fingered trees, Stephen.

steven said...

abe my kids love to run to the window whenever there's weather. i like them to do that because it's real, it makes sense, and it's instinctive for them to be excited by nature . . . . i also let some of my kids who really need to daydream to have their fair share - on condition that they report back in detail and in beautiful prose, exactly what they saw or were thinking. have a lovely evening. steven

Margaret Pangert said...

Hi Steven~ I love your photographs of trees, the symmetry, the grace, the black on white. In two of the trees, I found a white bubble or orb, your energy that just reveals itself in these photos. Do you see them?

steven said...

hello bee!! i'm glad you could come along today. it's turning cold and the ride home tonight was wet and then cold and wet. icy fingers kind of wet. but that's what home is for!!! warmth and comfort. have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

margaret, no one else said anything!!!! there they are of course . . . . ha! steven

Joanna said...

Steven, those trees are so beautiful. I think I love trees best of all when their essential shape is there for us to see. And the haiku made me feel as if I were in the woods with the authors. Thank you.