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February 5, 2014

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Poetry

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The Heart of a Garden Haibun

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Used with permission of Sally – My Beautiful Things

I always leave part of my heart in my garden as the yellow leaves drift slowly down, followed by the snow. My summer heart hibernates there, with the bulbs and the frogs, below the frost line. I don’t have the heart to clear all the leaves away, it’s too like wiping the tears of the tree.

I prefer to leave them where they fall in the flower beds, fertilizer and insulation against the winter’s fury. On the grass, I rake them all into a big pile, and let the kids jump in. We toss up the leaves in fistfuls, and they fall in our hair. We make leaf angels, before we bag them all.

My summer heart is there still in my garden, slumbering, under the snow forts, the snowmen and beyond the snow angel farms. Wrapped closely with leaves, dreaming of sunshine and warm days.

first green shoots
split the soil apart
my heart leaps out

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Inspired by the Tuesday Haibun Thinking: Week 3.

60 thoughts on “The Heart of a Garden Haibun”

  3. A wonderful haibun, not least because it shows readers you do not have to go far to find a haibun..its literally waiting for you in your garden. There is that characteristic flow to your words as one drifts from season to season – reads so well, but is deceptive, as it is very hard to make it flow so lightly I think. The frogs were a great touch! Very nice haibun, and as said, really shows where the best place to find a haibun is.

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    • Autumn is a beautiful name. And it’s always been my favorite, too. So glorious, the culmination of a summer’s yearning. And yet, I do love the summer, so much free-flowing time with my kids, sleeping late, road trips and long breaks. Heat and cool water. Things growing and eating from my garden. Yes, part of my heart is there, with the summer.

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  15. I really like that, Brenda. The descriptiveness of the seasons and what you do in them is excellent.

    I have added your post to the link-up so others can read your work 🙂

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    • All is well here, the kids were very excited when they had a few friends over, a fast-moving snowball fight over, and the roof shucked off a whale of snow with a giant woof. The biggest snowball imaginable. 🙂

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