golden pine droplets
fairy cobblers harvest
resin slippers shine
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Tag Archives: Tree
‘Tis the Season Haībun
There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.
— Erma Bombeck
When I was a child, I hated suspense, and all my energy went into solving mysteries quickly. I generally figured out who did what where in the game Clue, where the flag was in Stratego and what I was getting for Christmas. Continue reading
December Haiku
shivering tree toes
snowflake blanket melts in sun
dogs with cold, wet feet
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Reflections Haībun
Too often, I look only for myself in reflections. I let the eyes of my friends and family tell me who I am. I check my hair or clothes in mirrors, critically noting imperfections, thinking about who I am on the surface.
Then a magical moment happened, standing on a bridge, water flowing musically below. My down coat was tightly zipped against the chill. Leaf mold scent mingled with the fragrance of coming snow. I looked down, and I didn’t see myself at all. Instead I saw the whole world reflected there, sky, clouds, trees, birds. My own self-critical thoughts stilled, and I heard the trees give windy sighs, their summer burdens discarded, in the embrace of winter dreams.
burdens lift away
self lost in the larger world
beauty calms, renews
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Inspired by the weekly Haībun challenge, with the prompt of water.
Sun Setting on Autumn Haiku
stormswept hillside bare
autumn sun setting due west
limbs touch namaste
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Red Mushroom Mansion
Used Courtesy of Postaldeliveries
Maybelle had often admired the red mushrooms mansions, where she imagined only the very luckiest of fae could live. She liked to imagine the quiet with only a few neighbors. She had been living in a fungus highrise since she was born, surrounded by constant noise and banter.
Sylphanya, her sprite-mother, was hardly ever home and wanted different things than Maybelle. Her mother cared only for painting autumn leaves whereas Maybelle was drawn to water blossoms. Her mother seemed to like having a hundred neighbors, singing out happy hellos to everyone.
Maybelle knew the other fae-children thought she was a bit odd. Her near-neighbor Jamus called her a loner that morning because she hardly ever joined him and his sister, Dolpha, for nectar in the berry bar.
Maybelle was sad all day, not even the rainbow tints of a new lotus bloom cheered her. Maybelle decided to find her mother. Continue reading
Transformation Haiku
leaves nearly all down
limbs catch stars like fireflies
ermine cloak coming
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Princess in a Red Dress
Darling, did you have to wear your red dress?
Everyone is staring.
Let them look.
I will wave like a princess.
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Morning Haiku
Blinding warm sun peeks
Autumn fire on high branches
Citrine cloud castle
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Pear Tree HaĪbun
I have planted hundreds of vegetables, herbs, flowers, bulbs and shrubs in my years of gardening, but very few trees. Last year, I planted one tree for each of my three children in our yard where we could watch them grow. We tended them carefully, watering them during the long, hot months. This spring, our young pear tree was covered in white blooms, like a bride on her wedding day. All those white blooms dropped away in days, covering the ground like a veil, before they blew away on the wind, and became part of the earth again.
white blossoms drifting
petals falling to the earth
nourishing our soil
The heart-shaped leaves budded and turned emerald green soon after. Our tree produced oxygen and shade all summer long, and it grew a few inches in height and width every month of the summer. Today, I could see that several hard frosts had taken their toll. The leaves had turned a rainbow of colors: yellow, orange, red, purple with darker spots of indigo. A closer view revealed small brown fruit only as big as my fingernail. Even the squirrels have not harvested these vestigial pear, although the squirrels were pleased to eat our jack o’lanterns.
Halloween is past
squirrels have nibbled their repast
pumpkins are tasty
We would rather eat pumpkin than those tiny, rudimentary pear treats, too. Only a faery could love those tiny vestigial pears. I hope the fae harvest them, and serve them at a harvest dance, perhaps taking the leaves to make splendid gowns. I like to imagine them squeezing the pear juice into an acorn cup and drinking the nectar under the twinkling stars while the pipers play a reel.
faeries dance and smile
starlight washing cares away
sipping pear nectar
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Prepared for the weekly ligo haibun challenge, the prompt this week being faery, which I could not resist! 🙂
Starry Tree Haiku
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
— Don McLean, from Starry, Starry Night
(describing Van Gogh’s painting)
November night,
Incandescent, magic sight,
Transcendent with light.
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
For Caregivers on Halloween: Grandmother Tree
Young maples trees blossom with hectic autumn color
Where they shelter under the high arching limbs
Of the deep-rooted grandmother tree.
Lovely, steady grandmother tree, slow to change,
Thick bark insulates and shields her from the cold,
Only showing golden and claret touches high up.
One by one, her bright leaves sigh and let go,
Lightly drifting down to caress her young for a moment.
Finally on the earth, their leaves mingle and embrace.
This Halloween, be like the grandmother tree.
Gather the rain, slow the wind, your roots entwined.
Let your children bloom and thrive, safe in your care.
Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Friendly Fairy Tales 