#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge - #Syllabic #poem #poetrycommunity #seasonalKigo #Kigo #seasons #Shokan #Haibun #snowfight #snow @YvetteMCalleiro

 

Hello, beautiful readers! School started back up again this week, and so did my busy schedule. It's the morning of day 13 of 2024, and I'm proud to say I was able to write for thirty minutes on eleven of the twelve days that have passed. Ten of those days were spent making progress on Drake's story. I used the other day to write something else. 

I have also completed a 15-20 home workout every morning, did an indoor walking exercise one afternoon (weather hasn't been conducive for walking outside), and used my sauna once. Not quite the goal I had hoped for, but it's still more than I had been doing, so I'm happy with my progress. It's been a stressful week for me with a lot happening, so last night was my first opportunity to look at my email and visit my favorite blogs, including Colleen Chesebro's 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge.

This week's invitation was to write a haibun using the kigo words for Early Cold, the Shokan season. A haibun is a paragraph of prose (storytelling) with a haiku attached. The haiku has three lines with approximately 12-17 syllables, depending on whether you use the 3-5-3, 2-3-2, or 5-7-5 pattern. 

With all the stress that has surrounded me this week, the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of the traditional kigo words for Early Cold was snow. Obviously, we do not have snow here in South Florida, but a memory came to me so vividly that I felt myself smile and relax as I gave in to reliving that moment. So, I knew I would use it for my haibun.

For those of you new to my blog, since my son was very young, we have spent the summers traveling the USA, usually with my parents. I shared our journeys at the beginning of 2023 through a series of blogs which you can visit here. In July 2017, we visited the West Coast, where my son saw snow for the first time on the top of Crater Lake National Park. He then saw snow again at Government Camp in Oregon and at Mt. Hood. So, I'll use the kigo word snow in my haibun to capture that moment.

First Snow

My son squealed as we rounded yet another bend on our way to the top of the mountain. The narrow, winding road opened to a vast hill on its right side with the most beautiful white blanket of snow. Unable to contain his excitement at seeing snow for the first time, he begged me to pull over, which I did. We climbed the embankment, and I watched in delight as my son picked up the icy, powdery substance in his hands for the first time. I barely acknowledged the brisk, chilly, breeze that came down the mountain; my heart warmed my soul with the breathtaking sight in front of me - a child's pure joy.

snow fight on a hill

mother reverts to a child

loud laughter echoes

Do you remember the first time you (or your children) saw snow? I'd love to hear about it.

If you'd like to write a poem and join us in this challenge, click here.