Poetry Friday : December 12, 2016.
It was just past 5 AM; sunrise was more than two hours away, and the temperature hovered just above freezing. Like a shroud, fog wrapped itself around everything. While family slumbered, I stepped onto my back porch to experience a few predawn wintry moments — the piercing cold, the heavy dampness pungent with wood smoke, the woodsy darkness. I was particularly drawn to the dark silhouette of a large fir. I clicked a cell-phone photo. Inspired, I returned to my cozy kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and wrote —
in fog-dimmed brightness
stark silhouettes reach skyward
while sunrise awaits
I paired my haiku with the cell-phone photo for a haiga.
Later, pondering the dark stillness of those morning moments, I wrote a couplet to go with my haiku and —voila!— I had a tanka.
in fog-dimmed brightness
stark silhouettes reach skyward
while sunrise awaits
as kinfolks slumber in peace
it seems time’s ticking has ceased
© 2016 Alice Nine
Tabatha Yeatts at “The Opposite of Indifference”
is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today.
Thank you, Tabatha Yeatts!
If you’d like to know more about #PoetryFriday,
click HERE for an explanation by Renee LaTulippe.
I like that time’s ticking had ceased during this moment. Nice, Alice!
Thank you, Tabatha.
I always love knowing the stories behind people’s poems. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous photograph. And then you have somehow managed to capture the magic in words!
I always like the stories behind the “stories” too. Thanks for stopping by and sharing with me.
I love those quiet moments at the beginning of the day. Amazing that you’ve captured and transformed those moments into art.
Thank you, Brenda. So glad you stopped by.
I love your paragraph of prose as much as I love your two poems!
Ah thanks, Mary Lee.
Alice, this is stunning! Your haiga and then your tanka, so breathtaking!
Thanks so much, Kiesha.
Thank you, Alice, for sharing the inside scoop on the progression of your early morning experience and how it informed your poems. =)
I always like reading the story behind the “story.” Have a wonderful week, Bridget.
Very nice! Love hearing about your early morning thoughts and how you transformed them into poetry.
Thank you. Glad to have you stop by.