One gray hair
tide falls, leaving gifts
seaweed, gather shells, misty moon slides down
deer pauses, watches, still
I breathe out
Two gray hairs
sun rises
heron stands sentry, watches, waits
terns gather, confer, rise, sing, circle
I breathe in
Five gray hairs, a wrinkle
Spider spins, weaves, waits, still
tides turn, sun sparkles, fire, fades
Milky Way irridescent
I breathe out
More gray, more lines
salmon surge, leap, retreat, rest, wait
dry grass whispers to autumn wind, rising
I spin, weave, watch, wait
orange moon rises
I breathe in
S. Berry
Photo by Ruben Berry
I started out with the idea of writing a funny, tongue in cheek haiku about finding a gray hair, and the possibility that it could signal impending wisdom. After a refresher on haiku structure, I realized the nobody I know, including me, speaks Japanese, that even the literati cannot agree on the translation of a mora to a syllable, and none of the samples of “ideal” haikus seemed to follow the 5-7-5 rule, so I gave up on that structure. I have tried to convey the idea of seasons in nature, and seasons in life, through a string of haiku-inspired sets, using some ideas from the kigo (seasonal reference) lists and imagery that spoke to me. It turned out not to be funny at all…
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