Letters from Japan Haībun

Used Courtesy of ArtifactsandFictions

Dear Joanie,

I arrived safely, and my company has given me a nice hotel. It’s fall here, too. I should be home soon. Take care of mommy.

Love, Daddy

father gone too long
black marks on paper not enough
leaves falling slowly

Dear Joanie,

I hiked high up a mountain Saturday in the morning mist. The mist receded before me, always out of reach. My contract has been extended, and I will be here at least another month. I miss you. Will you please write me more often?

Hugs, Daddy

mother sad and still
sitting by the cold window
white snow blowing past

Dear Joanie,

My heart is with you, but I have to stay a little longer. The temple bells wake me in the morning. I’m working long hours to return home to you. Tell your mother I love her.

Fondly, Daddy

cold empty playground
wind singing and swaying swings
dad played soccer here

Dear Joanie,

I so appreciated the photographs and book you and Mommy sent for my birthday. It lightened by heart, just as the sun is warming the ground and calling forth buds. My project is finally finished! I will be home in a week after a few more meetings!

Love, Daddy

sunshine glints brightly
ocean waves beat against stone
Japan behind mists

Dear Joanie,

Thanks for your joyful letter. I’m so happy spring has arrived. Here, the trees have leafed up, too, and the grasslands wave in the mountain breezes. The air is fresh, and smells of flowers. The final meetings took longer than I thought. One more week, and I will be home. Here is a picture of the view from my window. I think of you every day.

I love you and miss you, Daddy

heron rose from reeds
salt marsh seagulls call hello
sun sets on absence

Prepared from art by Suzanne and inspired by the Haībun weekly prompt. Also written for the DPChallenge, which I have never tried before. Although I write haiku, I have never paired them with a letter-writing prose style, so this was a departure for me. I’m writing all five haiku in one go because: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and Blogging, oh, my!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

August 1, 2013

Posted under

Tales for Kids of All Ages

Comments

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New Adventurous Fairy Tale!!

I’ve added a new adventurous fairy tale: The Fire-Flower Dragon. In it, a young boy prays to his ancestor, a marathon monk, for guidance and wakens a fire-flower dragon.

Adventurous Fairy Tales are written for kids of all ages and middle year kids. Below is an excerpt. I’d be grateful if you follow the link if you’d like to finish reading. As usual, comments are greatly appreciated. Peace and Joy to all of you!

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The Fire-Flower Dragon

Osaka Castle

“Fireworks!” my mother, Akemi Shou, exclaimed, while I played my Sakuhachi, my traditional bamboo flute. I had learned to play it after hearing it at Osaka Castle.

I looked up, my fingers still moving automatically, my breathing deep and controlled. I looked right into the bright eye of a fire-flower dragon. Time stopped, but my heart continued to beat. I stopped playing for a moment in surprise, and I saw fireworks. I played my flute, and again I looked into the bright eye of the dragon. The dragon’s scales moved so fast, the air broke into colorful bursts that tricked human eyes into seeing fireworks, luminous ever-changing flashes of color in the twilight sky.

My father, Akio Shou, sighed with pleasure. “The fireworks must be part of the Kyoto Fire Festival that starts tomorrow. Funny, I never heard of fireworks here.”

I continued to play, looking at the dragon, who had risen from the rocks on the mountainside. My parents and I had been praying to Buddha and our ancestor, Isamu Hayato, for guidance on whether or not to leave Kyoto and move to America to join my father’s brother. I wanted to stay here in the land of my ancestors, with all my friends, but my father’s company wanted him to go to Boston. I asked them to go without me. We had hiked up the mountainside, a journey taking all day. We followed in the footsteps of my ancestor who had been a marathon monk hundreds of years before. He had run over fifty miles a day on these steep, rocky paths for almost one thousand days. Perhaps he had paused briefly at the same sacred spots to worship.

To continue reading, click here.