Tag: haibun

from above – – haibun

On the ball again . . . my stability ball. I think of the tiny creatures I can barely see, blending in with the dark garden soil. I first notice them when they move. The other day I pulled out my camera when I saw a miniature frog in the back garden. Each time I hovered from above, it hopped away.

finding Waldo

hidden in the weeds

a tiny frog

.

.

Now it’s your turn. Waldo is hiding in each photo.

©️2020 Ontheland

JACOB BLAKE

stepping into the car that holds his children . . .

under what circumstances would shooting a man in the back eight times at close range be a reasonable action for a police officer?

are men in uniform not held responsible?

silence

the long whir of the fan

into the night

.

.

©️2020 Ontheland

Researchers have collected stats about police shootings in the United States. The hundreds of people killed by police each year (many unarmed) and the disproportionate number of black victims is troubling.

Here are two informative links:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/protests-spread-over-police-shootings-police-promised-reforms-every-year-they-still-shoot-nearly-1000-people/2020/06/08/5c204f0c-a67c-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html

Report of Police Integrity Research Group, Bowling Green State University

silk moth – – haibun

The sliding door is open, letting in the cool breeze. I pull a cotton hoodie over my head and yawn into the silence…a time to write perhaps. The world is in an uproar about the virus, about racial oppression, violence, hate, fear, poverty, injustice … … and I am tired this morning, bruised from a fall in the garden and dulled by a list of things to do jamming inside my head.

silk moth

on the window screen

are you injured or

simply still

until you fly?

.

.

©️2020 Ontheland

P.S. I believe my visitor was a Cecropia moth, a type of giant silk moth.

reopening – – haibun

The library email announces they have reopened. I may pick up the item that was on hand just before the lockdown. An excursion! I roll into the deserted community centre parking lot and spot the curbside sign with the library phone number. I obediently dial and speak to a librarian who will bring my item out to the cart near the door—about 10 metres away from where I am parked. When she comes outside we exchange waves and smiles. She disappears into the building. This is my cue to get out of my car and walk to the cart. There waiting for me is a brown paper bag with my name on it. I notice a container of Lysol wipes and a hand sanitizer pump next to it…part of a disinfection decor? “Perhaps I should get out more often” I muse as I walk back to my car.

public places

going out for a taste of

surreal

.

.

©️2020 Ontheland

meadows – – haibun

In their later years some people look back to recall happy times … they savour the ‘meadows’ of their lives. Though I have positive memories, my recollections hold more greys and browns than the brighter yellows, pinks and blues of a meadow. And now . . . I enjoy buttercups, a wide-winged bird soaring, night calls from the trees, a crescent moon, a canine grin . . .

being alive

fresh leaves emerging

once again

.

.

©️2020 Ontheland

Haikai Challenge #140 — summer meadow