Haikus in June

A little forgetting helps

Haikus are a promise of a reverie. Traditionally Haikus were about the beauty and observation of nature. That’s what initially interested me. And the funny 5-7-5 structure just made it all the more weirdly intriguing. I found a thoughtfully composed haiku, while imprisoned in its prescribed structure, was fully capable of launching within me my own flight of fancy. So I tried my hand at a few. I wrote them at various times, about not just natural beings and sights but also about the human condition, which in all its fragility and resilience, its nobility and callousness, its heroism and banality has always been infinitely interesting to me. So here goes…

Photo: Reena Kapoor “Peony edited in Moku-Hanga style” … Instagram @1StarDusty

I start with one about my two favorite furries, one of whom passed peacefully earlier this year leaving us with a lifetime of daily memories of her shenanigans!

Moxie & Dishoom

furry friends of mine

follow me diligently

their alpha female

What kind of gifts do you fall for? If you’re a cheap date like me, flowers and plants and all things garden will do it for you…

Bribe me daily

i demand so much

bring me flowers, saplings green

i'll barter my love

What makes you grateful daily starting with this humongously low probability miracle of existence?

Dumb Luck of existence

sometimes the beauty

of this earth makes me tear up

just for this sheer chance

What do the seasons do for you…do they evoke wonder, sadness, joy or all of the above? I love the days when change is happening and almost always look forward, no matter how much of a reminder they are of so many passings - days of youth, loved ones, life!

Around the Corner

As the rain subsides

Frost arrives to bully buds

Spring hides, waits its turn

I’ve lived in busy cities, in suburbs and often dream of a more reclusive existence in the mountains - mostly a short lived fantasy instantly curable by a few days of a nature hit! I observe people who thrive in all kinds of lives and some who are clearly ill-suited to where they live. Cities, despite their greater human density or perhaps because of it, seem to be all about an atomized existence - self-absorbed, ambitious and young. Suburbs on the other hand feign more community and balance because their main focus is on one organizing activity and that is the raising of children! However my observation is that anguish and rancour often reside under this cover of sane living. More on that in another post but here is a contrast I am often struck by…

The City

Wide range of deranged

Big cities display

'Burbs feign sanity

Hope you found these haikus enjoyable or at least raising questions or perhaps different thoughts? Do write, comment, share. I’d love to hear from you.

Extra

I would like to recommend a hilarious, and wonderfully poignant series on Netflix about the value of a long time friendship - warts and all, of finding the meaning of family and much more: The Kominsky Method!