Wonderment – A Haibun

 

I arrive at the wetlands, bundled up for winter rather than spring. The trail beneath my feet is the same. The scene to either side is always different. One more cat tail swaying in the breeze or the entertaining sound of geese overhead making their semi-awkward landing on the pond. Where did they come from? How long were they gone? Who, pray tell is the leader and why? I don’t want to know the answers. I would rather be intrigued than informed.

My walks become my thoughts. That is the usual experience but today is different. I am walking for ten toddlers. Ten spongy toddlers absorbing new sights, sounds, textures and words.  My mission is to collect six different pieces of nature. These will be used to fill six plastic bottles, at which point they become “sensory bottles”, an activity of visual exploration and appreciation for the earth. As my steps become automatic, my eyes scour the ground for interesting specimens.

Sticks in a mixture of earthen colours, evergreen sprigs with intricate needles,  maple tree buds bursting, beach sand with driftwood and shells, a dried milkweed plant left open and exposed from winter’s freeze and finally, ten tiny pine-cones for counting. I imagine seeing these gifts for the first time through a two year old’s eyes. I head back along the trail’s paved loop. My pockets are full. My heart is fuller.

 

curious gosling

downy sun-kissed and wind-blessed

wide eyed and waiting

 

 

 

It’s Haibun Monday but this prompt is open all week! Bjorn is our host at dVerse Poets Pub and he has asked us to write a haibun about walking. Doors open at 3 p.m. EST.

 

 

By the Marshland

 

“But the beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.”
― Gwyn Thomas

Not far from here, there is a trail, a precious passage to my own inner peace. This is where my heart sings. This is how I breathe.  My feet take to the winding path of the wetlands and I am liberated. Sun ribbons stream through tall prairie grasses to dance with shadows on my shoes. Yellow warblers cling sideways to the reeds, whistling and swaying to Spring’s gentle breeze. Damselflies hover over lily pads floating close to the pond shore. Oh to be a damselfly, weightless of the woes of this world.

The ducks and geese have made their annual return to the marsh. I still marvel at their innate ability to do so, after vacationing hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This is their home again and I am nothing more than a visitor, uninvited. I visualize the ripples of disruption I would cause if I dared to dangle one toe into their vested waters. Focusing my camera on lavender blue chicory and one bristly bumblebee, it occurred to me.  This delicate ecosystem thrives without me and in spite of me. This trail is the truth of life and I am humbled.

 

waterlilies pose

as footsteps softly mimic

the pulse of nature

 

This week for Haibun Monday, Bjorn has asked us to write a haibun “inspired by the concept of walking”. This is a week long prompt. Lots of time to join in and follow the poetry trail at dVerse Poets Pub.