Originally posted in February, 2014.
This is my first attempt at a haibun. Please forgive my transgressions.
Texas Haibun
I dream of poetry in all its forms, rising and flowing and subsiding without end, much like ice shrugging within itself. Last winter a hard freeze split a valve on the downstream side of the cistern. Had it cracked even a few inches up-line there would have been no need to replace the valve.
captive rain recalls
its journey towards the ground
the garden returns
The well terminates at 280 feet. The water is hard, but cool, and tastes of dark limestone and ancient rains.
Even the gnarled live oaks have dropped their leaves. Grass crunches underfoot and smells like dead insects and dried herbs. Mosquitoes have vanished. Only the prickly pears thrive. Their flowers are bright yellow and bloom a few days each year.
sauteed with garlic
nopalitos on my plate
their thorns, forgiven
I wipe sweat from my forehead with the back of the glove, and wonder how many ounces of fluid have passed through my body this year, how the rain navigates from clouds through layers of soil and stone, only to return, how a cold beer might feel sliding down my throat.
stoking the fire
winter rain whispers to me
forget tomorrow
O at the Edges 
What a great picture! Enjoyed the read as well.
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Thank you! Does it remind you of Bandera?
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Honestly, it reminds me more of garner state park. Hiking to top of “baldy”. Adore the frio river as well. Makes me thirsty for home. Get to visit in April!
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Ah, the Frio! And to make you thirstier, I must tell you that my wife has already found a few bluebonnets on our property.
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Ouch! LOL. now I’m seeing Washington on the Brazos! All those itchy photo shoots as a kid. Parched.
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I love the language, the description of the well water and the grass crunching underfoot. Beautiful language and the haiku are wonderful, too.
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Wow, what a complex haibun for your first attempt! I’ve been meaning to write more of these lately, but have been avoiding them because they’re difficult. Now I’m inspired!
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Please do write! You have to take the first step on the path to progress. 🙂
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It’s an interesting form. Writing prose that carries haiku overtones, and then having to produce relevant haiku to accompany the prose! Very challenging.
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Thank you, Brenda. I look to your work for inspiration.
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Oh my gosh, what a truly lovely thing to say. Hugs, Brenda
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Strange and interesting form–could be taken in pretty much any direction, and I like what you do with it here. BUT–I think there is something truly problematic and unfair about posting a picture of a beer glass with no beer in it just after lines of a poem thinking about drinking beer. It all makes sense, sure, but I have no beer in my house just now. So there it is.
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No beer in the house? Sad, indeed.
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So haibun is prose plus haiku? I enjoyed the read.
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Yes, it’s quite interesting and challenging. And fun, of course.
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Beautiful, I enjoyed it immensely.
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This wonderful work. I recently discovered Basho’s travelogues and your haibun read as thoughtful as his. I look forward to reading more of your writing, now that I’m a follower! Thanks so much for visiting my writing blog and leaving a few likes.
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Thank you for your kind words. Basho is an inspiration to us all.
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I have not heard of haibun, but I like it and will find out more about it. Glad I didn’t let Texas stop me from reading this. Do you write in Japanese, then translate to English? I have always had difficulty using the parameters of haiku in English as Japanese is a syllabic language, with each syllable having the ability to convey so much more than is conveyed in an English word. Thank you for this lovely gift.
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I wish I could write in Japanese, but English is difficult enough for this good ole boy from Texas. And yes, the nuance one may find in the characters and character combinations is incredible. A while back I attended a lecture by Arthur Sze, who discussed the difficulties of translating Chinese into English. I imagine the same is true for Japanese. Daunting!
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You achieved great description within the parameters. Usually, poetry does not evoke images for me, so I avoid it. But your haibun had me seeing and smelling things. Good to see what can be accomplished. I will have to try harder to work in this form as I do have a fondness for Japanese forms of expression.
I’m the daughter of a Texan who really didn’t care for her home state. No offense meant.
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There is much to dislike about my state (chiggers, heat, politicians of all stripes), and much to admire, too. But it is home. And no offense taken, of course.
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Some of my favorite people come from Texas: Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Carol Burnett, Janis Joplin, Lady Bird Johnson (’cause she put up with Lyndon!), Sandra Day O’Connor, Tommy Lee Jones, Willie Nelson, Walter Cronkite, Willie Shoemaker, and my mom! Indeed, these folks have had my admiration for a long while. Gonna add you to the list! Looking forward to your next haibun.
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Nice photos, nice poems!
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I had not heard of a haibun before…this was a great read! I especially love the ending haiku 🙂
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I hadn’t encountered haibun before either, and I’m not sure whether I’m more interested by the writing or by the discovery of an artistic mode that’s wholly new to me yet, obviously, pretty accessible.
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Thanks for introducing me to the haibun — what a great form! You’ve used it well here to establish a vivid sense of place, especially for this native Texan now moved far away…
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The pleasure was all mine! It’s a wonderful form, one that uses different “muscles” from what I usually do.
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I love the way you make the sentences whisper while walking at the edges of the haiku.
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Thank you. I’m glad I didn’t stumble (at least too visibly).
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Thank you Robert for your visit to my blog. I appreciate your poetry too. Kind regards. Iris
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Pingback: Hangman Haibun | RunawayKeyboard
What a beautiful ending, perfect poem to read before bed, whispering me gently to sleep. Delicate imagery, perfect.
Candace Jean xo
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You’re rubbing shoulders with nature more than most of us. I’m not a big fan of haikus, but these were authentic, down to earth and refreshing. Nice work!
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I feel my knowledge of poetry is inadequate to fully appreciate this masterpiece.
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For how long did you work on this? It is finely crafted.
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Hard to say. I work on multiple pieces, and often set them aside for varying periods (days to years). This started out as a long prose piece, and was resurrected after I thought to attempt a haibun. It probably took about 6 hours to reduce the prose piece to its current form, and then a while to write the haiku. But I am very slow!
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Slow is good, as is knowing a bit of your creative process.
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Nicely done.
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Thank you for liking my little piece on tax time. It was the opposite of yours: quick and snarky – what this particular situation deserved and not one iota more. I could really feel the time, grace and depth of feeling that went into your piece, so thanks for this poem, too. Going to google “haibun.”
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I don’t think I can overstate how fantastic I think this post is. I had never seen a haibun in English before but this is amazingly well-done in my opinion. Keep up the good work.
~苦栗鼠
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tremendous creative expression! Thank you for visiting LightWriters (5wise.wordpress.com). Look forward to more of your writings!
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Reblogged this on Merely A Blip In Time and commented:
For those fascinated with poetry, this is a prime example of how to create a rhythm without rhyming. I think, too often, we are lost in the alliteration and syntax, worrying more about how the sentence ends instead of the content we put on the page. My belief is that the power from our words comes from the imagery we choose- and our ability to detach that uniquely from our lives, and instead apply it in a context that creates an open ended portrait. Even a painting is a story. And this is a very powerful painting. Well done sir.
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Thanks for reblogging. Words are powerful tools, aren’t they?
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indubitably :). I was definitely happy to reblog, as your work is thoroughly enjoyable
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I love this poem, very Texas and depicting a historical moment for us navigating a new landscape.
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Thank you for this Haibun – may have to find the time to try one myself – PS does ‘fire’ count for 2 syllables at the end? G:)
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Well, in some parts of Texas we pronounce it “far.”
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Beautiful. Really enjoyed this 🙂
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What a lovely encapsulation of nature in words. I also liked the juxtaposition of your experiences in with the natural ones. I am going to look up “haibun” as I have never heard of the form until now. I am always on the hunt for learning new ways to write! Thanks for visiting my blog, I followed yours so that I may be further educated and enlightened. 😀 Jamy
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You’ll find some excellent haibun on WordPress. It’s a challenging but rewarding form. And thanks for your kind words.
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Lovely expression of thoughts.
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Follow me,and than i am follow back your blogger
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